...Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a famous activist who played a major role in the civil rights movement, is known for his infamous speeches and letters. “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which defends King's strategy of nonviolence as well as responding to a letter that King received from the clergymen, who criticized King’s demonstrations, is no exception to this pattern in King’s work. Throughout King’s letter many rhetorical devices, such as rhetorical questions, metaphors, and anaphora, are used to shape and build his argument, as well as an abundance of ethical, logical, and emotional appeals. The use of rhetorical devices is a key factor that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used to help develop his letter. King is able to use rhetorical questions,...
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...Martin Lurther king Jr. wrote this long letter while he was arrested and placed into jail, in his response against the unapproved nonviolent protests and reasoning of him being placed into jail. He wants the readers to understand why he did what he did and giving reasoning that supports why he did so too. Overall the letters shows the good intensions he has and how he stands by nonviolence and no harm of others. He doesn't want to become an icon of treat nor does he want the people he stand for become an icon of treat too. He states his views on violence and how immoral the action is, therefore he fully support pure and fighting for justice as moral as possible till the end. He believes strongly that violence should be forbidden and not used...
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...Letter From Birmingham Jail Vs. “I Have a Dream Speech” The first way that a “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and “ I have a Dream” differ are in their intended audience, as one is intended for a group of white clergymen while the other is intended to rally a large group. This difference in audience and how Dr. King chooses to appeal to each of his audiences causes for the choices in language and the purpose of “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and “I have a Dream” to differ. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is addressed to white clergymen, and the purpose of the letter is to defend the demonstrations that were taking place. As Dr. King is trying to defend the demonstrations to these white clergymen, his language choice is quite interesting. One brilliant way that he chooses to defend the demonstrations is by appealing to the white men through his choice of Anglo terms. For instance, in the letter, Dr. King writes, “Just as the prophets of the eighth century century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus saint the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns…I am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town” (King). This choice of wording makes Dr. King’s argument stronger since as these white men disagree with Dr. King and his form of peaceful protest, the white clergymen will not be able to argue back because he is using religious references that if the white men chose to argue against, it would make them look like hypocrites (Eubank). While...
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...King incudes two seminal United States documents in his letter for various reasons. These two documents are the US Constitution and The Declaration of Independence, he includes these two documents because they are wo very well-known documents and mostly Americans can relate to them and know what they are about. By referring to these documents King uses the rhetoric appeal ethos by citing credible sources. King states that they will win their freedom because of the sacred heritage of our nation (King 11). The clergymen passionately applauded the Birmingham Police for keeping “order” and preventing “violence” (King 11). King defines why this statement troubled him by arguing that they would not compliment the police force if they had...
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...During the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement was underway, led by leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. This movement was met with resistance as King and other protesters were arrested in Birmingham, Alabama. While King was in jail, he was criticized for being a part of the non-violent demonstration by eight of his fellow clergymen, who called it unwise and untimely. In response, King wrote a letter justifying his actions. His use of periodic sentences, a transition from a formal tone to a dark passionate tone in combination with dark imagery, and the use of children to support his argument builds up the reader’s emotion and empathy, so the reader understands the reasons behind his protests. King’s use of a periodic sentence helps builds suspense...
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...The Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is considered to be one of the most important written documents of the civil rights era. The letter served as a real, reproducible account of the long road to freedom in a movement was largely centered around actions and spoken words. King directly addresses the government and the clergymen as some of the main culprits behind the lethargy that the nation feels towards the Civil Rights Movement. Overall, there are a couple of audiences that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses throughout his "Letter from Birmingham Jail which includes the civil rights champions, the oppressors who are the government and the clergymen who are seen to be supporting the government in oppressing the freedom...
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...Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote a letter titled "Letter from a Birmingham Jail". In this letter he said, "It is wrong to use corrupt means to attain moral ends....it is just as wrong...to use moral means to preserve immoral ends." How does this quote relate to advancing the dream of freedom and justice in America? “It is wrong to use moral means to attain immoral ends….it is just as wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends…” Martin Luther King uses this quote in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to summarize the actions of the infamous Bull Connor and his policeman who “have used the moral means of nonviolence to maintain the immoral end of flagrant racial injustice.” However, this quote can also be used with relevance to today’s advancing dream of freedom and justice in America....
