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Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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In “Letter to Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. states that, “We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied.’” His statement expresses his view that the term “wait” is much thought of as “never” to many Negroes, for if change does not happen immediately, the change will never be made. King’s main rhetorical strategy is taking his periodic sentence in paragraph fourteen and attempting to grab at the reader’s emotions, placing them into his and many other Negroes’ harsh daily situations. He goes on to state that, “It is easy for those who have never the stinging darts of segregation to say ‘wait’.” King’s meaning behind this statement reveals a fact of whites being unfamiliar …show more content…

Even after 340 years, the word “wait” is still a familiar ring in the Negroes’ ears. As a matter of fact, from the publishing of this letter, it was nearly 100 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, the document signed by President Abraham Lincoln, stating the freeing of slaves throughout the United States. Even with the slavery abolishment in 1864, the Negroes still must “wait” for their rights of equality. The main point King is exclaiming through this section of the letter is “why wait?” Why must the Negro community keep waiting for the promise they have begged to receive for the past 340 years? Why must they continue to be criticized, hated, judged, and discriminated by the white man? Why must they continue living each day as a lower member of society when in reality, they truly are the same as everyone else? King asks these questions in his writing, yet he already has a blaring answer. Simple response: There is no sense in waiting when it can occur now. Now, today, in this moment is the perfect time for change. It is the perfect oppurtunity for equality among the blacks, whites, and all other races and ethnicities.

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Rhetorical Devices In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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As Martin Luther King Jr. served his prison sentence for participating in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation, he wrote an influential open letter titled "Letter from Birmingham Jail". In his letter, King urges the oppressed blacks to rise up to the challenge of overcoming racism and racial segregation. As an experienced orator and rhetorician, King uses many different methods in his writing to evoke a powerful affective response in the reader by creating a sense of urgency and responsibility. He uses techniques such as syntax, diction, parallelism, and Aristotle's three appeals as a call to arms; he argues that direct actions are necessary to break unjust laws, rather than waiting for justice to be served through the prejudiced

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In Letter From Birmingham Jail, the part I find most persuasive is when Dr. King tells why African-Americans can no longer wait to gain the justice and equality they deserve, and there is not a “right time” to try to gain this justice and equality. It is true that African-Americans cannot not just wait and hope that one day they will gain the equality they deserve. Instead, they must act to gain justice and equality. When people are comfortable, change is unlikely to occur. If African-Americans did not create any tension, they may have never gained the equality they have today.

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King’s letter is full of powerful and motivating quotes. King explained the topic of freedom and how it was difficult for the African Americans to achieve, he stated: “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (68). The African Americans, specifically the leaders, went through extremely tough and painful experiences. According to King, for the African Americans to achieve freedom they had to fight for it, because the oppressors refused to give freedom to their victims. King knew this because of the many different painful experiences him and the other leaders experienced to receive their

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What Does King Symbolize In From Birmingham Jail

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King stated that the black community has waited long enough. “We have waited for more than three hundred and forty years for our constitutional and God-given rights” (King 5). These are rights that everyone should have yet people had been neglected of them just because of their skin color. Other countries were making progress while they were stuck on an unnecessary issue. King uses a great analogy to explain this “The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet-like speed toward the goal of political independence, and we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter” (King 6).

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King says that African Americans have waited long enough and that to get what they want they need to fight for it. He knows that by them waiting they will never get rid of segregation. “We have waited for 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights.” He then brings up Asia and Africa because they are having far better progress and it is much faster. He feels as though it is easier for them to tell him to wait because they aren’t on the other side of segregation.

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This speech had deep language, a powerful message and it all was given right on Washington, DC, the heart of our nation. This next quote shows the reader how tired Mr. Lewis and all people of color were, of living with segregation. “To those who have said ‘BE PATIENT AND WAIT,’ we have long said that we cannot be patient. We do NOT want our freedom gradually, but we want to be FREE NOW! We are TIRED.

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While in solitary confinement for nearly 8 days, reverend and social justice activist, Martin Luther King Jr., wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail in response to the criticism he received for his non-violent protests. Several clergy who negatively critiqued King’s approach of seeking justice, wrote A Call for Unity, arguing that his protests were senseless and improper. Within the article, the clergymen provide nine different critiques that asserted how King’s protest are invalid, uneffective, and simply unintelligent in the fight for obtaining justice and equity for individuals of color. His letter has become one of the most profound pieces of literature of the 20th century, as King uses vivid examples and eloquent rhetorical devices to counter all nine arguments.

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Dr. King knows that the business owners would rather have negotiations over the protests, but the negotiations are not possible without protest and protest in turns creates tension. He says that tension is needed in order for people to progress and argues that the “tension created by direct action in this case is necessary for segregation to end.” He then turns to the criticism aimed at him that the “Southern Christian Leadership Conference action is untimely and that they need to wait and be patient.” Dr. King explains that the black community has waited long enough. He insists that “the black man has waited more than 340 years for justice.”

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He says “We waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional God-given rights.” Therefore since slavery has started the black man have been wrongfully treated, so giving it time or encouraging other black communities to sit and be patience wasn’t an option anymore. In detail he made a list of abuses the black man endured, among these abuses is his experience explaining to his daughter why she can’t go to an amusement park because of her skin color. Also explains how the white men take a black man’s name and change, first name “nigger” middle name “boy” (King1125). Lastly how the black man live in everyday fear, from day to night not knowing what’s coming next or if there is even a tomorrow.

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We live in a world with currently many conflicts from the racial disparity in high incarceration rates to gun violence and the war over gun rights. In his letter, King describes that Black Americans have no identity and that the oppressed cannot remain oppressed forever. King implies that they cannot be told to “wait for justice” because if they simply

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In Martin Luther King’s “ I Have A Dream”, in paragraph two he states “One hundred years later, the life the Negroes is still crippled by the mandates of segregation and the chains of discriminations.” To clarify, one hundred years later from when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed to the very day Dr. King gave his speech, the Negro were free but lack their civic rights. The Negroes were still struggling with segregation and racial discrimination. In the same paragraph, Dr. King illustrates, “One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and find himself an exile in his own land.” Dr. King supports the argument that the American society is basically turning against them.

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He places the strong authority of the declaration on his side to show how the American people are in contradiction to their own “sacred obligation” and the Negros have gotten a “bad check.” A metaphor representing the unfulfilled promise of human rights for the African Americans. King skillfully evokes an emotional response from all races with the use of religion: “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” By doing this he finds a common ground that brings black and whites closer with a common belief in God they share, as well as the mention of

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Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King was widely known for his speech “ I Have A Dream”. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. Abraham was famous for his speech “Gettysburg Address”. Both are known for their great rhetoric skills and demand for freedom and equality.

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“...when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”- then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.” (MLK, 276). King uses this strong sense of appeal to emotion to engross his readers and let them know how hard it is for them.

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This reference in particular evokes the strongest emotional response from black people because many African Americans revered Lincoln for his decision to sign the revolutionary Emancipation Proclamation, and how the document symbolized a free future for slaves--the ancestors of the blacks in the crowd. But the next few lines following this allusion also persuades those ignorant of how little things have changed by highlighting the “manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” that blacks still suffer from despite the hundred year gap. Here, he uses the connotations of “manacles” and “chains” to evoke a negative emotional response from the audience, especially from those unaware of the need to change, causing their opinion to match the speaker’s: against segregation. Additionally, King weaves biblical allusions into his speech to appeal to the Christians within the crowd. He uses the “dark and desolate valley of segregation” to illustrate the injustice African Americans have endured for centuries and juxtapositions it with the “sunlit path of racial justice” to exemplify a future where true freedom exists for

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