Rhetorical Devices In Letter From Birmingham Jail

Rhetorical Analysis Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail The “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, was written by Martin Luther King, who was an amazing writer, and speaker. King was a man that fought against racism toward African Americans. With being an African American himself, he understood the way racism had affected African American’s daily lives. He says “Its [Birmingham] ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negros has experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation.” (pg. 2), which shows what African Americans are living through. It also shows the fear they were living through. They weren’t able to have

In his intro he talks about a statement that he heard while he was confined in Birmingham city jail “… calling my [Martin Luther King] present activities were “unwise and untimely” (pg. 1). His response to the statement was, “If I sought to answer all criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work.”(pg. 1), which is a great example of logos. Logos is the appeal to logic, which helps when writing something to persuade someone, because the part of the audience that is against him might think that logically he is right. It also increases the chance that King’s audience will read Kings Letter with more of an open mind. The meaning behind his statement is, if people suspect him to think over everything that he’s already done then they need to realize that he actually has a job to do instead of thinking about the activities he’s already done. In his intro he also includes an amazing thesis statement. A thesis statement is normally located in the first paragraph and is a statement that explains what the writer’s topic is and what the writer’s viewpoint is on that topic. His thesis statement in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, is, “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.”(pg.1). In his thesis he’s telling his audience that he wants to show his point about the criticisms that whites put on African Americans were wrong. He say’s “… you have been influenced by the view which argues against “outsiders coming in.”(pgs. 1), which supports his thesis because he thinks whites weren't completely in the wrong because they were being raised in a world to look down on African Americans. Whites were being brought up to