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Similarities Between I Have A Dream And Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist and Baptist clergyman who played a crucial role in the American civil rights movement. One of the most influential orators for the black civil rights struggle, Martin Luther King Jr., produced a number of outstanding works throughout his lifetime. Two of his pieces stand out as his greatest masterpieces. Both "I Have a Dream" and the letter from Birmingham had a significant influence on the future. In terms of tone, structure, appeal, and figurative language, the two pieces convey both similarities and distinctions. The letter from Birmingham jail and "I Have a Dream" have a lot in common. Whether it be pathos, logos, ethos, or repetition, both works have a number of appealing qualities. Since the purpose of the speech is to move the audience emotionally into the cause, pathos and ethos are emphasized most in the "I Have a Dream" speech. In the speech " I have a dream" an example of pathos was " I have a dream that my four tiny children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". ( King,18). While in the letter from Birmingham, an …show more content…

King primarily appeals to logic in the letter to present the facts concerning injustice in Birmingham and the rational, moral, and religious justifications for the need for freedom and justice, he also makes some emotional appeals in his speech to persuade and emotionally excite the audience. In his address, he criticizes the country for failing to uphold its promise made in the Emancipation Proclamation and its duty to its inhabitants of African descent by using an analogy. But in the letter, he contrasts the religious actions of the Apostle Paul when he strove to share the message of Christ with his rallies to win freedom for the black community. He explains his thinking behind each point in the letter, but in the speech, he uses a lot more metaphors and figurative language to emphasize each

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672 Words | 3 Pages

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a group that was marching on Washington. The speech would be memorized by many school children as one of the greatest and highly significant in American history. “A Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was not a speech, but a letter to 8 clergymen written on scrap paper while sitting in a jail cell. The letter was in response to the clergymen’s negative remarks on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s approach to civil rights.

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506 Words | 3 Pages

Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote a lengthy letter called "Letter from Birmingham Jail," to respond to a public statement of concern which was expressed by eight white clergymen from the South. In this letter, King defends his action and also describes how his nonviolent direct action is an effective way to resist against racism and segregation. In paragraph 14 and 15 of his letter, King uses parallelism and historical allusions to emphasize the blatant cruelties that colored people faced which create pathos and to express his thoughts for obeying and breaking “just or unjust” laws. In paragraph 14, King connects with Pathos, when he shows examples of painful experiences that the colored people, including himself, felt.

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281 Words | 2 Pages

Have you ever wonder how Dr Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the best speech in human history and wrote a letter that brings people together? It's because MLK focuses on using Pathos and Logos. The speech and letter that we are comparing are “I have a Dream” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, both are written by MLK. “I Have a Dream” MLK wrote for public at the Lincoln Memorial. “Letter From Birmingham Jail” Mlk wrote it to 8 Clergymen in response to criticism.

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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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In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” it can easily be argued that King used many rhetorical devices such as anaphora and tone in order to further persuade his audience to take action on behalf of the Civil Rights movement. Through copious examples, the reader is presented with King’s effort to use repetition in order to drive his point as well as being presented with the changing tone of his writing which allows the reader to experience a shift in emotions and urgency throughout the

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725 Words | 3 Pages

On April 16, 1963, 33-year-old African-American Christian leader Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for protesting against segregation without a permit. His fellow clergymen published poor things about him in the newspaper while he was in jail. He decided to write them a letter back in the margins, to explain the reasons for his protest, and his struggle for freedom. Later that year, during the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King gave the “I Have a Dream” speech later that year, during the civil rights movement, to inspire the audience to continue fighting for equal rights and not to give up. The speech uses more pathos to develop his ideas, whereas in the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he relies more on logos to make them think about why he did

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756 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil right activist who fought for the right and equality of African American citizens. In his speech, he stressed that nonviolence was a more effective way to success. One of the rhetorical devices that was key was his persona. His persona showed his followers that with patience and persistence change will come. In his speech, King spoke about the march in Birmingham, Alabama, where he and his friend Bull Connor lead.

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“I have a dream” is a famous quote that every person has heard, but there is more to uncover about Martin Luther King Jr’s life. Martin Luther King Jr. was a significant figure in the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King helped with many boycotts and marches. Some of his most famous are the Montgomery Bus Boycott and The March on Washington. Through Perseverance and Resilience, Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged people to be accepting of others and helped make the world a better place.

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He wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and wrote his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the biggest visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement. This man was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In both of his writings, he used pathos and logos to appeal to the audience and fit the occasion.

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Martin Luther King Jr makes large statements in his writing between what is logical and what is emotional he uses these ideas to make it more pleasurable to the audience’s perception. He uses logic and emotion in a way to make the audience captivated by what is said. But he also contrasts the ideas of logic and emotion in both “I Have a Dream” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” where “I Have a Dream” is more emotional and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is more logical he shows this through what he says in both of them. In “I Have a Dream” Dr. King puts a song called “Song of the Slaves” to create a more emotional feel to it. Also in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. King puts very logical reasoning in paragraph 14 says ‘When you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: ‘Daddy, why are white people treat colored people so mean?’”

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He writes this letter to defend his organization and peaceful protesting, yet also identifies the racial injustices he, and many other citizens received. King’s writing was very effective in accomplishing his goal to get his point across that segregation is a very serious thing. King hopes that his powerful and emotional message in his letter will impact how the clergymen, the whites, and many others approach and take action towards segregation. He hopes that they will see how terrible inequality truly is and make the American Society have less hate and more

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792 Words | 4 Pages

Both pieces have many appeals in common, whether it is pathos, logos, ethos or repetition. In “ I have a Dream speech it contain mostly pathos and ethos because the speech is trying to make the audience emotionally toward the cause. In the speech “ I have a dream” are example of pathos was “ I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”. ( King,18). The quote was made toward to his children not himself it makes the audience think about their own children and how they wouldn 't want what is happening to king children to their own.

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466 Words | 2 Pages

MLK states in paragraph 3, “...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.” King uses an analogy to give his audience an idea of what he is doing when fighting for civil rights. Lastly, King uses a rhetorical question in his letter. He asks the question on page 278 in paragraph 24, “But is this a logical assertion?” MLK uses this question to make his

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623 Words | 3 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most well-known leaders of the civil rights movement. He was an amazing man and inspired many people. His most popular speech is his "I have a Dream " speech. He also wrote a letter while inside the Birmingham Jail when he was arrested for his nonviolent protest against segregation. When reading "Letter from Birmingham Jail" one may notice that Martin Luther King Jr. used many instances of logos, ethos, pathos, and even kairos.

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1229 Words | 5 Pages

He incorporated a lot of biblical allusions to insist the audience that his speech is in accordance to the Bible, as King writes that he has a dream that one day, “every valley shall be exalted,” every hill and mountain “made low,” all rough places will be “plain” and crooked places “straight” and that the “glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” (Isaiah 40:4-5). On another occasion he paraphrased one of biblical statement “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalms 30:5 ) in his words as “It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity “cite .King’s allusions to past events help to create unite both races and inspire them to tackle this problem collectively as both colors experienced American history in some form or another. King not only references the Biblical allusions which emotionally appeal to people but also mentions legal statements like declaration of independence and Emancipation proclamation by mentioning “Five score years …” to refer to Abraham Lincoln’s address and “promissory note” to direct their attention towards their legal rights as mentioned in the constitution.

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