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Rhetorical Analysis Of The Letter From Birmingham Jail

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The Letter From a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. is written in response to a letter written by clergymen that were dealing with racial problems in Alabama. The clergymen stated that King's approach to segregation incites extreme measures of hatred and violence. King’s letter explained to the clergymen that the steps to desegregate the South were the most effective, and beneficial ways to come about the situation. In the Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetorical devices to effectively appeal to his audience. Martin Luther King Jr uses allusions, imagery, and metaphors to effectively appeal to the clergymen’s ethos, pathos, and logos. Allusions in the letter help convey injustice as immoral to the readers …show more content…

Allusions are figures of speech that reference a famous person, piece of literature, or a popular event. Doctor King creatively used allusions to convey the injustices that the people of the South faced in the 1950s and 1960s, during his nonviolent Civil Rights Movement. His Civil Rights Movement consisted of peaceful protests including the Montgomery Bus Boycott of Alabama in 1955, founding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to mount protests against the Jim Crow laws, and organizing sit-ins in public places. Dr. King wrote in the letter, “Just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.” He uses this to appeal to the reader’s ethos because religion played a significant role in King’s life. He grew up in a Baptist church in his hometown in Atlanta and later followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a pastor after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in sociology. “Was not Jesus an extremist for love: ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.’” Martin Luther King Jr references parts from the bible to point out that Jesus loved everyone even if they were not nice towards him. This appeals to the reader’s ethos …show more content…

is written in response to a letter written by clergymen that were dealing with racial problems in Alabama. The clergymen said King's approach to segregation incites the extreme measures of hatred and violence. King’s letter showed the clergymen that the steps to desegregate the South were the most effective, and beneficial ways to come about the situation. In the letter, Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetorical devices to effectively appeal to his audience’s ethos, pathos, and logos. King uses allusions, imagery, and metaphors to effectively appeal to the clergyman. Allusions in the letter help convey injustice as immoral to the readers and clergymen. Imagery helps to paint the painful picture of the segregated South. Metaphors are used to show the clergymen how the South could be changed so that everyone is equal and how life could be if the South was

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Figurative language and literary devices are utilized in “Letters to Birmingham,” by Martin Luther King Jr. to persuade his fellow clergymen to understand his reasoning behind protest. Evidence from the text that correlates with his intended purpose can be seen from the statement “As in so many experiences in the past, we were confronted with blasted hopes, and the dark shadow of a deep disappointment settled upon us.” This example supports the author in getting his purpose across by using figurative languages to convey the emotions of the black community and their discontent for waiting until an agreeable time. King also uses an allusion to a famous religious member and political commentator in, “Individuals may see the moral light and give

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Literary Devices of Martin Luther King Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail effectively disproved the points made by the Alabama Clergymen in their public statement that attacked the actions taken by African Americans, including King himself, whom participated in demonstrations against racism. Literary devices were King’s fuel in this piece, advancing his counter arguments and aiding key persuasive elements. His use of diction created a deep sense of imagery that had the power to put the reader into a place of true agreement. Hypophora added logical bases that supported King’s words and his arguments.

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428 Words | 2 Pages

When thinking of the civil rights movement of the '50s-'60s one name stands out. Martin Luther King Jr. was at the forefront of the fight for civil rights, leaving a lasting impact in many different ways; The "Letter From Birmingham Jail '' and "I have a Dream" speech as examples. Within these texts, King utilizes rhetorical devices to strengthen his argument, and better impact the audience with the work's purpose. King starts his letter by directing it toward the clergymen.

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The 1960s was a time when skin color was crucial, hate was inevitable, and where actions and words were uniform. Although accused of being an outsider, Martin Luther King Jr. was able to demonstrate his strengths and powerful influence even while confined in the walls of the Birmingham jail. The racial issues were addressed through his compelling and impassioned letter in reply to the eight prominent Alabama clergymen. Even during a time of racial injustice, King was able to establish many rhetorical strategies throughout his piece, specifically throughout paragraphs 45-50. King demonstrated three essential aspects by establishing logos, utilizing diction, and syntax in order to portray the true message to the reader.

