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Mlk letter from birmingham jail analysis
Mlk letter from birmingham jail opinion and thought
MLK’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail essay
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used pathos, ethos, and logos to reach his audience and explain to them the pain that comes from segregation during a difficult time in civil rights history. The letter was written as a response to several critics that were white religious leaders of the South. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. started out by using pathos to connect to the readers emotions. He explained the difficulty that one must go through on a daily basis as a colored individual. For example, Dr. King had to explain to his daughter why she can not go to a new amusement park because it is not opened to those that are colored and she does not understand because of her age and innocence.
Do you ever think what Martin Luther King Jr. has expressed in his writings? The speech “I have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. attracted a huge crowd of people at The Lincoln Memorial for the march on Washington. In addition to his speech Martin Luther King Jr. also wrote “ The Letter from Birmingham Jail” because he was in jail and he wrote it to 8 white clergymen. King uses logos and pathos in his letter and his speech to appeal his audiences.
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
He also pushed for the idea of fighting for justice and civil right, by organizing non violent protest and campaign which helped bring in “tension” in society that will let people recognize and to not let it be ignored. Overall Martin Luther King jr utilizes pathos, ethos , and logos very effectively.
During the 1960s, the country was in upheaval which caused division between the government and the citizens. Two influential men of the South, George C. Wallace and Martin Luther King, cry out to America in favor of freedom, nevertheless their understanding of freedom of choice was conflicted. The Civil Rights Movement was at a pinnacle state when Wallace and King clarified their beliefs pertaining to true freedom and who was entitled them. The two contending views attempted to move the people in the direction which they believed was in the best interest of the country. The Kairos, Ethos, Logos and Pathos method will be used to compare the speeches and the impact they had on our country’s history and future.
Martin Luther King used persuasive speech to get his points across. Throughout his letter, he presented an issue, restating opposers’ points of view and the value it holds, ending with a suggestion which appeals to all sides of the issue. He also countered these criticisms with honesty and equity,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on the 15th of January, 1929, and received the Nobel Peace prize in December 1964. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is known as the figurehead of the civil rights movement. In early April of 1963, Dr. King was arrested for participating in a march with no permit from the city officials in Birmingham, Alabama. Later, while he was in jail King wrote a letter in response to a letter in the local newspaper written by a couple of clergymen that had scorned his protests and marches because they believed that they were unwise and untimely. Within his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” he voices his reasons and ideas as to why he did what he did.
During the days of segregation Martin Luther King was trying to make changes in society. He would use different things such as pathos, logos, and ethos to persuade the people of America to stop violence and start non-violent resistance. King also shows the difference of being the oppressed and the oppressor by explaining how not doing anything to make a change is being the oppressor and is still wrong in every way. Martin Luther King explains himself through ethos, logos, and pathos to show right from wrong and oppressed and the oppressor to make a difference in America during the Civil RIghts Movement. He used ethos the most in his speeches such as relating to bible verses or explaining the struggle that the black american has to go through every single day.
One being when he said “And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding. ”(paragraph 10). This could encourage others to be more accepting of African Americans because when others hear Martin Luther recognizing that they are getting results and that more and more people are seeing the truth, they hop on the bandwagon and join with everyone else believing what they believe. Also, when “MLK” says “It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence. ”(paragraph 12) he is making it clear that this problem has gone on for far too long and needs to be dealt with.
By using the rhetorical features, MLK’s speech reached a different level of effectiveness for his audience. Using credibility, authority, trustworthiness and similarity to build a relationship by using evidence, MLK achieved ethos. Then by stating his values and creating imagery achieved but hos vocabulary he effective used pathos. Finally, by his clarity, goals, evidence and consistency, MLK appropriately reached his audience logical and effectively using logos. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for his great speeches, accomplishments and his leadership skills, but also for the sincerity of his heart for the freedom and unity of all people.
1. Ethos, Logos, and Pathos are important aspects in Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. The meaning behind Ethos is to appeal to ethics, which means convincing readers of the author’s credibility, meanwhile Pathos is an appeal to emotion, and is used in literature to convince readers of an argument by getting their emotions involved. Last but not least, Logos is the appeal to logic and is used to persuade readers using a force of reason. These terms are important in MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail because the foundation of the letter is built upon ideas of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.
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.
In “A Letter From A Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr defends his use of nonviolent protest in order to accomplish racial equality. In the letter, Dr. King uses ethos, diction, and allusions when defending nonviolent protest which makes his argument really strong. His goal is to make the clergymen help him fight racial equality. He uses ethos to build up credibility.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an important figure in gaining civil rights throughout the 1960’s and he’s very deserving of that title as seen in both his “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” letter. In both of these writings Dr. King uses logos - logical persuasion - and pathos - emotional appeal - to change the opinions of people who were for segregation and against civil rights. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. MLK uses both ways to gain the attention and agreement of the audience but, he uses pathos not just more, but in a more relatable way in order to appeal to his audience.
MLK uses appeal to emotion and appeal to logic equally throughout his speeches. For example, in his speech “I Have a Dream”, he declaims,
