An unjust law degrades human personality and contradicts the moral law (and Gods law). Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a response to "A Call for Unity" by eight white clergymen. Let's fix your grades together! 1 / 26. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below: By clicking Send, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. By building toward a climax, anaphora can create a strong emotional effect. This appeal to logos proves historically that extremist causes are not always wrong, and can bring about positive, much needed change. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. The emotions evoked would make them agree with King Jrs stand or argument. As the events of the Birmingham Campaign intensified on the city's streets, Martin Luther King, Jr., composed a letter from his prison cell in Birmingham in response to local religious leaders' criticisms of the campaign: "Never before have I written so long a letter. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like anaphora, antithesis, analogy and more. King takes the opportunity to praise the protesters, in part because no white religious leader will do so. All rights reserved. In beginning his letter by complimenting his critics, King establishes a tone of cordiality and rational dialogue. Recent flashcard sets. King puts his words to good use in trying to appeal to the readers by persuading them to support his cause. If todays church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Bloomsbury Press, 2013. Not only was King capable of making his letter memorable but he also made it extremely effective for the pathos appeal throughout the text by making the reader, Right from the beginning, King started with using ethos to let the clergymen know he is a religious leader as well. He also includes examples from American history, thus placing his critics in the place of historical villains, such as the British. In this published letter, the clergymen expressed their strong disapproval of the civil rights demonstrations taking place in Birmingham, Alabama. He persuades the audience that he also makes the list of the extremist depending on what he will champion. The intended reader of this letter is the religious leaders, How Does King Use Anaphora In Letter From Birmingham Jail. Literary Devices in King's Letter from Birmin. It also intensifies emotion and the tone of the essay which can also be considered an appeal to pathos. King Jr. was one of the leaders of the civil rights movement known for their selfless efforts to demand equal rights in the United States (Levy, 2019). Dr. King was arrested for violating the anti-protest junction and was placed in solitary confinement. King Jr was also keen on depicting his stand by using anaphora to add meaning to his word and emphasis. So instead of the view that law and justice are synonymous, Letter from Birmingham Jail is a powerful argument for obeying a higher moral law rather than manmade laws which suit those in power. He rejects this argument, pointing out that this kind of logic (if such it can be called) can be extended to all sorts of scenarios. In this biblical allusions Marting Luther King Jr. talks about God being an extremist he does this because does it not just create common ground for everyone who knows those are Gods words but is use effectively to his power. Birmingham was in his interest because of the actions he has heard happening there. He explained why the protesters were civilly infringing racist laws and city ordinances; why the protesters had truth and justice; and how he was thwarted with the clergyman and white moderates in the South who said they supported his cause. LitCharts Teacher Editions. The Rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Letter from Birmingham Jail. In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. was sent to jail because of a peaceful protest, protesting treatments of blacks in Birmingham. Let us write you an essay from scratch, Order a custom essay from our writers and get it on time, Pathos, Logos, Ethos in Letter From Birmingham Jail Essay, Letter from Birmingham Jail: the Rhetorical Analysis Essay, Depiction Of The Injustices Of Birmingham In Martin Luther King Jrs Letter From Birmingham Jail Essay, Application of Pathos, Ethos, and Logos in The Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay, Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jrs Letter From Birmingham Jail Essay, A Comparison of "Civil Disobedience" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" Essay, Analysis Of Pathos, Ethos, And Logos In The Letter From Birmingham Jail Essay, "I Have a Dream" Rhetorical Analysis Essay, The Influence of Malcolm X on Ta-Nehisi Coates Essay, Fulkerson, R. P. (1979). In a letter, well known as the [], On August 28,1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a public speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Anaphora is a rhetorical device used to emphasize meaning while adding rhythm to a passage. As with the extremist label, Kings position here may take us by surprise, but he backs up his argument carefully and provides clear reasons for his stance. When the time came, he honoured his promise and came to Birmingham to support the action. In the "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. uses persuasive speech to address his concerns to the opponent. He then goes on to say, I am here because I have organizational ties here. King was imprisoned by Bull Connor, a police chief in Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960s for not having a license to parade or protest. . For instance, Martin Luther King says like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid. Since Martin Luther King King is writing his letter to clergymen, his religious allusions are used to appeal to them; specifically, Dr. King brings up the point that certain tension is caused by people who have been subjected to grievances and believe that the white man is an incurable devil. In saying this, Martin Luther King tells the clergymen that their sanctimonious acts and racial. Do we blame a man who is robbed because his possession of wealth led the robber to steal from him? I'm afraid it is much too long to take your precious . Though disappointed, King still loves the church. Wrbel, S. (2015). In this way, King establishes that segregation is an immoraland therefore unjustlaw. literature. