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Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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No more waiting around to get equal rights, Martin Luther King Jr knew exactly that. He was tired of waiting. When King stopped waiting he was sentenced to Birmingham jail. Instead of waiting to get out of jail he wrote a letter, King wrote, ‘’Letter In Birmingham Jail.’’ King knew that he couldn’t just write about his lessons. He knew that in order to gain supporters he had to bring emotions. King effectively succeeds in persuading the oppressors by including emotions that they have never felt. Sadness, is a great way to grab the majorities attention. Back in the 1960s the african community never got any respect. Their name is dirt to the superior race. Martin Luther King Jr shows a great example of that situation in ‘’Letter from Birmingham Jail’’. King wrote,‘’When …show more content…

King loves the south because that was him birthplace. Even though the south is just going down hill in the civil rights movement. He tries his best to get the south to the right place. King wrote, ‘’Too long has our beloved southland been bogged down in the tragic attempt to live in monologue rather than dialogue’’ (2). King is frustrated with the south for not fighting for equal rights. He loves the south so he wants the south to leave the monologue. By monologue King means to stop thinking about the superior's emotion. King then describes that the south should start thinking in dialogue. When a civilization lives lives in a monologue lifestyle they will never advance. If a civilization lives in a dialogue lifestyle they will have happy people. When the people are happy the country will and can advance. King is saddened that his hometown has waited to long to join the movement. If the southern states don’t stop with being bogged down that they will never see the day in a dialogue lifestyle. To that is very threatening to King. Without their support they will never see complete happiness, instead they will only see

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726 Words | 3 Pages

Picture this. On Good Friday, April 12, 1963, protester against inequality, Martin Luther King Jr., was arrested for parading without a permit. It is now April 16, 1963 and he sits alone in a Birmingham City Jail cell with nothing but a pen, some paper, and a solemn look on his face. In scraggly, but intent words, he writes a letter. He was writing to the church clergymen, determined to make them change their ways.

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1067 Words | 5 Pages

He was so powerful with his the arrangement of word without any hateful names or being rude. For example, quoted in paragraph 45 King states, “I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department.” The reader takes away the reasoning that his words were firm, rather hostile and something world ripping up or throwing away. He was never attacking with his words and puts intense effort into making sure that he said everything the right way so that it does not come off hateful, or resentful. With this is mind, the peaceful and tranquil tone can be discovered through his syntax.

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1277 Words | 6 Pages

Why African Americans can no longer “wait” “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Dr. Martin L. King, Jr is a response to the eight white clergymen who wrote him a letter criticizing him, his movement, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dr. King first addresses why he came to Birmingham. Though King does not usually respond to criticism, he responds to the men because he believes they are “of genuine good will.” Martin Luther King, Jr. had been arrested and imprisoned in Birmingham in 1963 regarding his protest activities. Birmingham at the time was a segregated city, known for the mistreatment of African Americans.

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692 Words | 3 Pages

Pathos is a very key ingredient in the process of persuading people, and while everybody tugs at people’s heartstrings, King used it to change the opinion of all that remain on the fence between inequality and equality. “Let us not wallow in the valley of of despair.” That sounds like torture, and that's why many fought for black rights, it sounded like a life of pure pain and suffering, causing many to hate the idea of blacks being forced to endure such discriminative horrors. He of course doesn’t use all negative words, but words of hope and positive thoughts, “An oasis of freedom and justice… a beautiful symphony of brotherhood... we will be free one day.”

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1152 Words | 5 Pages

In the letter from the Birmingham jail, King was visiting Birmingham, Alabama back in April 1963. Dr. King went to jail for a non-violent protest. He was protesting for change because Birmingham was filled with injustices, and was the most segregated city in the US. Even though Dr. Kings actions were "unwise" and untimely, they couldn't continue to postpone such historical events. A time for change is never timely.

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563 Words | 3 Pages

In these texts, King effectively persuades his audiences using pathos and logos. In Martin Luther King Jr. – “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he captures both pathos and logos. Dr. King

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685 Words | 3 Pages

In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King expresses his opinions and thoughts in response to a letter written by eight clergymen. As a justification of his actions for his recent activities, King was put under scrutiny that his actions were “unwise and untimely”. The main concept King was supporting was that, “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

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751 Words | 4 Pages

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King responds to the clergymen’s critics of his actions by justifying why action is needed. King describes the long-awaited freedom and equality the black community has been waiting for. He discusses about time being neutral, and how it can be used constructively or destructively. King explains that action needs to be taken, and used constructively in order for things to change. Just like King, Terry Tempest Williams, in her own ways uses time constructively to take action for her family and the rest of the victims of the atomic bomb testings.

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895 Words | 4 Pages

With the help of these four steps, he justifies the need for the demonstration. King illustrates the city of Birmingham as “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States,” (King 2). Here King is able to show that injustices are present in Birmingham, which further justifies his reason for a peaceful demonstration. King proceeds to speak about his method of protesting. He states that negotiation was not met, and that “[their] hopes had been blasted,” that like “victims of a broken promise,” their wishes had been disregarded, (King 2).

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748 Words | 3 Pages

King Illustrated many of the discrimination and cruelty that was taking place in the South. For instances, he wrote about how the cruel mobs were lynching mothers and fathers, drowning brothers and sisters. Also, Policemen, who are the law, kicking and killing black people. It was also evident that African Americans were poor in the society. He then writes about how can a parent explain to his/her child the discrimination that is taking place.

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494 Words | 2 Pages

The purpose of Martin Luther King Jr.’s (MLK) words were to gain support from the white clergymen by tugging at their heartstrings, while knowing that at heart they were righteous men who understood the word of God like no other. While held captive in Birmingham County Jail, MLK was criticized for his actions, which were deemed “untimely” and “unwise.” Dr.King was a patient man who knew that reacting with anger would only upset the clergy further. So he sat down and wrote a letter to any man who would listen and explained why he was standing up for the oppressed. In Letters from a Birmingham Jail, Dr.King explained the hardships a black person faces everyday to a white man who will never experience the prejudice and heartbreak of racial discrimination.

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562 Words | 3 Pages

He does this by using lines such as “When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim”. By using this kind of incendiary language and sentence structure he lets the audience envision how horrible it would be to see this happening to you or your own friends. Through the emotions he provokes, King is able to pursue the reader to hear what he has to say about these outrage of acts. King asserts negotiation is the best way to resolve problems, but when it was not an option on the table, he obliges to confront injustices using nonviolent direct action. He emphasized “the purpose of the direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.

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959 Words | 4 Pages

Although that was enough reason to be in Birmingham King goes on further to say that he is in Birmingham because injustice is here. King says he couldn’t ignore the fact there was injustice in Birmingham regardless if he was an outsider or not. King goes on to say that “injustice anywhere is a danger to justice everywhere” this builds on the theory that “whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Defending his belief on just and unjust laws, King uses a quote of St. Augustine the quote says, “A unjust law is no law at all.” King uses this to answer the criticism on how can you advocate people to obey one law but breaking others.

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732 Words | 3 Pages

He also states, “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.” (King). By expressing how much he believes in the American dream and a new dawn, it reassures people that even though there is little progress at a time, King will always fight not only for himself, but his family, friends, and all those who are not held to the same respect. Along with calming someone, you can inspire others with your

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642 Words | 3 Pages

In 1963, Martin Luther King delivered one of the most influential and impactful speeches in history. King's I Have a Dream speech was consistently powerful assertions of emotional appeals, repetition and paradox. In King’s speech, he utilizes pathos to build a relationship between his black and white audience. This is evident through his references to both  black and white children and the history of slavery which appealed to the audience members of the older generation.

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