Morals Versus Laws in The Eyes of King

In the mid twentieth century, America was full of segregation and inequality between the blacks and whites. One man did everything in his power to get equal rights for the races until it eventually killed him, literally. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man who dedicated his entire life striving towards African American equality. Without using violence, King fought hard and strong for what he believed in, and was passionate about, which was civil disobedience, that is defined as a peaceful form of protest. Practicing civil disobedience addressing his demands for racial equality landed Martin Luther King, Jr. a spot in Birmingham Jail. The incarceration resulted in a large amount of free time which he used to complete a lengthy letter addressing the clergymen who criticized his actions, calling them untimely and unwise. These criticisms did not sit well with King and therefore, he formulated “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” Although long winded, Martin Luther King, Jr. uses repetition, in “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to his benefit, in addition with ethos and pathos to sway his audience and develop his reasons for his civil disobedience.

Ending at an astounding eleven pages, Martin Luther King, Jr. covers a great amount of information throughout “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. The length of this letter most likely was due to the fact he was locked in a cell with nothing better to occupy himself with, King admitted himself, in the last page of the letter, “Never before have I written so long a letter” followed by, “...what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?” (11). King’s letter may have been shorter if he was not confined in a small, bland, lifeless, prison cell, however those were his circumstances and he made the length of the letter work to his advantage because he covered all possible points of argument that could be opposing him. After reading this letter the audience is left with their questions answered. If anyone questioned his reasonings behind his actions, chances are they would no longer be wondering, due to the fact King addressed all possible concerns. This is an effective style of writing because his audience will be satisfied with their thirst for answers quenched.

In addition to the length of the letter, Martin Luther King, Jr. uses vast amounts of repetition in “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. This is another strategy that assisted King with the impact of this letter. This rhetorical device of repetition aided him and helped the reader retain the information at hand. With the use of repetition, ideas are ingrained within his audience. An example of repetition is when Martin Luther King, Jr. mentions the use of just and unjust laws. Throughout his letter, King addresses his beliefs regarding just and unjust laws and how not obeying unjust laws is moral. This is known as civil disobedience as King states, ‘I would agree with St. Augustine that “An unjust law is no law at all”’ (4), followed by another quote in a following paragraph “To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just.” (4). An unjust law may or may not be morally correct, and it is this reason King believes being a moral person is much more important than abiding by the laws. The idea just versus unjust law is a recurring theme throughout the letter and is brought up multiple times throughout this piece. This repetition, may be seen as redundant to some, however, it is able to clearly decipher the difference between a just and unjust law, while giving multiple examples as well as supporting each one of them with massive amounts of evidence to prove his points validity to the reader.

Pathos is a rhetorical device that Martin Luther King, Jr. masters and uses, to gain sympathy from his audience. King effectively incorporates pathos into his letter in many different instances. Specifically, Martin Luther King, Jr. writes one paragraph that efficiently captures the emotional essence of his civil disobedience. This paragraph, while explaining various hardships the African Americans had to endure, is meant to gain a great emotional reaction and feeling of sympathy from the audience, and it does. A crucial part of this paragraph is when King references his daughter’s early struggles, saying, “...when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children.” (3) Martin Luther King is using innocence of a child to depict how early children start to feel segregated, and how soon they begin to despise the whites. People generally feel sympathetic towards children and this could be why King mentioned his daughter and the hardships she was already beginning to experience at such a young age. This may have been the reason King included several examples of children experiencing inequality throughout his work.

A second rhetorical device that Martin Luther King, Jr. mastered is ethos. Ethos is a device used when trying to gain trust from the reader, ethos can also show the author's moral character. Morality is something that king focuses on with great efforts. By reading this letter, the audience can clearly understand that King is a moral character. A way that King demonstrates that he is moral, is by explaining that disobeying an immoral law although illegal can be moral. King states, “ One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty...” (5) King is saying that it is moral to him to break unjust laws and do what he believes is right, despite the consequences. Being moral is more important than following the laws and not doing anything illegal. To king what is important has nothing to do with written codes of conduct. King is a supporter of doing what is right no matter if it legal or not.

In conclusion, Martin Luther King, Jr. effectively uses the length of his letter to his benefit by covering all possible grounds, and repetition to instill his ideas in the minds of his audience. Martin Luther King, Jr. masters mainly two specific rhetorical devices throughout his “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. These two devices, ethos and pathos aid King in selling his point as well as getting the reader to side with him. Pathos were used to gain sympathy from his audience, and ethos were used to display King's moral character All in all, King clearly and effectively used the length of his letter, pathos, and ethos to complete a successful letter to address the clergymen who questioned his actions.