"Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]"
I wish you had commended the N**** sit inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. One day the South will recognize its real heroes. (36)Comparison of Martin Luther King Jr.s' Letter from Birmingham Jail and I Have a Dream
Try reading that first sentence out loud to hear and feel it. Saying "nullification" has never been so satisfying. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is kind of like an essay, a pamphlet, and a manifesto rolled into one. It has a clear message and rhetorical goal (essay), it's aiming to garner support and political action from its readers (pamphlet), and it serves as a primer for those new to the idea of non-violent civil disobedience in particular and the Civil Rights Movement in general (manifesto). In Martin Luther King Jr. ʻs (MLK) Letter from Birmingham Jail, excessive use of rhetoric devices are used such as logos (logical), pathos (emotional) and ethos (ethical). Although all examples of rhetoric are present, some seem to appeal more than others. Some of the most effective rhetoric used in the Letter from Birmingham Jail are logos and pathos. While there are multiple examples of ethical (ethos) rhetoric and many more additional rhetorical devices, logical and emotional appliances Grafman said the eight clergy were among Birmingham's moderate leaders who were working for civil rights. But they feared the demonstrations would lead to violence and felt the newly elected city government could achieve progress peacefully.
King was clearly targeted in this letter, which we are able to see by the clergymen's constant regard to peaceful protesting - which King initially began promoting within the city. These rallies were in regards to the racial inequality and segregation that were persistently worsening in the city of Birmingham. Regardless of the obvious lack of rights that the African American people had, the white christian moderate, along with the clergymen decided against taking action towards ending Martin Luther Kings letter from Birmingham jail he wrote a response to someone who believed what he was doing was wrong. The point of his letter was to change the mind of the people reading his letter. He wanted to prove to the readers of his letter that there was a difference between morally right and legally right. In his letter he compared the police in in Birmingham to Nazi Germany, what they were doing was not legally wrong but it was morally wrong.
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" isn't just a criticism of complacent moderates. It's a call to action addressed to everybody who can hear the message. I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in. " 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. We have some eighty five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Frequently we share staff, educational and financial resources with our affiliates. Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here.
I am here because I have organizational ties here. Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. Consciously or unconsciously, he has been caught up by the Zeitgeist, and with his black brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice. If one recognizes this vital urge that has engulfed the Negro community, one should readily understand why public demonstrations are taking place. The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release them. So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -and try to understand why he must do so. If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not a threat but a fact of history. So I have not said to my people: "Get rid of your discontent.
An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal. Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered. Can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically structured? By the end of Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King has progressed from what professor Jonathan Rieder calls a Diplomat to a Prophet. This clear declaration of self-sufficiency reflects his ultimate sentiment: while he would like the support of his audience, he and his brothers and sisters will persevere and succeed even without it.
In this blog post, I will take a closer look at his rhetorical techniques and describe examples for each rhetoric with its effects. According to Letter From Birmingham Jail, why is King so greatly disappointed with the white church and is leadership? Letter From Birmingham Jail study guide contains a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. , literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. With the clergy gathered around him, Kennedy sat in a rocking chair and urged them to further racial process in Birmingham and bring the moral strength of religion to bear on the issue. Rhetorical Analysis: Letter from a Birmingham Jail Racism is part of Americas history. Historical leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. brought the Injustice problems to the light. King, Jr. Letters from a Birmingham Jail confronts racism in the United States of America through his response letter to the clergymen criticism, while he is in jail due to holding a protest in Birmingham, Alabama. King, Jr. wrote Letter from a Birmingham Jail to defend the non-violent protest.
- Rhetorical Analysis of Letter From a Birmingham Jail
- How Stoicism Supports Civil Disobedience
- We Are in This Together: Comparing "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and "Sonny's Blues"
- Fighting Inequality with the Past: A Look into "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and Related Historical Documents
- A Question of Appeal: Rhetorical Analysis of Malcolm X and MLK
We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds. The last few paragraphs of "Letter from Birmingham Jail" show MLK being humble and conciliatory. This article from the Atlantic argues pretty convincingly that "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and the Birmingham Campaign were the catalysts for JFK's decision to make a public address calling for a Civil Rights Bill. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny (34). In class, weve looked at Martin Luther Kings letter from Birmingham jail. Letter from Birmingham jail has been said to be a rhetorical master piece because MLKs effective use of rhetorics.
