'Letter from Birmingham Jail'"' is a clearly written essay that explains the reasons behind, and the methods of nonviolent civil disobedience, and gently expresses King's disappointment with those who are generally supportive of equal rights for African-Americans. Order can only be held for so long whilst injustice is around. In Martin Luther King Jrs I Have a Dream speech he effectively uses ethos, diction and powerful metaphors to express the brutality endured by African American people. Besides the use of pathos, King uses repetition to enhance the effectiveness of his argument. He also wants the readers to realize that negroes are not to be mistreated and that the mistreatment of negroes could have severe implications as in a violent protest against the laws made by the court. You can order a custom paper by our expert writers. There isn't quite as much of that in "Letter From Birmingham Jail," but it still pops up a couple of times. From this revelation, the audience will also realize that it is no fault of the Negro that they have been left behind in contrast, modern society have been dragging them back through racism. The Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses many problems, including the slow action occuring to stop racial discrimination. In each writing, he uses the devices for many different purposes. However, Martin Luther King Jr is an extremely influential figure in the field of oration and rhetoric. He goes on to add; I am in Birmingham because injustice is here (King 1). Dr. King was considered the most prominent and persuasive man of The Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King then goes on to make an analogy to the Bible, portraying Apostle Pauls proliferation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in parallel to his own efforts, stating, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown (1). King was jailed along with large numbers of his supporters, including hundreds of schoolchildren. and may encompass the audience, as seen while analysing, The audience of a rhetorical piece will shape the rhetoric the author uses in order to appeal, brazen, or educate whoever is exposed. Throughout the work, Letter from Bimingham Jail, Martin Luther constantly uses examples from historical figures in order to unite his argument that action must be taken in order to end discrimination and segregation. It managed to inspire a generation of blacks to never give up and made thousands of white Americans bitterly ashamed of their actions, forging a new start for society. Parallelism, in the way King uses it, connects what seems like small problems to a larger issue. Parallelism is a literary device in itself, but it is also a category under which other figures of speech fall, such as those mentioned previously. Its important to note that his initial readers/supporters greatly impacted the scope of his audience, spreading the letter through handouts, flyers, and press, in the hopes that others would be impacted for the better by the weight of the exigence at hand. Lloyd Bitzer describes rhetorical situation as, a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action to bring about the significant modification of the exigence (6). : "There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community." . This use of parallel structure emphasizes how just and unjust laws can look deceptively similar. In order to do this, Martin Luther King uses several techniques in paragraph thirteen and fourteen of his letter such as repetition, personification, as well as allusion, to support his claim that racial unity has taken too long. In paragraph 15 of his "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King uses. We will write a custom Essay on King's Allusion in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" specifically for you. In parallel structure, a writer repeats the same pattern of words or/and pattern of grammatical structure. Early in his speech, King writes riches of freedom and security of justice and then justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. In these two examples, King is using parallelism to express that the African American wants justice and freedom by repeating them next to each other and mentally connecting them in the readers mind, which is also connected with pathos as the terms King uses subtly emphasize those words and create good feelings in the reader. In the beginning of the speech, King goes back to the Constitution and Declaration of Independence stating that .all men, black or white, were to be granted the same rights (Declaration of Independence). Specifically, King's letter addresses three important groups in the American society: the white American political community, white American religious community, and the black American society. King intended for the entire nation to read it and react to it. Found a perfect sample but need a unique one? MLKs use of pathos and repetition is an effective way to persuade his audience about his position on civil disobedience. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law." The eight clergymen in Birmingham released a public statement of caution regarding the protesters actions as unwise and untimely (King 1), to which Martins letter is a direct response. King spins the constraining pressure to properly represent the movement on its head, using his rhetoric to uplift the underprivileged and leave no room in his language for criticism, proven by the continuous adoption of his messages by the public. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive. Martin Luther King Jr. displays pathos by targeting the audiences emotion by talking about his American dream that could also be other peoples too. In. , Atlantic Media Company, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail/552461/. The audience of Letter From Birmingham Jail was initially the eight clergymen of Birmingham, all white and in positions of religious leadership. He uses parallelism by repeating I had hoped to ironically accuse his attackers. Letter from Birmingham Jail is addressed to clergymen who had written an open letter criticizing the actions of Martin Luther King, Jr. during several protest in, Letter from Birmingham Jail is a letter written by Martin Luther King, Jr. while he was in jail for participating in peaceful protest against segregation. