Rhetorical Strategies In Letter From Birmingham Jail

On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed several clergymen in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on the aspects of their criticism on his actions and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during their protests in Birmingham. In this letter King shows his great knowledge with the use of rhetorical strategies. King writes to the clergymen about how he feels toward their criticisms, in his words readers are able to comprehend his frustrated ethical appeals, his sympathetic emotional appeals, and his logical appeals of experience. He makes an ethical appeal as he goes on to address their concerns with frustration, about his presence in Birmingham since they have note him as an outsider. But, however he provides a reason for his presence, which he claims

this creates an emotion of distress, making the reader want to side with him out of sympathy. King shows his logic by listing actions that are acceptable “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.” (4). He provides a logical analysis of any social activist campaign to show that he knows what is right and wrong. King revisits the wrong-doings in Birmingham when he says that “justice too long delayed is justice denied” (6). He points out that he has always heard the word wait when talking about “their” freedoms, but he thinks that the wait means never. King uses emotional appeal again to persuade his readers, he uses pathos to touch the emotions of the audience as he reminds them of a personal event. He says, “hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters” (6). King writes words that appeal to the reader’s emotions. In his words, he uses “brothers and sisters”, to help those men remember the principles of the