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Summary Of The Letter From Birmingham Jail And I Have A Dream

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In MLK’s famous letter from Birmingham Jail and “I Have a Dream”, he uses different types of persuasive arguments such as appealing logic as well as charging his language to affect people’s emotions. Although Dr. King uses mostly pathos in the letter from Birmingham Jail, he still uses facts and evidence to support his claims. By appealing to both the logical and emotional side of people Dr. King provides good reasons to join the fight for African American rights and the end to segregation. Despite using mostly charged language aimed at people who play more the moral side of life than the people who play more to the logical side of life, Dr. King still states strong evidence about the injustices African Americans face daily. “We have waited more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights.” (The …show more content…

“Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” (I Have a Dream by MLK page 262). Using religion was a big part of Dr. King´s argument because he himself was a Baptist Minister and believed that God created people equally and it helped persuade other people who had religious beliefs similar to his to help end the suffering he and his fellow black brothers and sisters faced. The most charged part of either “The Birmingham Letter” or “I Have a Dream” is in “I Have a Dream” where he describes his dream. “I have a dream today!” (I Have a Dream by MLK page 263) is one of the most charged parts of his speech because he comes out and bluntly says that what he wants to happen and change is merely just a dream right

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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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The famous Martin Luther king’s letter, The wise Martin Luther king wrote this letter to not only persuade but to make a change on the rising problem which you will read in, '' Letter from Birmingham Jail ''. This famous and informative yet persuading letter touches bases on the problems that surround us, whether physically or verbally. Martin Luther king thought enough was enough and that we should take a stand. He tells us this by using lots of ways to persuade his readers by the act of using metaphors. He uses similes to give us an example of what he means.

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814 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr., an activist and leader for the civil rights movement, wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail and gave the famous “I Have A Dream” speech. While the letter is not as publicly acknowledged today, Dr. Kings speech will go down in history as one of the most influential and well-remembered speeches of all time. In Dr. Kings letter from Birmingham Jail, he addresses a group of men criticizing his actions in Birmingham. While holding his ground, Dr. King expresses his concerns using respectful words while providing straightforward examples of what they accused him of, and why they are wrong in those accusations.

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1688 Words | 7 Pages

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail” on April 16th, 1963 after King had been arrested for leading a peaceful and nonviolent demonstration that was held in order to bring attention to the cruel racist treatment of blacks Americans. Despite being written in a jail cell, the beautifully crafted letter effectively used ethos, pathos, and logos; three powerful rhetorical devices that work to clearly convey his message to the target audience. His viewpoint was that of a frustrated African American man who had seen various forms of racial discrimination and segregation throughout the course of his lifetime. Nevertheless, he was also a devout follower of Christ who had a great deal of patience and was knowledgeable about the principles and practices of civil disobedience.

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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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The speeches, 'I Have a Dream,' 'Letter From Birmingham Jail,' and 'Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr,' all aim to persuade listeners to do something. In 'I Have a Dream,' King wants people to persevere in the pursuit of civil rights. In 'Letter From Birmingham Jail,' King wants people to act instead of being part of those who don’t. And in 'Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr,' Kennedy wants people to treat each other well and pray for Martin Luther King Jr. In 'I Have a Dream,’ King states, "There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?

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1408 Words | 6 Pages

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King uses multiple devices of persuasive rhetoric in order to fight injustice. King, a reverend, was a large advocate for civil rights in midst of the great movement calling for equality among all men and women. His letter is widely renowned for King’s proclamation that “in any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of facts to determine whether injustice exists, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action” (par. 6). His usage of tone and carefully placed anaphora aid King in this persuasive essay by further providing insight and evidence that support King’s four points. From Critical Thinking to Argument defines tone as “attitude towards self, topic, and

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One of the most important pieces of literature to exist in the Civil Rights era has helped future generations to come to understand the struggles of activists of the time period. This piece of history is “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” written by Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 16th 1963. He was jailed because he was protesting the treatments of Blacks. In the letter he uses different types of modes of persuasions. King uses authority, logic, and emotion in a “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to convince white clergy during the Civil Rights Movement that his nonviolent actions are both timely and wise.

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In the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. , multiple themes and/or ideas are present throughout the letter, but the most prominent theme would be equality. This document is a letter written from a prison cell trying to make the people who put him there understand that he is the same as them, that he is equal. It expressing his need to let the civil rights movement be heard. Around the third page into the letter King Jr says, “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.” this quote exemplifys the idea that the african american people can no longer sit idly by and watch as they get abused, harrased, or worse.

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546 Words | 3 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham Jail was written so respectfully while still addressing many valuable points of disagreement in response to a public statement made by white religious leaders regarding a non-violent demonstration he was involved in and arrested for. I found it kind of humorous that as I was reading A Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963), I thought, this is more like a book than a letter, and then Martin Luther King, Jr. writes “never before have I written a letter this long – or should I say book,” (p.6). I believe that what MLK is arguing throughout his letter is for understanding.

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1546 Words | 7 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader in the Civil Rights movement, the son and grandson of a minister, and one heck of a letter writer. As he sits in a cell of Birmingham Jail in 1963, he responds to criticism from eight white clergymen. Though this letter was intended for the judgemental and condescending men of high faith, his response touched the hearts and minds of the entire U.S. population, then, and for years to come. In his tear-jerking, mind-opening letter, King manages to completely discredit every claim made by the clergymen while keeping a polite and formal tone. Metaphors, allusions, and rhetorical questions are used in the most skillful way to support his argument and ultimately convince his audience of the credibility behind his emotional, yet factual, claims.

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516 Words | 3 Pages

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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907 Words | 4 Pages

Because of his skill in creating such pieces of writing, as well as his influential role within the Civil Rights Movement, and the reminder that Letter from Birmingham Jail provides of these trying times, his letter should continue to be included within A World of Ideas. Persuasion within writing is an important tool to be utilized in order to garner support for one’s position. During the 1960s, equality between different races was a very controversial issue which required a certain finesse when being discussed. Martin Luther King demonstrated precisely this sort of finesse when writing about the racial injustices faced by black Americans, as well as when refuting the criticisms he faced from white clergymen.

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920 Words | 4 Pages

In the two stories written by Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have A Dream”, and “Letter From Birmingham Jail” were two stories that truly impacted history. These two readings talk about one being about King Jr. tell his speech on the footsteps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., about him having a dream, where blacks and whites can unite. In both writings by King Jr., mostly in his “I Have A Dream” speech, King Jr. uses a lot of persuasive techniques, mostly pathos.

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The “I Have a Dream” speech is well known throughout history to be one of the most famous speeches to be on the subject of civil rights. Throughout the entirety of “I Have a Dream”, Dr. King uses pathos more than logos. “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.”

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