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...Letter from Birmingham Jail After Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned in Birmingham city jail for a peaceful protest, eight white clergymen from Alabama wrote an article entitled “A Call for Unity”. In it they agreed with the need for desegregation and acknowledged the common social injustices in Birmingham, but ultimately criticized King’s approach and called direct action “unwise and untimely”. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a response to these criticisms as King states in the opening paragraph of the letter addressed to “My Dear Fellow Clergymen”. He has written “Letter from Birmingham Jail” as a response to eight white men who share in his faith, his cause, but dismiss his approach. The audience, also, extends to African Americans at this time, members of the Christian church, and even segregationists willing to read it. It was made public in the June 12, 1963 edition of the Christian Century. The audience, throughout the years, has grown to encompass historians, students, and anyone who has studied the civil rights era. The purpose behind...
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...Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail was written on 16 April 1963. It was written in response to the Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen. In this letter Martin Luther King attempts to explain to the clergyman how and why he demonstrates instead of bring the matters to the courts. In this letter MLK also answers the questions and criticisms that were written to him in the statement from the clergymen. The reason Martin Luther King was in the position that he was was because he stood up against segregation and the issues that had been rising in Alabama. He also was the leader of many non-violent protests and demonstrations during this time. The Letter from Birmingham Jail was written for Alabama Clergymen and for the white...
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...Consider the Lobster in Birmingham in Jail After reading Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and David Foster Wallace's “Consider the Lobster” it became evident that the two pieces had completely different audiences. “Letter From Birmingham Jail” was written during the height of the Civil Rights Movement and directly responded to “A Call for Unity.” “Consider the Lobster” had an audience consisting of foodies. By just the audience itself for which the pieces are written, it becomes clear that the levels of importance vary. Although, the two pieces differ in importance, both Wallace and King use ethos and logos to appeal to the audience. King’s essay is historically significant in that it addresses the deprivation of human rights,...
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...The Birmingham letter from Martin Luther king Jr. addresses the ongoing injustice in the city of Birmingham which has been known as the most violent city against the Negro community. Martin Luther king claims “that whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly”. By all means, he believes that “anyone who lives in the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds”.To outsiders he refers to the Negro community in which the city of Birmingham have demonstrated to have white power suppress the negro community. According to Martin Luther king “an unjust law is no law at all”. He believes that an unjust law degrades human personality. When an unjust law is created it is a code in which a majority group in this...
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...“Letter from Birmingham Jail” In the 1950’s and well through the 1960’s, Martin Luther King Jr. was the main leader of the civil rights movements. There was violence in innocent protesting, cruel bombings, and soul poured speeches. The Civil Right movements, involving people of both skin colors, measured up to a very large sum of events, both implementing segregation and the fight against the segregation. King had experienced many events, both eye opening and cruel, both strong and solid with morals. Yet throughout the turmoil between the differences of both races King did not fail to speak his word. MLK did not fail to make know that what segregation stood for was wrong and treacherous. King did not underestimate his ability to be unwavering...
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...The purpose of Martin Luther King’s words used in the letter from Birmingham Jail was to correct the misconceptions and to advocate the approach of nonviolent civil disobedience. Martin Luther King wanted to get rid of racial injustice by writing the letter. Therefore, the cause is the words he used in the letter, the effect is the civil rights act. First, the cause in the letter was to correct the misconceptions held by clergymen. He wanted to make his point clear in order to get the effect he was hoping for. For example, on page 187, paragraph 3, Martin Luther King states, “But more basically, I am here in Birmingham because injustice is here.” This means he is simply trying to gain justice, and not trying to start a rampage. The tactics...
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...The 8 Alabama Clergyman had asked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to be patient and delay all civil right activities in Birmingham. Saying that these types of issues is a process, and should be dealt with in court. The clergyman also stressed that any marches or campaigns were illegal, without permission. The clergyman also stressed that Dr. King, and his fellow activists who had travelled to Birmingham were mere “outsiders looking in”. (534) He explained how anyone living in the U.S be outsiders. In Dr. King’s letter from Birmingham jail, he responded to all of the clergymen’s criticism. He states that he doesn’t often respond to criticism, but responded in a peaceful tone. He stated he was invited to Birmingham; because there was injustice,...
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...In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a Letter from Birmingham Jail after arrested for peacefully protesting against segregation and racial discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama. The Jim Crow system created segregation laws for blacks and whites having separate bathrooms, schools, and restaurants that existed after the era of slavery. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had expected the support of numerous local religious figures in hopes of uniting to end racial terror. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail King recognizes and replies to every nine detailed criticisms created by the white church and its leaders. What is evident in this letter is that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses emotional, rational, and ethical to persuade those who read his letter. To get his readers feeling emotion King...
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