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1475 Words | 6 Pages

King later writes, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (4). He is justified and had every right to protest in the city of Birmingham, for civil liberties and justice. Challenged by the opposing, white population, comfortable in their segregated establishments and ideologies. King utilizes logos to help his audience understand the urgency of the Civil Rights movement and directly address the criticisms against his presence in Birmingham. “Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application.

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In the, ¨Letter from Birmingham Jail '' King notes, "We have some eighty five affiliated organizations across the south and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights¨(King 581). King uses things he has seen or others have seen as facts to show logos. He has seen many terrible things that have been done to the blacks. King tries to show many rhetorical appeals to the clergymen to convince them more and

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In Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham jail, the clergymen are reminded of his character and vision. He defends himself and his legacy as it involves the nonviolent demonstrations against segregation. King uses ethos, logos,and pathos to address religious leaders in the the south’s concerns involving his non-violent actions in Birmingham. King establishes his character as a non-violent peace leader when he addresses the religious council in a persuasive manner.

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"Letter from Birmingham Jail" reviews a dissent against Martin Luther King Jr. 's detainment for peaceful resistance to persecution. In the letter, he commands a unified front against racial bias in addition to communicating his craving to utilize ethos to battle for human rights. Similarly, he utilizes pathos to get close to home reaction from his readers and afterward seeks from them permission to make a move. King Jr. applies dissimilar consistent thinking to explain further his viewpoint and the justification for battling racial discrimination. The tone of the letter is pondering, expecting to capture the attention of both the individuals who are being taken advantage of and the people who are being mistreated.

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432 Words | 2 Pages

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. skillfully uses religious language and metaphor, rationality, and reason, and sentiment. A smart tactic to reach god-fearing and law-abiding individuals along with ordinary citizens. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. would tie into the listener's emotion by dramatically depicting the horrible things they had to endure in a flashy fashion through the use of his

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729 Words | 3 Pages

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he points out and explains all the injustice being done to the black community. King addresses the letter to the 6 white clergymen who wrote a newsletter not understanding all the hardships and discrimination. He has to be aware that these people are close-minded, so making them see this big issue from a different perspective is going to be difficult. Furthermore, Martin Luther King Jr. uses allusion and anaphora to demonstrate the injustice and help people empathize with him and his cause. Martin Luther King Jr. utilizes allusion throughout his letter to help the clergymen understand by comparing his movement to religion.

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269 Words | 2 Pages

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme of “empathy” is frequently apparent. Throughout the novel, the mockingbird is used as a symbol, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy….That ’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 103). The mockingbird relates back to the theme of empathy because it represents the people who were innocent, yet treated unjustly.

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984 Words | 4 Pages

He appeals to emotions by telling the clergymen who the real southern heroes are. One of the bus boycotters, an elderly African American woman, said, “My feets is tired, but my soul is rested” (King Jr. 182). Even though she is uneducated she still had the profound thought about the racial injustice of segregation. This appeals to the emotions of the clergymen, showing to what great lengths they will go to to fight racial injustice. King Jr. also strengthens his argument by using the rhetoric appeal of logos throughout the letter.

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1546 Words | 7 Pages

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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528 Words | 3 Pages

The novel of To Kill a Mockingbird is an outstanding example of the importance of symbolism within the entire plot of a novel. As Scott Stabler puts it, “The novel… contains a vast array of symbolism to intertwine the main plot with several subplots” (Stabler). Symbolism is a vital component in representing characters, as well as keeping the story interesting with underlying messages and meanings. This requires the readers and listeners to not just read the novel, but also to comprehend and examine the meaning of every action that the characters undertake and as well as the objects represented through the novel. The mockingbird along with the use of the directions right and left are essential components “...to capture the essence of what it was like to grow up in a small Southern town…”, also revealing the true meaning and value of the characters and situations to the reader (Canfield Reisman 1472).

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799 Words | 4 Pages

In Dr.King’s letter, he had more time than he could have asked for to write this. He wanted to show the white clergymen that they were wrong and judged him wrong. So, King used more logical appeals in this letter like putting in facts that would back up his statement rather than the speech. King uses allusions first off to link his actions to others that have done similar things in the past.

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