Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

In a “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King responds to a letter that was addressed to him from several religious leaders, who all expressed their feelings toward King and his actions. They saw him as an outsider, and referred to his actions as “unwise and untimely”. These letters were written during the time of the Civil Rights movement when African-Americans were fighting for justice and equality. The purpose of King’s letter was to explain the reasons behind his actions and to inform them on why the actions he took were necessary. In this analysis I have come to the conclusion that King writes his letter with an ambitious tone to get the reader’s attention, and achieve his purpose by showing them that he is dedicated and serious

He states that not only did some businesses fail to meet their part of the negotiation, but some put forth no effort at all towards the cause. In paragraph eight King makes the statement, “As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us. We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community.” In this statement King appeals to both logic and emotion to achieve his purpose. The first sentence appeals to the reader’s emotions because it describes the feelings of lost hope that King, and other African-American men and women felt after each incident that resulted in them being ignored or pushed aside as if they did not matter, or as if their cause was not worthy of other’s time. In the two following sentences King appeals to the logic of the reader by saying “We had no alternative…” He implies that it is almost as simple as common sense. They had no other option but to take immediate action, because the passive route that they were taking was obviously not making any progress. King achieves his purpose with this rhetorical strategy by giving the reader more knowledge on why their actions had to be direct and could no longer be put on

King disagrees with the accusations, and is at first slightly offended. He argues that as a man of God he went out of his way to ensure that his acts and the acts of his supporters were as nonviolent as possible. He then emphasizes that without his peaceful and orderly conduct chaos and havoc would emerge and the streets of the South would be “flowing with blood”. In this section of the letter king creates very strong imagery. The reader will began to visualize riots, destruction, and death from both white and African-American men in the state of Alabama. King makes the reader appreciate his acts and their lack of violence after they have considered how much worse the circumstances could be. King continues in paragraph thirty by saying, “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained….” King describes to the reader that man can only be oppressed and disadvantaged for so long before they take a stand for freedom. This as well as the failed negotiations, and other injustices in Birmingham initiated Kings actions to march peacefully and create