ipl-logo

What Is King's Argument In Letter From Birmingham Jail

666 Words3 Pages

Letter from Birmingham Jail When injustice occurs what will you do? Will you stand idly by and do nothing, or will you be like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Who wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” who argued that what was going on in the Southern States was wrong that the White Clergymen were the ones at wrong here. King’s argument begins with him writing back to the clergymen who sent him “The Public Statement” who have criticized the demonstrations King was leading in Birmingham. They told King that he should wait until racial injustice was taken care of, that he was an outsider who had no right to be there, and his actions were causing violence. King had a right to argue for black rights but this was overlooked by the white clergymen. King’s arguments were more valid than anything the clergymen could possibly think of. King uses the rhetorical device of anology which argues against charges the …show more content…

First of all, King used anologies to make his point. The clergymen call him an extremist, but he lists many respected people to counteract that comment. Like God “The others Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth, and goddess and thereby, rose above his environment.” King includes this piece since the Clergymen are very religious people and they, too, follow God t . King uses this to too compare himself with god which was also a so called “extremist” which might all too make the Clergymen rethink what they just did and questions themselves of who is the real extremist and if King is truly right. As a matter of fact, King also brings this piece of anology of the issue of what is legal and what is not legal here he states a piece of history that we should not forget “We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did was ‘Legal’ and everything the Hungarian Freedom Fighters did in Hungary was illegal”. He includes this because the statement shows something in history that is happening how everything

Show More
Related
194 Words | 1 Pages

In King’s letter from Birmingham jail, he structures his piece by providing what the white majority has to say, and then afterwards he explains what he has to say. Throughout his piece King summarizes what the white majority has to say, and then he counters it. One example where he uses summary is when he summarizes the white majority’s idea that the non-violent demonstration King took part in was untimely. He starts off his summary with, “One of the basic point in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have been taken in Birmingham is untimely…” He then goes more specific and explains that the white majority is asking why they did not give the city administration more time to act, and continues to summarize the white

Read More
232 Words | 1 Pages

Others might say all leaders are rebels because they perform illegal actions to get what they want. For example, King, Martin Luther Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, states, “But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during this time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal.” This means Mr.King would’ve helped unexplored Jews in Hitler 's Germany even if it meant going against the law. This shows Mr.King, a leader representing rebellion as he states he wouldn 't have a problem braking authority. Nevertheless not all leaders are rebels.

Read More
254 Words | 2 Pages

Dr. King appeals more to the heart, although he appeals to logic he appeals to the heart more in his messages. In his big speech “I Have A Dream,” he used the what the black people went through to get to their hearts, he used terms they have been called such as dirty niggers, that hit there heart. In his other famous message “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” he uses terms of slavery, what the blacks went through to appeal to them, Chains of Discrimination… (King 282 paragraph 32). King often uses emotion to appeal to people. Such as in his letter “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” he refers to the term “dirty nigger lovers,” (King, 282 paragraph 32).

Read More
448 Words | 2 Pages

Martin Luther King, Jr. attempts to persuade clergymen to follow in his civil rights movement through exhibiting his knowledge over just and unjust laws, displaying peaceful behavior, and empathetic diction. King was very knowledgeable about laws and his right as a human. King stated laws in his letter to the clergymen, which displayed his credibility. He did not only state laws, he also stated just and unjust laws. King stated, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?”

Read More
815 Words | 4 Pages

King uses rhetoric in The Letter of Birmingham Jail to advance his purpose powerfully. King writes this letter as a response to the eight clergymen that indirectly target his actions and state false accusations. These eight clergymen do not understand the rationale King advocates throughout his non-violent protests, therefore King retaliates by writing a letter. This letter uses rational tone throughout to get these eight men and even more so the public to understand the purpose of his activist movements.

Read More
804 Words | 4 Pages

does use historical and biblical allusions through out his whole letter, there are two allusions that really stand out. On page 289 paragraph 31 Martin Luther King Jr. is referring to the clergymen letter of calling himself an “extremist” King proclaims “ But although I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist......... Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “your enemies, bless the, that cure you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use and persecute you”. In this biblical allusions Marting Luther King Jr. talks about God being an extremist he does this because does it not just create common ground for everyone who knows those are Gods words but is use effectively to his power. When Marting Luther King calls God an extremist he goes on saying “ the question is not whether we will be an extremist, but what kind of extremist” these two follow after one another because some not all people think it is insane to love your enemies, to bless them because they are bringing you down but people go by it because it is the right thing to do so with that being said Martin Luther King Jr. is claiming he might be considered an “extremist” now for doing something out of the ordinary

Read More
333 Words | 2 Pages

In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr. is responding to criticism of the peaceful protests and sit-in’s that were taking place in Birmingham, which led to his being arrested and the reason that he was in jail. He first responds to the accusation of being an “outsider” by setting the stage for his being in Birmingham due to being invited because of his ties to the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights organization and due to the fact that he is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Next, Martin Luther King expands on his moral beliefs that there is “injustice” in the way that Birmingham is “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States”.

