Martin Luther leading peaceful Birmingham protest, AP News. By clicking Receive Essay, you agree to our, Essay Sample on The Effects of the Atomic Bomb, Essay Sample: The Development of the Braille System in Nineteenth-Century France, Constitution of The United StatesResearch Paper Example, Hippies In The 1960's (Free Essay Sample), Positive And Negative Impacts Of The Columbian Exchange, Essay Sample on Early River Civilizations. Letter from Birmingham Jail; McAuley ELA I HON. 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. 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). 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. In paragraph 15 of his "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King uses. He points out the irony of America because Black Americans were still not truly free. He wants the clergyman to realize that what they believe and think is wrong. He hopes that this letter will stop this injustice matter, and show what the African American desire. is undeniably effective at responding to the rhetorical situation at hand. Lines 14-43: King provides three different types of reasons in his letter to justify his presence in Birmingham: Organizational reasons, religious or historical reasons, and moral reasons. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere!" Furthermore the Kings parallel structure clarifies and highlights his intent by building up to a more important point. This comes to endanger our entire society. The rhetorical choices referenced above are riddled with pathos, also known as language utilized to persuade the audience emotionally. Despite his support, Martin Luthers audience is one of the largest constraints in his rhetorical situation. Despite his support, Martin Luthers audience is one of the largest constraints in his rhetorical situation. This website uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. What type/s of rhetorical device is used in this statement? These circumstances lead us to our next rhetorical focus: audience. Although the letter was addressed to the eight clergymen, the Letter from Birmingham Jail speaks to a national audience. Dr. King was the foremost civil rights leader in America in the 1950s and 1960s who was ordained minister and held a doctorate in theology. 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. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive. In the same manner, King believed that people could unite to combat oppression. 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 . Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. 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. King is saying that if we allow injustice to happen in some places, we risk it happening to everyone. 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. He approaches his argument with logic and appealing to the people of Birminghams emotions. 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. The continuous mistreatment of African Americans for over a century was, at last, deeply questioned and challenged nationwide with the growing popularity of the Civil Rights movement, and the topic of equality for all had divided the country. In Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was this line, "We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right." King was the leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement as well as an activist for humanitarian causes. Besides the use of pathos, King uses repetition to enhance the effectiveness of his argument. We believe that King states in the first sentence himself that he does not usually comment upon the criticism of his work. Just as well, King uses his aspirations to create ideas within the listeners. The following well-known adage is an example of parallelism: "Give a . 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. 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. This evidence, revealing MLKs use of pathos, was used to reach out to the emotional citizens who have either experienced or watched police brutality. 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. Consequently, Birmingham became the core of the Civil Rights movement, pumping the life-blood of social change into the rest of the country. Parallelism is a literary device in itself, but it is also a category under which other figures of speech fall, such as those mentioned previously. " Any law that uplifts human personality is just." Your email address will not be published. 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. 114, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40236733. Ultimately, King crafts antithetic parallelism to establish a logical structure that emphasizes logos in his argument: the timeliness of justice. 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. Engels . Constraints bring light to the obstacles this rhetoric may face, whether it be social, political, economical, etc. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail.. The answer is found in the fact that there are two types of laws: there are just laws, and there are unjust laws Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Dr. King fought against segregation between Black Americans and White Americans. 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." 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. Ralph Abernathy (center) and the Rev. The topic of Dr. Kings letters from a Birmingham prison is the nonviolent protest being done in Birmingham, Alabama in the fight for African Americans civil rights. He displays a great amount of pathos, logos, and ethos in his speech. An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character. Dr. King uses his own words to describe what he wants the nation to look like in the future. On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a famous speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, this speech was called I have a dream. This speech was focused on ending racism and equal rights for African Americans during the civil rights movement. Other than the speechs heartwarming and moving content, Kings effective structure along with the usage of all three rhetorical modes and certain rhetorical tropes and schemes has revealed the reason I Have a Dream as a masterpiece of rhetoric and it persuades hundreds of thousands of people support the blacks instead of treating them. Dr. 