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail.. Martin Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses his fellow clergymen and others who critiqued him for his actions during this time. A letter, as a medium, is constraining as there is one definitive original copy, it is addressed to a small specific group, and since it cannot be directly broadcasted widely, opposed to television or radio, it must be printed or passed along analogically. Both their speeches, I Have a Dream and The Ballot or the Bullet may have shared some common traits, but at the same time, differed greatly in various aspects. His letter has become one of the most profound pieces of literature of the 20th century, as King uses vivid examples and eloquent rhetorical devices to counter all nine arguments. All of these factors influence each other to shape rhetoric, which Bitzer describes as, pragmatic; it comes into existence for the sake of something beyond itself (3), with Martin Luther Kings Letter From Birmingham Jail being a shining example. He uses rhetorical devices such as repetition, analogy, and rhetorical questions. Correspondingly, King urges the clergy to reconsider the horse-and-buggy pace of their methods of action through his logos. Here are more examples of parallel structure within "Letter from Birmingham Jail" that I find especially powerful. This evidence, revealing MLKs use of pathos, was used to reach out to the emotional citizens who have either experienced or watched police brutality. In this way, King asserts that African-Americans must act with jet-like speed to gain their independence. King organized various non-violent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama that resulted in his arrest. Original: Apr 16, 2013. By addressing his respect for the clergymen, feigned or not, he is acknowledging the effectiveness of respect to those in power, whether they may or may not deserve it. Emotional appeal uses intense words and charged language to grab listeners to get them to keep listening. Who had criticize Martin Luther King because he was simply doing something that was right and violence was not needed for King. Pathos are present more often in the I Have A Dream speech, mainly because he is bravely facing a crowd, speaking from the heart, rather than formality. Lines 14-43: King provides three different types of reasons in his letter to justify his presence in Birmingham: Organizational reasons, religious or historical reasons, and moral reasons. As King disproves the arguments of the white clergymen, he utilizes antithesis to create logos; furthermore, he calls the reader to take action against injustice across the nation. The way Dr. King constructs his argument is as if he was preaching his argument to his congregation. Several clergy who negatively critiqued Kings approach of seeking justice, wrote A Call for Unity, arguing that his protests were senseless and improper. Initially, the eight Birmingham clergymen are the audience and while they were not overtly racist, King uses rhetoric meant to have them understand his urgency. Lloyd Bitzer describes rhetorical situation as, a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action to bring about the significant modification of the exigence (6). Constraints bring light to the obstacles this rhetoric may face, whether it be social, political, economical, etc. This letter is a prime example of Kings expertise in constructing persuasive rhetoric that appealed to the masses at large. Analysing a rhetorical situation clarifies why a text was created, the purpose in which it was written, and why the author made specific choices while writing it. In Letter From Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King responds to the subjectivity of law and the issue he paramounts by using precise and impactful rhetoric from inside of his jail cell. 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. MarkAHA. He uses a large number of rhetorical devices in his letter to reach his goal, including point of view, imagery, and rhetorical questions. you can use them for inspiration and simplify your student life. Martin Luther King's 'Letter From Birmingham Jail' 16 terms. These circumstances lead us to our next rhetorical focus: audience. Whether this be by newspaper, flyers, or restated by another in speech, the spread of information is slower and potentially more controllable. King is saying that if we allow injustice to happen in some places, we risk it happening to everyone. King has explained this through many examples of racial situations, factual and logical reasoning, and . In his "Letter form a Birmingham Jail" and his "I have a Dream speech, Dr. King uses metaphor, repetition and parallel structure to provide visual images which may evoke empathy in the readers and audience and emphasize the ideas he presents: the argument for civil rights and the goal to end segregation. We believe that King states in the first sentence himself that he does not usually comment upon the criticism of his work. Martin Luther King Jr. was born to a middle class family and was well educated. Throughout the essay, King uses several powerful tones to complement his strong opinion, Martin Luther King Jrs Letter from Birmingham Jail is one his many writings on segregation and racial inequality towards blacks in the southern American states. In Martin Luther Kings Jr, Letter from Birmingham Jail the letter was a persuasive attempt to get Americans to finally see the inequality in the United States of America. With this addressed, his audience was truly the population of the United States, especially Birmingham, with a focus on those who withheld and complied with the oppression of African American citizens, even if not intentionally. Firstly, and most daunting, is the constraint of the letters audience. King defends his primary thesis all throughout the length of his letter, and the arguments that he has made to prove that his thesis is true and valid will be the focus of this rhetorical analysis.

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