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While the Civil Rights movement superseded the dismantling of Jim Crow, the social ideologies and lackadaisical legislature behind anti-black prejudice continued to rack the country far into the 1960s. Not only was this a social division, but those who opposed King were reinforced by the respective legislature that sought to burden him. Bitzer, Lloyd F. The Rhetorical Situation.. for only $11.00 $9.35/page. In both of these writings Dr. King uses logos - logical persuasion - and pathos - emotional appeal - to change the opinions of people who were for segregation and against civil rights. During this period in the 1960s, King was disappointed by the way the white clergy was not in support of the religious civil rights movement and Kings goal of equality as a whole. Introduction. The letter goes on to explain his choice to act directly and nonviolently, stating, For years now I have heard the word wait. It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. Note: All essays placed on IvyMoose.com are written by students who kindly donate their papers to us. Good uses of similes, metaphors, and imagery will act on the reader's senses creating a false sense of perception. Here, King combines divergent interpretations of justice to demonstrate the gravity of the injustice that he confronted in Birmingham. The way Dr. King constructs his argument is as if he was preaching his argument to his congregation. He uses these rhetorical techniques along with a logical argument to demonstrate why his methods were right., Martin Luther King, Jr. a civil rights activist that fought for the rights of African Americans in 1963. Specifically he targeted the clergymen who made laws at that time. Who was he truly writing for? 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. Read these passages aloud, and as you do so, feel their undeniable passion and power. Letter From Birmingham Jail and use of Parallel Structure and Anaphora Kirtan Patel Chapter 25 Chapter 24 Parallel Structure- repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. Here are more examples of parallel structure within "Letter from Birmingham Jail" that I find especially powerful. One of the challenges that he faced included being criticized because of what he believed in concerning the laws of segregation. 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. 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. Throughout the letter, Dr. King does a tremendous job of supporting his argument with the three elements of Aristotles rhetorical appeal. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail/552461/. Right after that, he alludes to another American writing, the Declaration of. The letter from the Birmingham jail of Martin Luther King, Jr.. In sum, all rhetoric has an external situation in which it is responding to. , vol. The audience of Letter From Birmingham Jail was initially the eight clergymen of Birmingham, all white and in positions of religious leadership. Overall, King is saying that we need to fight against injustice anywhere we see it,, In April of 1963, while incarcerated in Birmingham City jail, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an influential letter defending his anti-segregation protests. For example, to use parallelism in a sentence in which you list a series of elements, each element typically has the same form. Letter From Birmingham Jail One of the most famous documents in American history is the 1963 letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from his jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama. An Unjust Law Is No Law At All: Excerpts from "Letter from Birmingham Jail" January 18, 2021 By The Editors In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we're sharing excerpts from King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail," one of the most important moral treatises of the twentieth century. MLKs use of pathos and repetition is an effective way to persuade his audience about his position on civil disobedience. Glenn Eskew, Bombingham: Black Protest in Postwar Birmingham, Alabama, 1997. Despite his support, Martin Luthers audience is one of the largest constraints in his rhetorical situation. Dr. Dr. King was arrested, and put in jail in Birmingham where he wrote a letter to the clergymen telling them how long Blacks were supposed to wait for their God giving rights and not to be force and treated differently after, In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail from jail in Birmingham, Alabama in response to a public statement issued by eight white clergyman calling his actions unwise and untimely. Despite his support, Martin Luthers audience is one of the largest constraints in his rhetorical situation. 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). 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. As King disproves the arguments of the white clergymen, he utilizes antithesis to create logos; furthermore, he calls the reader to take action against injustice across the nation. In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and . Despite his opposition, however, the letter is truly addressed to those who were not against King, but did not understand the urgency of his movement. King uses tone, literal and figurative language to establish structure and language in his letter. During the era of the civil rights movements in the 60s, among the segregation, racism, and injustice against the blacks, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial to deliver one of the greatest public speeches for freedom in that decade. It was important for King to address this audience as their support would ultimately make the largest difference in the movement. Martin Luther King Jr. twists the perspective of his audience -- Southern clergymen -- to create antithetic parallelism in Letter from Birmingham Jail. 