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." He takes up for his cause in Birmingham, and his belief that nonviolent direct action is the best way to make changes happen. Because of his skill in creating such pieces of writing, as well as his influential role within the Civil Rights Movement, and the reminder that Letter from Birmingham Jail provides of these trying times, his letter should continue to be included within A World of Ideas. He had a great impact on race relations in the U.S. and he made a great impact on many lives. , 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail. In this essay, King also brings up why he is justified in his preaching about the separation of African-Americans and white people. Macbeth) in the essay title portion of your citation. Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social colorblindness. King spins the constraining pressure to properly represent the movement on its head, using his rhetoric to uplift the underprivileged and leave no room in his language for criticism, proven by the continuous adoption of his messages by the public. This use of parallel structure emphasizes how just and unjust laws can look deceptively similar. King understood that if he gained support from the white American, the civil rights movement would reach its goals much faster. 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). On the other hand, logical appeals helps to grasp the concept better and provides facts that prove it to be true. The audience of Letter From Birmingham Jail was initially the eight clergymen of Birmingham, all white and in positions of religious leadership. Who had criticize Martin Luther King because he was simply doing something that was right and violence was not needed for King. 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. This protest, his subsequent arrest, and the clergymens public statement ostensibly make up the rhetorical exigence, but it truly stems from a much larger and dangerous situation at hand: the overwhelming state of anti-black prejudice spread socially, systematically, and legislatively in America since the countrys implementation of slavery in Jamestown, 1619. 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. Who was he truly writing for? All 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. After reading "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", ask your students to do a scavenger hunt using the storyboard creator. This protest, his subsequent arrest, and the clergymens public statement ostensibly make up the rhetorical exigence, but it truly stems from a much larger and dangerous situation at hand: the overwhelming state of anti-black prejudice spread socially, systematically, and legislatively in America since the countrys implementation of slavery in Jamestown, 1619. These circumstances lead us to our next rhetorical focus: audience. 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. It managed to inspire a generation of blacks to never give up and made thousands of white Americans bitterly ashamed of their actions, forging a new start for society. Similarly, King uses pathos to trigger the emotional . 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. King responds with complete confidence that he is in the right place at the right time, and that his actions are necessary. Any subject. Example: Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? 1, no. It elucidated the exigence behind his letter as his presented rationale behind his arrest only made unjust laws appear more asinine and questionable by relation. Lastly, the exigence of a rhetorical piece is the external issue, situation, or event in which the rhetoric is responding to. King's letter from Birmingham Jail addresses the American society, particularly the political and religious community of the American society. 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. We allow people to think that it is okay to act unjustly towards some individuals. and may encompass the audience, as seen while analysing Letter From Birmingham Jail. 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. 1, Penn State University Press, 1968, pp. In addition, King is also in Birmingham because he feels compelled to respond to injustice wherever he finds it. King addressed these communities as the primary groups wherein racial segregation is continuously proliferated (the white American political and religious community) and points much of his arguments to and for his fellow black Americans in the society. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. 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. Martin Luther Kings "letter from Birmingham Jail" strives to justify the desperate need for nonviolent direct action, the absolute immorality of unjust laws together with what a just law is. In this way, King asserts that African-Americans must act with jet-like speed to gain their independence. "A Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Analysis. By using it, you accept our. Martin Luther King Jr. was an important figure in gaining civil rights throughout the 1960s and hes very deserving of that title as seen in both his I Have a Dream speech and his Letter from Birmingham Jail letter. King was the figurehead of the Civil Rights movement, infamous for his I Have a Dream speech and substantially impactful rhetoric promoting social and political change, peaceful indignation, and calls to awareness. With this addressed, his audience was truly the population of the United States, especially Birmingham, with a focus on those who withheld and complied with the oppression of African American citizens, even if not intentionally. The audience of a rhetorical piece will shape the rhetoric the author uses in order to appeal, brazen, or educate whoever is exposed. Within the article, the clergymen provide nine different critiques that asserted how Kings protest are invalid, uneffective, and simply unintelligent in the fight for obtaining justice and equity for individuals of color. Additionally, as he confesses to the clergy, King employs antithesis to create a rational structure that fosters logos: I agree I cant agree; small in quantity big in quality and shattered dreams hope (521 & 524-525). The concept of parallelism in letters from birmingham jail by martin luther king jr.. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/the-concept-of-parallelism-in-letters-from-birmingham-jail-by-martin-luther-king-jr-Q1aX8ugT Be sure to capitalize proper nouns (e.g. In Kings speech he. The problem is that this kind of thinking can spread and infect other people to believe this is acceptable. Martin Luther King Jr. twists the perspective of his audience -- Southern clergymen -- to create antithetic parallelism in Letter from Birmingham Jail. Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a civil rights activist that fought for the rights of African Americans in 1963. Firstly, and most daunting, is the constraint of the letters audience. He evokes emotion on his audience by discussing the trials and injustice African Americans have endured. 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'"' is a clearly written essay that explains the reasons behind, and the methods of nonviolent civil disobedience, and gently expresses King's disappointment with those who are generally supportive of equal rights for African-Americans. Glenn Eskew, Bombingham: Black Protest in Postwar Birmingham, Alabama, 1997. The amount of original essays that we did for our clients, The amount of original essays that we did for our clients. 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. A seminal text of the Civil Rights Movement, King's, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism, justifies the measures that brought about his arrest, and asseverates that the segregation laws against blacks in the south must be repealed. In order to do this, Martin Luther King uses several techniques in paragraph thirteen and fourteen of his letter such as repetition, personification, as well as allusion, to support his claim that racial unity has taken too long. Constraints bring light to the obstacles this rhetoric may face, whether it be social, political, economical, etc. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with moral law. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. His Letter from Birmingham Jail was the match. Who was he truly writing for? Throughout Kings letter, he used various ways of persuasive strategies: pathos, logos, and ethos. Lloyd Bitzer describes rhetorical situation as, a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action to bring about the significant modification of the exigence (6). 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 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. King goes on to write that he is disappointed that white moderates care less about justice and more about order. In sum, all rhetoric has an external situation in which it is responding to. : "There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community." . In the Letter from Birmingham Jail written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., King addressed the concerns of the white clergy and gave support to the direct action committed by African Americans. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. The use of pathos is effective because it appeals to emotions and the issue of civil rights and civil disobedience. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. 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. Through the masterful use of analogies and undeniable examples of injustice, Kings disgruntled response to the clergies proves the justification for direct action taking place to establish equality for African Americans., Martin Luther Kings letter from Birmingham Jail was written to respond to white religious leaders who criticized his organizations actions against racial prejudice and injustice among black society in Birmingham. He goes on to add; I am in Birmingham because injustice is here (King 1). In this example, King manufactures logos through the creation of antithetic parallelism, as the structure of his essay provides justification for his argument against the postponement of justice. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" "United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Correspondingly, King urges the clergy to reconsider the horse-and-buggy pace of their methods of action through his logos. The way Dr. King constructs his argument is as if he was preaching his argument to his congregation. Required fields are marked *. 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. King strategically persuades. Repetition. In paragraph 15 of his "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King uses parallel structure to compare just and unjust laws. In each writing, he uses the devices for many different purposes. Not only was this a social division, but those who opposed King were reinforced by the respective legislature that sought to burden him. He uses rhetorical devices such as repetition, analogy, and rhetorical questions. Parallelism In Letters From Birmingham Jail 172 Words1 Page 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. While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. the exigence is the continued condemnation, segregation, and prejudice afflicted against African Americans since the emancipation of the slaves in 1863. Dr. King goes on to say that laws that do not match what the Bible says are unjust. He is a firm believer that Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere (262). In "Letter from Birmingham Jail", King implements antithesis -- along with his background as a minister -- to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the Southern clergymen, as he attempts to further diverge the two diametric rationales; thus, he creates logos as he appeals to the audience's logical side and urges African-Americans to act punctual in their