By using mostly pathos in the letter he appealed to the emotions of the reader to support his premises and claims instead of using all the rhetorical devices. The eight white clergymen had commended the Birmingham Police for enforcing law and order and such, so Dr. King had to set the record straight. He describes the actual conduct of police officers at the demonstrations and in the jails. He wonders why the police are being praised and not the protestors. He doubles down on his claim that the real heroes will eventually get the respect they deserve. Dr. King himself was inspired by his "Dream" for a better America, by his religious vision for a new world, and by the many thousands of supporters who were ordinary people coming out for an extraordinary cause. He was, after all, a preacher, and preachers are largely measured by their ability to inspire.
Letter From Birmingham Jail essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. I had hoped that the white moderate would see this need. Perhaps I was too optimistic; perhaps I expected too much. I suppose I should have realized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action. I am thankful, however, that some of our white brothers in the South have grasped the meaning of this social revolution and committed themselves to it. They are still all too few in quantity, but they are big in quality. Some -such as Ralph McGill, Lillian Smith, Harry Golden, James McBride Dabbs, Ann Braden and Sarah Patton Boyle--have written about our struggle in eloquent and prophetic terms.
- About the Author
- Study Objectives
- Common Core Standards
- Introduction to Letter From Birmingham Jail
- Relationship to Other Books
- Bringing in Technology
- Notes to the Teacher
- Related Links
- Letter From Birmingham Jail Bibliography
This passage is a rather concise description of the call to arms that lies within the Letter from Birmingham Jail. Arguing that time is neutral, Dr. King illustrates the importance of individual action. Individuals must actively seek to create the world they want, since there is no inevitable sense of fate that will deliver it. By suggesting that people of ill will have understood this idea, he offers an implicit warning to his audience: if you do not support those of us seeking to do good, only bad will happen. It is a marvelous mixture of logos and pathos. He stipulates through pathos that good men want a solid rock of human dignity, and then argues that direct action like that of the SCLC is the only way to reach such a transcendent state. As all of the three rhetorical techniques are used effectively in MLKs letter from Birmingham jail, it is not surprising that this text has been praised as a rhetorical mater piece. I think reading MLKs letter helped me learn the effectiveness of rhetorical devices. This phrase, one of the letters most famous, serves several purposes.
Considering the context he was in solitary confinement when he learned that Birmingham clergymen had together issued a statement criticizing him and praising the citys bigoted police force he had every reason to make his letter a rant. And yet this address announces his purpose loud and clear: he aims not to attack but to explain. Rather than indicate what separates him from the other clergy, he calls them fellow clergymen, underlining one of the letters main themes: brotherhood. Of course, there is no shortage of passive aggressive attacks and criticism throughout the letter, but the tone remains polite, deferential, at times almost apologetic, creating a friendly and ironic tone. This marvelous collection of attributes is present from these very first words. Although many of Dr. King's other speeches and works were specifically anchored on appeals to emotion and inspiration, the major moments of pathos in "Letter from Birmingham Jail" come in the parts about the suffering of the African American community. In order for MLK's argument to make sense, you have to understand why the situation is unjust. So he gives a vivid picture of what Black Americans have to go through in the segregated South.
He claims that the protest I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with.
" Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action. And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. " Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream. " Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. " Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God. " And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.
" And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free. " And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . . " So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists. Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws.
In its immediate context, it justifies why Dr. King and the SCLC have come to Birmingham; because they feel connected to and responsible for everyone, they had to come to a place that was exhibiting injustice. And yet the phrase also serves as a stipulation to justify many of the more controversial claims he later makes. Throughout the work, he justifies breaking laws if they are unjust, embracing extremism, and forgoing negotiations if they are not made in good faith. Because Dr. King establishes this philosophical groundwork so early on, he has unimpeachable justifications for those later claims. That is, if indeed injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere, then it follows that a man interested in justice must endeavor to stop it, not just for the sake of his immediate community, but for the good of all mankind. The Question and Answer section for Letter From Birmingham Jail is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel. P. S. Dr.
