MLK Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis- w/ focus on Ethos

“...we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders…” In this quote, from the third paragraph of the letter written by eight Alabama clergymen, the term outsiders is used. Early on, this creates a label for Martin Luther King, outsider. Throughout his Letter From Birmingham Jail, King is able appeal to ethos in order to refute his title of “outsider” and generate a connection with his audiences, the clergymen and the people of America. King is able to do such a thing by alluding to multiple passages from the Bible as well as the figures it contains, which is done so that he may identify with the clergymen. When not speaking in reference to the Bible, King makes allusions and references to specific points and people in American history, which allows him to connect to his larger audience, the people of America. By demonstrating his practical wisdom, through the use of allusion, King attempts to strengthen his character with a visible appeal to ethos. King alludes to the Bible multiple times throughout his Letter From Birmingham Jail. These allusions are notable in paragraph three, where king refers to the biblical figures “Jesus Christ” and “the Apostle Paul.” The context in which these two are used is to reiterate the story of Paul leaving Tarsus, which King also mentions, to spread the word of Christ. In paragraph sixteen, King alludes to a few things within religion itself, including “St. Thomas Aquinas” and “Jewish philosopher Martin Buber.” In paragraph twenty-one, King alludes to the Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when he wrote “It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake.” One of his last meaningful biblical allusions is in paragraph thirty-one where King states “Was not Jesus an extremist for love… Was not Amos an extremist for justice… Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian Gospel… Was not Martin Luther an extremist…” All of these allusions in paragraph thirty-one were followed by quotes from all of the alluded characters. Overall, these allusions from the bible are able to boost King’s character by displaying his overall practical knowledge. They create a sort of peacefulness within his letter and show King’s deep understanding of religious values and religious texts. This allows him to create a closer identity with the clergymen by emphasizing how religiously educated he is. Although few, King also makes patriotic and political allusions as well. In paragraph twenty-one, King alludes to the justified rebellion of the Boston Tea Party when he writes “In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.” He then creates another series of this type of allusion in paragraph thirty-one when he says “And Abraham Lincoln… And Thomas Jefferson…” These few allusions don’t show very much, but they exemplify his understanding of American history and allow him to further connect with the American population. These allusions also exemplify the American standard of pushing the limit and going against the grain. The Boston Tea Party, went against the grain by defying order. Jefferson went against the grain, and pushed for freedom in a situation that was out of his favor. Lincoln went against the grain by granting freedom to the slaves, something that the United States had thought it would never see. These make King appear to be much more American than he was before as he has struck a chord with identifying the values Americans hold very near and dear. Besides allusion, King was able to appeal to ethos by employing a number of other rhetorical techniques throughout his letter. For example, in King’s introduction he says “My Dear Fellow Clergymen..” what he does is establish an identity for himself. By saying “Fellow Clergymen…” King states that he too is a clergyman thus developing his character beyond just being a man well rounded in religion. He moves further into this by saying in paragraph two “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.” By stating his association with this national religious organization, he asserts that he is a very pious man and that he too has been blessed with authority from God. This is essential to his character in regards to the clergymen as they too receive authority from God, thus creating a sense of equality. By creating this identity king affectively appeals to ethos and creates a stronger moral character with his audience. Furthermore, this also gives King the ability to refute being an outsider. Since he is part of a larger organization, which has branches within the state, how can he, a man of the church, be an outsider if he was welcomed here as stated in paragraph two, where the passage reads “..the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program...So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here.” He has now extinguished the thought of him being an “outsider” and created the image that he is welcome, and should not be considered an outsider. King uses simile and metaphor in his letter in order to accentuate his religious identity and moral sense. In paragraph three, following King’s telling of the story of Paul leaving Tarsus, he creates a metaphor of the story by saying “...so am I, compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.” Here king says that he is now compelled to repeat the actions of Paul for justice. What this does is it compels the audience to believe that King is a man who will go great lengths for a cause he holds dear. This makes him appear to be a more devout man, and a man bearing the perseverance to continue on. In the same paragraph, King also uses simile to build his character. King wrote “Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid…” Here King chose to use the word “constantly,” which implies that he is always working, and always responding to those around him who are in need. Not only does this display the dedicated, humanitarian side of King, it shows some of his religious practical knowledge, as it is all in reference to the Bible. As King begins to close his letter, he does a few things to really cap off his character. The first thing he does is he demonstrates his modesty. His modesty is evident when he writes in paragraph forty-eight “Never before have I written so long a letter. I’m afraid if it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been shorter had I been writing from a comfortable desk…” This last minute use of dubitatio, doubting one’s own abilities, makes him seem apologetic almost, for writing such a lengthy letter. But King’s sincere modesty here builds his character in the fact that he has now reduced his audiences standards, and when they reflect on what they read, they will see that he put a lot of work into the letter and that he actually possesses more skill than he thought. In paragraph fifty, King focuses on the commonplace of friendship, when he addresses the clergymen one last time before closing out the letter. Here he writes “ I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that the circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother…” By transitioning to a light hearted, hopeful tone, King begins to focus on friendship and show that he is willing to go beyond the boundaries of just civil rights talk and meet the men who feel this way, and discover the people they really are. It’s a bold move by King, but it shows how he has respect for his audience and that he is less conceited than he may have appeared before. Overall, King effectively appeals to ethos, by using allusions, which demonstrate his practical wisdom, and employing a number of other rhetorical strategies, including simile and metaphor. On the greater scale, this letter is a demonstration of King’s ability to persuade an audience. Who would have thought that King, a black clergymen, would have ever been as successful as he was at speaking. Nobody could have imagined that this letter would lead to the March On Washington, where King would lead a demonstration, headlined by a speech that would be put into history textbooks, and studied by future generations for decades to come. And today, we still realize the importance of King’s contributions to society through his speeches and writings with a holiday. People actually get a day off to remember the man King was and celebrate his contributions to the civil rights movement. So when you think of an influential American, think of Martin Luther King Jr, the man who was considered an outsider, but used his craft to prove that he and others, could not possibly bear such a label.