Rhetorical Devices In Letter From Birmingham Jail

Civil Rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., while imprisoned in Birmingham, Alabama penned his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In this letter, King addresses eight white clergymen who had previously written to him regarding his demonstrations. Dr. King adopts a disappointed, yet polite tone throughout his letter in order to justify his actions in Alabama. Through the use of process and pathos, Dr. King effectively appeals to his audience’s emotions and validates his protests, all while revealing the horrors of segregation. In order to explain a step-by-step procedure, Dr. King uses the rhetorical device process. He claims that because of the maltreatment of people of color, he had no other choice but to participate in the demonstrations

Dr. King sets up his assertion of the necessary components for a successful nonviolent campaign when he states that “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action” (King 1). When Dr. King says “in any nonviolent campaign,” he is preparing his explanation of the steps that must be present when taking nonviolent steps toward a change in society. He is very aware of segregation and its side effects, and aspires to eliminate it all by following a specific system. In order to complete a “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive,” one must go out and observe the interactions between people of different races. In the

King also elaborates on a few emotional details to establish a connection with his audience. King expresses great sadness as he takes the time to recall several painful experiences that he and other people of color know all too well. He confronts the clergymen about what it is like to have “vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim” (King 2). He even goes on to expose the “hate-filled policemen” who “curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity” (King 2). Dr. King ends by declaring that “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair” (King 2). Those nonviolent demonstrations against segregation represent that “time” he speaks of. When he says “the cup of endurance runs over,” he indicates that the people have finally had enough. His use of the phrase “men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice,” suggests that black Americans cannot keep living under the unfair conditions. All the mistreatment and hatred is too much to bare and will no longer be tolerated. King describes the injustice as a “bleakness of corroding despair,” implying that with injustice comes immense hopelessness and anguish, and that is no way for anyone to live. Living a life of injustice is similar to an abyss, in that