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Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Well-known minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King, Jr., in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” masterfully craft his reply to the eight clergymen on their accusation that his nonviolent protest movement is “extreme”. King’s purpose is to influence to not only the clergymen themselves, but to convey to his audience that all his actions are justified and that they are not an exhortation to extremism. He creates a logical tone; moreover, with the incorporation of logical appeals and several rhetorical devices such as parallel structures and rhetorical questions, helps shift the audiences’ attention from the claim established by the clergymen to King’s point of view. King exhibits his view on the current situation in Birmingham, Alabama in which influenced him to be there; thus, inconsequently lead him to his imprisonment in Birmingham Jail. He acknowledges that there are two opposing forces that exist in Birmingham, one of which is stated, “[A] force of complacency, made up in part of Negroes who […] become insensitive to the problems of the masses” (27) and “The other force is one of bitterness and hatred […] close to advocating violence” (27). In this logical observation; therefore, appealing to logos and …show more content…

He demonstrates this by applying Abraham Lincoln’s quote, “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free” (31) and that of Thomas Jefferson’s “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal….” (31). King specifically used these to his advantages in order to not only remind the clergymen how and who helped this country came to be, but the explicit connotation of those words. The effect will be significant enough for the audience to relate and reflect how a nation can be capable of great damage from this foreseen

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The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. strategically orchestrated a written response to the eight white clergymen that criticized his presence and actions in Birnmingham, Alabama. Dr. King’s main intention in constructing the letter was to correct any misunderstandings alleged by the clergymen and to justify the despairing need for a nonviolent action towards racial equality and justice for all humans. Dr. King’s illustrated his point of the letter by addressing the emotional, logical, and ethical side of mankind. Early in Dr. King’s letter uses an ethical appeal when he addresses the letter as, “My Dear Fellow Clergymen.”

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While imprisoned, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, ‘A letter from Birmingham Jail’ as a response to eight clergymen who published a statement that emphatically disagreed with King’s methods of protest towards racism. Dr. King’s reply is demonstrated in a writing style that could be described as ‘efficient’ as he balanced different aspects of organization of his thoughts and passion through use of rhetorical devices to achieve an effective argument. Dr. King, possibly from his pastoral background, wrote his letter in an eloquent, sermon-like matter, yet it was his use of rhetorical devices that effectively stitched his argument together and gave it an interesting flow, either by reminding the reader of his purpose in writing, or to progress through his reasons in an impactful way.

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Compelling Craft The craft of using words to create a mood or an atmosphere takes great skill to make an audience understand and feel the cause a writer is fighting for. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist from the 1950’s to the 1960’s, wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail. In his letter he made a compelling argument to a group of clergymen, who questioned his quest. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his compelling argument using pathos, ethos, and Kairos by utilizing personal experiences, expressing a moral obligation to help, and his timely involvement for direct action.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader in the Civil Rights movement, the son and grandson of a minister, and one heck of a letter writer. As he sits in a cell of Birmingham Jail in 1963, he responds to criticism from eight white clergymen. Though this letter was intended for the judgemental and condescending men of high faith, his response touched the hearts and minds of the entire U.S. population, then, and for years to come. In his tear-jerking, mind-opening letter, King manages to completely discredit every claim made by the clergymen while keeping a polite and formal tone. Metaphors, allusions, and rhetorical questions are used in the most skillful way to support his argument and ultimately convince his audience of the credibility behind his emotional, yet factual, claims.

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King believed that if he could just go to Birmingham, and protest non-violently, that he could make a difference. On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned, in Birmingham, for protesting the civil rights of Black Americans. While in jail, he began writing a letter addressing the clergymen. His main audience in writing this letter was to the eight clergymen who criticized his actions and also the majority of the population as well. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, argues that injustice

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Essay #2: Argumentative Analysis Martin Luther King Jr. introduced a very controversial argument about why he believed that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”(264). In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King stated that justice is never given by the oppressor and the reason why his protests were very relevant and wise was because the issues needed to be addressed right then and not later. Moving along throughout his entire letter his primary thesis seemed to be that if the people wanted to be free from racial injustice they needed to participate in nonviolent protests. Given his setting and atmosphere, MLK did an extremely impressive job of using kairos and other rhetorical techniques in his piece.

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In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he provides answers to fundamental metaphysical questions regarding the nature of the human soul. Though his letter is addressed to a group of eight clergymen criticizing his direct action campaign in Birmingham, his ultimate aim is the uplifting of human personhood. Underlying King’s letter is a philosophical, hylemorphic anthropology which puts an anchor deep into a certain conception of personhood, and binds all people who are to read it. He looks deeply at the nature of human beings, as rational creatures who are made to love and be loved, and from thence, deliberates that there is a universal Gospel of Freedom and Justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. asserts that there are universal principles justifying what actions are morally right and wrong, just and unjust.

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