Trident University
Julia Y. Maldonado
Module 1 Case Assignment
ENG 101: English Composition I
Dr. Joseph “Jay” Avella
18 July 2013

The civil rights leader and activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was most remembered as an effective orator and passionate organizer of social movements. (D.L. Chandler, 2012). His letter from a Birmingham jail written in 1963 explained his ethical, emotional and logical appeal. Martin Luther King was a clergyman and a prominent leader in the civil rights movement. He was an activist and an advocate for the rights of the oppressed African American people and used nonviolent methods in his fight for equality. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is a truly emotionally charged, but particularly logical letter. Martin Luther King appeals to the reader in an effort to make them understand what he and the oppressed people were doing was a necessary step and that it was in love, not hate for those that oppressed them. His emotions in the letter do not come across as hateful but more as frustration in an effort to appeal to the reader. He appeals to the emotions of the reader on several occasions by talking about how the “Negros” were treated but perhaps the emotional appeal that stands out is at the end of his letter. He apologizes for the letter being long and assures the reader that it “would have been much shorter” had he been “writing from a comfortable desk”. He states, “What else can one do when alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?” He only had his own thoughts to listen to and his own emotions to deal with while in jail. This complete solitude gave him nothing else other than to fuel his emotions towards the reaction of people set on putting his efforts down. The way he writes about being in jail is truly