Macbeth) in the essay title portion of your citation. Therefore, these other literary devices and figures of speech are specific types of parallelism.. One of the most well-known examples of . King had been arrested while participating in a peaceful anti-segregation march although several local religious groups counted on King for support. Your email address will not be published. He proves his authority through his explanation of his experience as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every Southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia (King 232), and he emphasizes the importance of addressing the situation to him when he says, seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas, referring to the people of Birminghams resistance to the civil protests that he has been leading in Birmingham (King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. mentions the atrocities of racism and describes his endless battles against it. 1, no. In his tear-jerking, mind-opening letter, King manages to completely discredit every claim made by the clergymen while keeping a polite and formal tone. Any deadline. In short, Martin Luther King Jr. includes rhetorical devices in his writing. In this way, King juxtaposes his perspective with that of the clergy to demonstrate the depravity of his oppressors. Example: Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? In Kings speech he says, Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of this country (King Page 6). As the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s unfolded, Martin Luther King Jr. had, perhaps, the most encompassing and personal rhetorical situation to face in American history. In the "Letter from Birmingham Jail", written by Martin Luther King Jr., King delivers a well structured response to eight clergymen who had accused him of misuse of the law. Read these passages aloud, and as you do so, feel their undeniable passion and power. However, in the months that followed, Kings powerful words were distributed to the public through civil rights committees, the press, and was even read in testimony before Congress (Letter from Birmingham Jail), taking the country by storm. In 1963, while Martin Luther King was in Birmingham Jail, King delivered a powerful letter to his Clergymen in order to take time and respond to the criticism he had received over his work in Birmingham. 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. Martin Luther King's 'Letter From Birmingham Jail' 16 terms. Repetition in "The Letter from a Birmingham Jail" Ethos Example "A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. The law was written in 1962, but the powerful response pushed the courts to finalize their decision. They fought for what they believed in but in vastly different ways. He wrote the letter in response to criticisms made by white clergymen. In paragraphs 33 to 44 of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s response to A Call for Unity, a declaration by eight clergymen, Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963), he expresses that despite his love for the church, he is disappointed with its lack of action regarding the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. uses both logical and emotional appeals in order for all his listeners to be able to relate and contemplate his speeches. In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and . We believe that King states in the first sentence himself that he does not usually comment upon the criticism of his work. He is placing hope among the Negro community and assuring the white superiority that one day, they will share the same rights as their nation distinctively promised a hundred years earlier. King does this in an effective and logical way. This comes to endanger our entire society. Several clergy who negatively critiqued Kings approach of seeking justice, wrote A Call for Unity, arguing that his protests were senseless and improper. 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. MLKs use of pathos and repetition is an effective way to persuade his audience about his position on civil disobedience. Divided there is little we can dofor we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder." - John F. Kennedy, "1961 First Inaugural Address" the exigence is the continued condemnation, segregation, and prejudice afflicted against African Americans since the emancipation of the slaves in 1863. Egypt) and titles (e.g. This helps King focus on the differences between them. In sum, all rhetoric has an external situation in which it is responding to. Correspondingly, King urges the clergy to reconsider the horse-and-buggy pace of their methods of action through his logos. 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. Furthermore, good usage of these rhetorical device . King uses tone, literal and figurative language to establish structure and language in his letter. As he sits in a cell of Birmingham Jail in 1963, he responds to criticism from eight white clergymen. During this letter, King then uses the time to unroot the occasion of nonviolent protests in BIrmingham and the disappointing leadership of the clergy. Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social colorblindness. 114, Jr., Martin Luther King. MarkAHA. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere!" Dr. King fought against segregation between Black Americans and White Americans. Whether this be by newspaper, flyers, or restated by another in speech, the spread of information is slower and potentially more controllable. Later in the letter, parallelism is used to contrast just laws and unjust laws. Not only was this a social division, but those who opposed King were reinforced by the respective legislature that sought to burden him. 808 certified writers . King organized various non-violent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama that resulted in his arrest. One of the challenges that he faced included being criticized because of what he believed in concerning the laws of segregation. 