Others have marched with us down nameless streets of the South. They have languished in filthy, roach infested jails, suffering the abuse and brutality of policemen who view them as "dirty nigger-lovers. " Unlike so many of their moderate brothers and sisters, they have recognized the urgency of the moment and sensed the need for powerful "action" antidotes to combat the disease of segregation. Let me take note of my other major disappointment. I have been so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership. Of course, there are some notable exceptions. I am not unmindful of the fact that each of you has taken some significant stands on this issue. I commend you, Reverend Stallings, for your Christian stand on this past Sunday, in welcoming Negroes to your worship service on a nonsegregated basis. I commend the Catholic leaders of this state for integrating Spring Hill College several years ago. Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself.
This is difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal. Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent N****es from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though N****es constitute a majority of the population, not a single N**** is registered. Can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically structured? (14) Dream speech and his Letter From Birmingham Jail. Although King uses many styles of writing effectively, his writings with pathos are the most prominent. Since I Have A Dream uses more pathos than Letter From Birmingham Jail, I Have A Dream is more effective at inspiring change. King's I Have a Dream speech is arguably one of the most famous speeches in American history.
Rhetorical Analysis Of Mlk Letter From Birmingham Jail
Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured. Martin Luther King Jr. , activist and leader, in his letter, Letter from Birmingham Jail, argued and emphasized why nonviolent direct action was not extreme when it came to dealing with racial tension in Alabama. His letter was a well written and well thought out response to the clergymen's statement, Call to Unity, a statement that claimed that nonviolent direct action was extreme. Kings purpose for writing his response was to persuade his audience, the clergymen/white moderates, that their thoughts Fifty-five years ago, on April 16,1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began writing his "Letter From Birmingham Jail," directed at eight Alabama clergy who were considered moderate religious leaders. There's also that strong rhyme between "lips" and "dripped" and the alliterative metaphor of "dark dungeons of complacency. " And then there's the rhythm.
He establishes this by referring to the greatest indignity in black American history slavery and yet owning that period with optimism, as an indication that the black man will triumph over any adversity. What gives them such exceptional power is that they operate with the protection of both the secular (the sacred heritage of our nation) and the divine (the eternal will of God. ) Echoing his earlier arguments that the law and morality cannot be considered as independent concepts, he insists that he will triumph because he believes in justice, and implicitly warns those who do not join him that they are cowardly, promoting injustice instead. In other words, they should join his cause not only for his sake, but for their own. Dr. Kings tone as he begins his letter is remarkably restrained.
Its popularity and influence would mostly be attributed to Kings excellent use of pathos throughout the speech. Although The greatest speakers for the black civil rights movement was Martin Luther King, Jr. Two of his pieces that stand out the most, was the Letter from Birmingham Jail and I Have a Dream. The Letter From Birmingham Jail is exactly that, its a letter that King had wrote while he was in jail, to a group of clergy members who disapproved of his action in Birmingham City. I Have a Dream was speech that was delivered in Washington, DC at Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. This speech was written to Maybe it was all the preachin'. Maybe it was all the schoolin'. Whatever it was, Dr. King knew how to rhetoric the you-know-what out of speeches. There's a little bit of everything in "Letter from Birmingham Jail": Dr. King makes an appeal to his readers' hearts and heads while alluding to the moral authority of the Christian tradition, American ideals, and the collective suffering of the African American community. The Non-Proclaimed Guilt of the White Christian Moderate 1,342 Words In Martin Luther King Jrs, Letter from Birmingham Jail, written in August of 1963, he addresses the Call for Unity written by the eight clergymen of Alabama in response to ongoing protests.
To solve the biggest issue Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail addressing to Clergyman. The letter emphasis on discussing the discrimination that was happing in the Birmingham. In his letter, Martin Luther King, Jr. uses ethical appeals, logical appeals and appeals to emotion to represent his aspiration for racial equality and justice. The letter was written to various clergymen who previously written an open letter to disapprove the actions of SCLC (Southern Christian Martin Luther Kings use of Pathos and Logos in I have a Dream showcases how he uses the devices to inspire others, compared to how he uses these rhetorical devices in Letter From Birmingham Jail to persuade the Clergymen. Martin Luther King, also referred to MLK, uses both Pathos and Logos to fit the audiences and occasions for each text. His uses of Pathos and Logos in these two texts are examples of how words can inspire change. To begin with, MLK uses the rhetorical device Logos in his I Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's antireligious laws.