Read More
1546 Words | 7 Pages

King uses biblical allusions to appeal to the eight white clergymen and their religious affiliation when he states his duty to carry the “gospel of freedom beyond his home town... Like Paul.” His final point of this section is the clergymen’s failure to recognize the underlying causes of the demonstrations they so harshly condemn, a failure causing further ignorance and confusion on racial

Read More
1522 Words | 7 Pages

A Letter From Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. is a name that will never be forgotten, and that will go down in the books for all of time. He was foremost a civil rights activist throughout the 1950s and 1960s. during his lifetime, which lasted from January of 1929 to April of 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and a social activist and was known for his non- violent protests. He believed that all people, no matter the color, have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take a direct action rather than waiting forever for justice to come through and finally be resolved. In the Spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stated in a speech that Birmingham was among one of the most segregated cities in the world.

Read More
563 Words | 3 Pages

MLK’s ultimate claim is that the church is to blame for these happenings and “the judgement of God is upon the Church as never before”(276). King stated how even the people who were in the church trying to fight for justice had been looked down upon and some had been kicked out of their own churches. King’s claims were passionately presented. He relentlessly provided evidence to prove his position on the issue of injustice and also showed ample amounts of examples to solve these problems.

Read More
865 Words | 4 Pages

King alludes to several Biblical and historical figures and events in order to justify his actions and decisions. Take, for example, how King refers to Jesus as an extremist for love by recounting the verse, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (King). Dr. King challenges the clergymen’s claims of being extremist by highlighting that Jesus himself was an extremist because Jesus was an important religious figure not only in Christianity but the world which exemplifies Dr. King’s actions and nonviolent demonstrations and refutes the clergymen’s claims of being extremist. King also makes sure to capture the feelings of all Americans, not just the religious, by suggesting that Abraham Lincoln was also an extremist when he said the words “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free” (King). Dr. King challenges the clergymen’s negative connotation of being an extremist by noting that Lincoln’s philosophies would have been considered extremist at the time, and how those extremist ideas lead to the abolishment of slavery because Lincoln was a popular and notable US president whose actions had a resemblance to what King was trying to achieve.

Read More
921 Words | 4 Pages

In this particular passage, King addresses his Christian and Jewish brothers and makes two important confessions. First, he admits that he has been extremely disappointed in the so-called "white

Read More
829 Words | 4 Pages

Injustices in Birmingham While sitting in the Birmingham jail in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., writes a powerful and emotional letter to the clergymen of Birmingham. In his letter, he responds to the harsh criticism and injustices he received for simply protesting peacefully without a permit. King states in his letter, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Read More
1119 Words | 5 Pages

In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he provides answers to fundamental metaphysical questions regarding the nature of the human soul. Though his letter is addressed to a group of eight clergymen criticizing his direct action campaign in Birmingham, his ultimate aim is the uplifting of human personhood. Underlying King’s letter is a philosophical, hylemorphic anthropology which puts an anchor deep into a certain conception of personhood, and binds all people who are to read it. He looks deeply at the nature of human beings, as rational creatures who are made to love and be loved, and from thence, deliberates that there is a universal Gospel of Freedom and Justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. asserts that there are universal principles justifying what actions are morally right and wrong, just and unjust.

Read More
530 Words | 3 Pages

Dr. King's, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is poignant in many ways in regard to a "big picture" viewpoint of our society. Overall, it speaks to the viewpoint that we all have a social responsibility to each other to work against injustice irrespective of where that injustice takes place. "Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail, which was written in April 16, 1963, is a passionate letter that addresses and responds to the issue and criticism that a group of white clergymen had thrown at him and his pro- black American organization about his and his organization's non- violent demonstrative actions against racial prejudice and injustice among black Americans in Birmingham. Dr. King told the local clergy in Birmingham that he understood he was an outsider and he realized that his presence in Birmingham would cause trouble. However, he also felt that he had a moral

Read More

More about What Is King's Argument In Letter From Birmingham Jail

Related Topics

Open Document