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. While there were consistent and impactful efforts made by various groups for equality throughout the civil rights era, the proximity between the public release of the letter, found nation-wide by late 1963, and the passing of the Civil Rights Act in early July 1964 shows the direct impact the letter had on social attitudes following its publicization. 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. One example of parallelism he uses is, But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity (Barnet and Bedau 741). Despite his support, Martin Luthers audience is one of the largest constraints in his rhetorical situation. " Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." Letter to Birmingham Jail is a response to a group of Birmingham ministers who voiced negative comments and questioned the civil rights demonstrations Dr. King was leading in Birmingham. Martin Luther found himself arrested on the twelfth of April 1963 after leading a peaceful protest throughout Birmingham, Alabama after he defied a state courts injunction and led a march of black protesters without a permit, urging an Easter boycott of white-owned stores (Jr., Martin Luther King). However, in the months that followed, Kings powerful words were distributed to the public through civil rights committees, the press, and was even read in testimony before Congress (Letter from Birmingham Jail), taking the country by storm. With the use of King's rhetorical devices, he described the ways of the Birmingham community and their beliefs, connected to the reader on an emotional level, and brought to light the overall issues dealing with segregation., The letter was ostensibly conceived in response to a letter that had recently run in a local newspaper which had claimed that the protest were "unwise and untimely." : "There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community." . Abused and scorned through we may be, our destiny is tied with the destiny of America. (Page 9) The sureness King presents in this quote both instills hope in the reader and allows them to relate to Kings passion. Kings use of pathos gives him the ability to encourage his fellow civil rights activists, evoke empathy in white conservatives, and allow the eight clergymen and the rest of his national audience to feel compassion towards the issue. He opens with an explanation to his response, stating, Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideasBut since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms(King 1). In "Letter from Birmingham Jail", King typically uses repetition in the form of anaphora - repeating the same word (s) at the beginning of consecutive clauses. While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Both influential speeches rely heavily on rhetorical devices to convey their purpose. Not only does he use pathos to humanize himself, but he also uses it to humanize his immediate audience, the eight clergymen. 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. Although Kings reply was addressed to the Alabama clergyman, its target audience was the white people. But immediately after Dr. King speaks out on how after 100 years Blacks still do not have the free will that is deserved. African Americans have been waiting to have there civil rights of freedom, but the social courts has requested them not protest on the street but to take it to court. He displays a great amount of pathos, logos, and ethos in his speech. Some clergymen, mostly white American men, believe the nonviolent protest Dr. King and African Americans were during was "unwise" and "untimely". 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). He points out the irony of America because Black Americans were still not truly free. Although Dr. Kings exploits are revered today, he had opponents that disagreed with the tactics he employed. Found a perfect sample but need a unique one? similes, metaphors, and imagery are all used to make the letter more appealing to the audiences they make the letter more descriptive while making you focus on one issue at a time. While pathos elicits an emotional response from the audience to make them more accepting of Kings ideas, repetition structures the speech and emphasizes key ideas for the audience to take away from listening. Letter from a Birmingham Jail: The Rhetorical Analysis At the peak of the Civil War Movement in America on April 12th, 1963, eight Alabama . Martin Luther Kings Letter From Birmingham Jail is undeniably effective at responding to the rhetorical situation at hand. Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter From A Birmingham Jail. In this example, King employs antithesis to highlight the logical structure and urgency of his argument against inequity, which allows him to establish logos. Furthermore the Kings parallel structure clarifies and highlights his intent by building up to a more important point. King specifically wrote to the white clergymen who had earlier addressed a letter to him as to why he was apprehended, in which they argued that his actions were untimely and unconstitutional. He uses parallelism by repeating I had hoped to ironically accuse his attackers. Amidst the intense Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and put in solitary confinement for peacefully protesting racial discrimination and injustice in Birmingham, Alabama. He had a great impact on race relations in the U.S. and he made a great impact on many lives. Lastly he shows ethos by using authority in his speech by using quotes from two very famous documents. 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. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. In order to properly convey his response to the questions proposed by the religious leaders of Birmingham, Dr. King uses it to draw comparisons which magnifies an idea, but it also commends one and disparages the other. 