Rhetorical Devices In Letter From Birmingham Jail

In 1963, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned because of his active acts of protesting Jim Crow laws and racial violence in Alabama. While in jail, he wrote a letter to the clergyman arguing for change. Direct action is needed in America, which causes a need for change. Dr. King utilized rhetorical devices and illusions to convey the importance of civil justice.

In the letter, King establishes credibility by making a claim that he is not an outsider. The text states, "I am here because I have organizational ties here." But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here." He is there in Birmingham because of the racial injustices that are going on in Alabama. He also has organizational ties to the change he is fighting for

He emphasizes to the white moderate that there is a misconception about time. King highlights, "Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time, from the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation, not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation." The white moderate telling King and his people to wait has a misconception of time. MLK is saying that the good should be using the time more effectively than the people that are using it for ill will. If the white moderates are sitting and not helping this cause, then things will not progress. People are willing to suffer for a cause they believe in. King is calling on everyone to help those in need. African Americans have a right to be tired of waiting for change. He uses emotion to make people think about what they are doing, if they

King's rhetoric shifts from being ethical and logical to having a more emotional appeal. In these paragraphs he mentions that the church has a voice and needs to help since they know what is right and what is wrong. King expresses, "Over and over I have found myself asking: "What kind of people worship here?" Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred? Where were their voices of support when bruised and weary Negro men and women decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creative protest?" He emphasizes that the church sees all these terrible things going on, but is not doing anything due to them being afraid. In paragraph 39 he continues to emphasize his disappointment in the church saying, "In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears are tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is no deep love. Yes, I love the church! How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great grandson of the preacher. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh, oh, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists." He uses his emotions to appeal to the audience. Talking