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. At this time, he is representative of the Black American population and the Civil Rights Movement as a whole he is Martin Luther King Jr., and while this is a powerful position to occupy, the constraints imposed are just as dominant. These purposes can be similar, or different. On April 12, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and nearly 50 other protestors and civil rights leaders were arrested after leading a Good Friday demonstration as part of the . This use of parallelism draws on the emotions of personal experiences to persuade that segregation is a problem in a myriad of ways. Take for instance when the part of the letter when Dr. King talks about different men, both biblical, Martin Luther King Jr.s goal in Letter From Birmingham Jail is to convince the people of Birmingham that they should support civil disobedience and the eventual end to the segregation laws in Birmingham. Thus, these essays are of lower quality than ones written by experts. 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. Read along here: https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.htmlop audio here: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/lett. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. Parallelism/ Juxtaposition. King chose to write this for a reason; to resonate with those who were not his enemies but who held back the movement through compliance. Throughout the text, King utilized the values of his audience to gain sympathy and later on support. Throughout the letter critics are disproved through Kings effective use of diction and selection of detail. There may have been advantages to broadcasting this message similarly to his I Have a Dream speech, which touched America deeply, due potentially to the accessible, instantaneous, and widespread coverage in American media. The problem is that this kind of thinking can spread and infect other people to believe this is acceptable. In Letter From Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King responds to the subjectivity of law and the issue he paramounts by using precise and impactful rhetoric from inside of his jail cell. King goes on to explain how this right has not been kept, making it appear to be similar to a laid-back rule. Dr. King brought people up and gave them hope that one day everything will be taken care of and we 'll all be happy, he said that one day we 'll have peace and love among each other. I am here because I have basic organizational ties here (King 1), after describing his involvement in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as president. While his supporters nation-wide were avid, determined, and hopeful, they were challenged by the opposing, vastly white population, comfortable in their segregated establishments and racist ideologies who would certainly weaponize his viewpoints. Martin Luther King Jr. writes his letter while being held in Birmingham Jail after being arrested for participating, in a non-violent anti segregation march. Malcolm X, on the other hand, grew up in a rather hostile environment with barely enough schooling. In A Letter From A Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr defends his use of nonviolent protest in order to accomplish racial equality. From this revelation, the audience will also realize that it is no fault of the Negro that they have been left behind in contrast, modern society have been dragging them back through racism. While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. To this day, Kings speech remains one of the most famous and influential speeches in. His mention of involvement and leadership within a Christian civil rights organization, strength of religious analogy, and general politeness are effective rhetorical choices used to shape how he is perceived despite his critical response, racial setbacks, and arrest: a relatable man of faith, rationale, and initiative. This helps King focus on the differences between them. First, King writes that the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. This antithesis makes the audience realize that the Negroes have been left behind and ignored while the rest of modern society has charged forward into prosperity and fortune. He writes how the white church is often disappointed in the African Americans lack of patience and how they are quick to be willing to break laws. This letter serves as a purpose to apply the need for love and brotherhood towards one another and avoid all the unjust laws. In Martin Luther King Jrs I Have a Dream speech he effectively uses ethos, diction and powerful metaphors to express the brutality endured by African American people. 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). Therefore, these other literary devices and figures of speech are specific types of parallelism.. One of the most well-known examples of . This letter occasioned his reply and caused King to write a persuasive letter "Letter from Birmingham Jail," justifying his actions and presence in Birmingham. In his letter he uses examples like when you have seen hate-filled policeman curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters. and when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and gathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim to make his audience envision and feel what many negroes felt while watching their families put up with this mistreatment. His goal is to make the clergymen help him fight racial equality. Dr. King repeats the same starting words when you have seen with different examples of injustices.