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 the same manner, King believed that people could unite to combat oppression. Dr. Additionally, personable elements such as tone, inflection, and overall vindication behind the letter are left to be determined by the rhetorical language. In terms of legacies, Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of someone whose legacy has left an impact on a great many fields. We will write a custom Essay on King's Allusion in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" specifically for you. To this day, Kings speech remains one of the most famous and influential speeches in. 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. Back then, people were ready to oppose unjust laws that were causing inequality and preventing progress. Parallelism In Letters From Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. uses pathos and parallelism frequently throughout Letters from Birmingham Jail, to persuade the clergyman to support his actions in the civil rights movement. King uses pathos to invoke anger, sympathy and empathy, his impeccable use of logos makes his argument rational to everyone, and his use of ethos, especially the use of biblical references, makes his opinions more reliable. 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. Dr. King responded to criticism that was made by clergymen about calling Dr. King activities as "Unwise and Untimely". However, the racial divide was legislated in 1877 with the implementation of Jim Crow laws, which lasted until 1950. Metaphors, allusions, and rhetorical questions are used in the most skillful way to support his argument and ultimately convince his audience of the credibility behind his emotional, yet factual, claims. is undeniably effective at responding to the rhetorical situation at hand. Martin Luther leading peaceful Birmingham protest, AP News. He wants the clergyman to realize that what they believe and think is wrong. Without King, America would be probably still heavily segregated. He ended up creating a very persuasive letter, one that effectively uses ethos in establishing his character, logos in providing reason and logic, and pathos in reaching human emotions. In Kings speech he. Moreover, King juxtaposes contradictory statements to bolster the legitimacy of his argument against injustice -- in stark contrast to the racist beliefs held by the clergy -- which creates logos that he later capitalizes on to instill celerity within the audience. Lastly, King is constrained by his medium. At the time, Birmingham was one of the harshest places to live in America for African Americans; white supremacy groups would set off bombs to instill fear in the black community and withhold racial integration, and peaceful protests and sit-ins were met with unjustifiable police violence, in addition to the suffocating social qualms surrounding the black community (Eskew). As a black man and pacifist-forward figurehead of the Civil Rights movement, the way Martin Luther is perceived is mostly dictated by preconceived biases and is rampant, widespread, and polarized. 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. It is rather for us to be here, As it may do that, it also seems to serve more of a logical appeal because he mentions the evidence of white brotherhood. 25 terms. The use of pathos is effective because it appeals to emotions and the issue of civil rights and civil disobedience. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust(Barnet and Bedau 742). Who was he truly writing for? While his letter was only addressed to the clergymen, it is safe to assume that King had intent on the public eventually reading his letter, considering his position within the Civil Rights movement, use of persuasive rhetorical language, and hard-hitting debates on the justification of law. 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. Magnifying the differences between two things and repeating statements with similar structure brings about emotion to realize the wrongness of the injustice of civil. Furthermore, as King attests to the significance of the Birmingham injustices, he utilizes antithesis to foster logos: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere; Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly (515). Consequently, Birmingham became the core of the Civil Rights movement, pumping the life-blood of social change into the rest of the country. 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. King goes on to explain how this right has not been kept, making it appear to be similar to a laid-back rule. Using emotional appeals captures an audience's attention and makes them think about what the narrator is saying. 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. However, they each have different ideas about freedom, and about what they want their audience to do. Therefore, as King fabricates antithetic parallelism, he constructs logos and persuades the audience to take prompt action against injustice through the careful juxtaposition of inverse statements. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., along with many other civil activist, began a campaign to change the laws and the social attitudes that caused such a disparity. In response to Kings peaceful protesting, the white community viewed [his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist, and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). Therefore this makes people see racism in a whole new light; racism has not been justified because the United States have failed to uphold their promises. Civil rights leader and social activist Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a world renown correspondence, Letter From Birmingham Jail, in April of 1963, during a time when segregation was at its peak in the South. Dr. King was considered the most prominent and persuasive man of The Civil Rights Movement. His audience ranged between those who his message empowered, a radical positive force, and those who disagreed, made up of southern states, extremist groups, and the majority of American citizens stuck in their racial prejudices. Letter from a Birmingham Jail AP.GOPO: PRD1.A (LO) , PRD1.A.2 (EK) Google Classroom Full text of "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. 16 April 1963 My Dear Fellow Clergymen: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely."