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What Is The Allusions In A Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Birmingham was the most racist town in the United States before the Civil Rights Movement. 1963 Birmingham became the center of protests and racial protests when the Civil Rights Movement gained more traction. Eight white clergymen characterized Birmingham as in a state of disorder in numerous letters as a result of vicious onslaughts of disruptive demonstrations led by black citizens to fight against the injustice of segregation. Martin Luther King Jr., an avid freedom fighter at the time, heard these warped perspectives and wrote against them in his written message, “A Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Through a disappointed and urgent tone, King uses allusion to relate to biblical events to justify his credibility and belonging by drawing parallels, clear, …show more content…

To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience,” (King 3). He states that Christians in the past took great strides and risks to hold off against injustice, to relate to the similar risks taken by the Black community of Birmingham to protest against injustice. Ultimately, through his allusions to the Bible, King states that what is happening now is simply a repeat of what has already happened in the past, and how these events have already been experienced through iconic Biblical figures to draw connections and bring the issues in Birmingham to a wider historical context. After King alluded to the Bible to further justify his actions and the actions of the F in Birmingham, he created numerous counterarguments to the Clergymen. One key theme of the clergymen’s reasoning is that they make illogical claims. This makes it very easy for King to cut into their cheap words and dissect their poorly crafted arguments through a calm tone and indifferent, thoughtful thinking

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The letter of Birmingham jail written by Martin Luther King Jr remains one of the best-known texts of the civil rights era. Its success is due to the the efficient use of rhetorical devices that he used flawlessly as well as the way he positioned his claims, One of many of these devices was an allusion, where King presents associations with his text and religion where King presents associations with his text and religious figures and historical events that emphasize the theme he is presenting. An example of an allusion can be seen in paragraph 3 when King quotes “the prophets of the eighth century B.C.” and “the Apostle Paul”. , Figures are a very strong factor in this text. Martin Luther King Jr also known as King provided a comparison between

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Asking a questions to open a transition gave King the opportunity to make certain points from the clergymen’s statement sound absurdly wrong. “Isn’t negotiation a better path?” (King 11) opened King’s argument that negotiation, prefered by the clergymen and all, is indeed fostered through non-violent demonstrations like the ones put together by King and his followers. Asking the question of negotiation and then proceeding to answer the question created a stronger argument for King that allowed him to show his audience that he was in fact agreeing with them, only to some degree. “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?”

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Letter From Birmingham Jail In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for leading a nonviolent protest against Jim Crow Laws in Birmingham, Alabama. While in his jail cell, King wrote a letter to the Alabama clergymen defending and explaining his reason for nonviolent protesting and his involvement in protests outside his own town. Martin Luther King Jr. uses several literary devices such as, pathos, allusions, and parallelism to address the clergymen about nonviolent protesting, injustice within communities and the nation, and his disappointment in the church.

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Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, which was written in April 16, 1963, is a passionate letter that addresses racial segregation and all the injustices to the black American society. He writes this letter as a response to the eight clergymen, but it also became one of the most influential letters in defense of nonviolent movement ever written. Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the country and the most violent. Even after segregation was found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1954. In Birmingham, white and black Americans were very much separate with “white only” hotels, restaurants, and even bathrooms.

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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”.

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King’s purpose for using rhetoric is that the world needs change and needs to improve for equality. Claims that a lot of people have faith in the movement like a 72 year old who said one of the most powerful quotes in the letter, “my feet is tired, but my soul is rested.” (King 182). Another powerful quote stated in the letter is, “If I have said anything that is an overstatement of the truth and is indicative of an unreasonable impatience, I beg for forgiveness.” (King 182).

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In the letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr addresses his audience by defining what qualifies an action or law to be just and unjust. He describes a just law as a “code that squares away with the moral law or the law of God” (King). Then he describes the unjust law as being “a code that is out of the harmony with the moral law” (King). Kings definitions compare well with the dictionary definitions because both agree that just laws are based on a moral code. He uses the strategy of examples and counter examples in order to define both of the words and give his audience a clear understanding of their meaning.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote a lengthy letter called "Letter from Birmingham Jail," to respond to a public statement of concern which was expressed by eight white clergymen from the South. In this letter, King defends his action and also describes how his nonviolent direct action is an effective way to resist against racism and segregation. In paragraph 14 and 15 of his letter, King uses parallelism and historical allusions to emphasize the blatant cruelties that colored people faced which create pathos and to express his thoughts for obeying and breaking “just or unjust” laws. In paragraph 14, King connects with Pathos, when he shows examples of painful experiences that the colored people, including himself, felt.

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He utilizes this style to persuade the moderate clergy. He answers their prior criticism with respect and acknowledges that they are men of good will (King 800). When using his persuasive writing style, King utilizes analogies to push forward his agenda of equality. For example, the clergy assume that the actions of the peaceful protestors lead to future violence, so they ought to be condemned (King 806). King uses an analogy to demonstrate that this line of thinking is fallacious.

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King uses the rhetorical device of anology which argues against charges the

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He as well emphasizes the importance of the demonstration in moral and historical grounds. In this letter, King explains the importance and the planning of the Birmingham demonstration. King illustrates this when he faces the criticism of his demonstrations as “unwise and untimely” (King 1). He shares key features to his anti-violence movement: “determining whether injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action” (King 1).

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Dr King wrote a direct response to the eight clergymen from Alabama in a confinement cell in Birmingham, Alabama which is now known as “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” It addresses the wrong-doings and injustices going on in Birmingham. King was arrested for being part of a peaceful protest against segregation that had not been approved to be marched in that area. King argues that publicly showing that people including him are against segregation is better than just negotiating and having the “Negro community” patiently wait around for society to move toward civil rights and that demanding social justice provokes individuals and groups to act out, regardless of how peaceful the method may be. Dr King explains why it is okay for him to be a part

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Take, for example, King compares his presence in Birmingham to that of Apostle Paul, “ I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town” (King 3). One of the biggest criticism of King’s involvement in the non-violent protest in Alabama is that King is someone that is not from Birmingham. He is from Atlanta, the clergymen and others believed that he is an outsider interfering with the work of the Alabamians. Martin Luther King uses an allusion to Apostle Paul in order to refute one of the criticisms the clergymen made against King.

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804 Words | 4 Pages

Birmingham, 1963, was characterized by a vicious onslaught of disruptive demonstrations led by the black citizens of Birmingham to fight against the injustice of segregation. Martin Luther King Junior, an avid freedom fighter at the time, heard these warped perspectives and wrote against them in what is known as “A Letter from Birmingham”. Detailed in his letter was his response to the white clergymen of Birmingham, who stated that black people were being disruptive in their demonstrations to fight for justice, and how they were showing hatred, impatience, and violence. Through a disappointed and urgent tone, King uses allusion to relate to biblical events to justify his credibility, appeals to empathy through vivid anecdotes and metaphors to clearly define the injustice, and uses logical reasoning and repetition throughout the letter to justify their

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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.

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