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 7(1), 37-51. Martin Luther King Jrs Letter from Birmingham Jail, expressed his beliefs and his actions about the Human Rights Movement. Rather than being disturbers of the peace, many Christians are now upholders of the status quo. Dr. King went all over the south with his organization protesting nonviolently for African Americans rights. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. 20 terms. He adopts a reprimanding tone in order to compel listeners to join the march and Congress to add Title III to the bill. The other is examples from American history: Abraham Lincoln (who issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the American Civil War, a century before King was writing) and Thomas Jefferson (who drafted the words to the Declaration of Independence, including the statement that all men are created equal). Also, King uses his credibility as a person of a high religious standing to point out the morally inaccurate discrimination that has been directed towards King and his staff while their time in Birmingham. This is exactly what King wanted in order to make the audience feel the strong emotion and pain he felt, and persuade you to keep reading the letter to hear what he has to say about these outrage of acts, show you positive ways to change them, and justify his cause of writing this letter in response to the clergymen. We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. Professional Writers that Guarantee an On-time Delivery. The letter was written to various clergymen who previously written an open letter to disapprove the actions of SCLC (Southern Christian, In this letter Martin Luther King Jr. was responding back to rude comments that clergymen made about him and the protesting. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper. King describes the white moderate as complacent, hypocritical, and condescending toward African Americans, agreeing on the surface with their overall goals (freedom, political participation, and equality) but unwilling to take any steps to fulfill them. Learn everything you need about academic writing for free! He also made them aware that adults and children alike were, King does however use a lot of one rhetoric device within his writing, which is Pathos. Dr. King wanted to end segregation and he also wanted equal rights for everyone, but he was told by the clergyman that the movement was unwise and untimely. In his letter, Dr. King informed his readers about the protests in Birmingham. These uses of anaphora are also examples of pathos and logos. He wanted it to make clear that he had no attentions of braking laws and they had a good reason to be protesting. Similarly, King identifies white moderates as being more dangerous to progress than white nationalists, because they believe in order rather than justice and thus they can sound rational and sympathetic even as they stand in the way of racial integration and civil rights. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Next, King addresses the accusation that the action he and others are taking in Birmingham is untimely. Yet unlike them, he has been jailed for his actions. In paragraph 26, Dr. King Jr. firmly states his loyalty to the love of his church and religious beliefs therefore not being capable of leading a violent riot against his cause. The next criticism which King addresses is the notion that he is an extremist. Dr. For example, King says, We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights (2). Dr. [], During the peak of the Civil War Movement in America, on April 12th, 1963, eight Alabama clergymen released a public statement condemning Dr. Martin Luther King's protests in the streets. King presents a solid legal argument in this section, while still focusing on morality in a Christian context. In Alabama, with its extreme racial injustice,, both white and some hesitant black Americans prefer allowing more time to . He contrasts his nonviolent approach with that of other African-American movements in the US, namely the black nationalist movements which view the white man as the devil. 20 terms. Order an original, fully referenced and formatted paper. King wrote this open letter in April 1963 while he was imprisoned in the city jail in Birmingham, Alabama. Throughout the letter, King has maintained a cordial and generous tone, careful to show respect for his critics even when they do not merit it. Throughout the large paragraph Dr. King explains why action must be done now to achieve Civil rights. This is not an example of the work written by professional essay writers. (c) What comparisons can you identify? He responds to his audience by offering a new perspective on the term extremist. By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University). King Jr intentionally chooses words as successive phrases and repeated clauses to emphasize his speech. Available from: https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/rhetorical-analysis-of-the-letter-from-birmingham-jail/. The papers are not supposed to be submitted for academic credit. He does this by using lines such as, When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim., and when you have seen hate-filled policeman curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters. In these lines he is using incendiary language like vicious mobs and parallelism such as lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim by using this kind of language and sentence structure King is making you envision and feel what he had to see his friends and family go through in those hard times. King believes that one of the most important roles of the Christian church is to help drive transformation, and in this way, he links his objective of racial equality with their desire to stay relevant to modern Americans. By clicking Get this sample, you agree to our. For instance, uses repetition in the form of anaphora to add emotions of empathy. He then productively demonstrates juxtaposition and compares this claim to condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery, or condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock, or even condemning Jesus because his unique God consciousness and never ceasing devotion to Gods will precipitated the evil act of crucification (6). As King observes, privileged people seldom give up their privileges voluntarily: hence the need for nonviolent pressure. 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.
anaphora in letter from birmingham jail