Similarities Between I Have A Dream And Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King’s inspiration for writing his, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was mainly to appeal to an undeniable injustice that occurred during his time. His letter was in response tos eight white clergymen, who objected to King protesting in Birmingham. Dr. King effectively crafted his counterargument after analyzing the clergymen’s unjust proposals and then he was able to present his rebuttal. Dr. King effectively formed his counterargument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen and then using logos, pathos and egos to present his own perspective on his opponent’s statements.

It takes a strong human being to fight racial injustice and that is what Martin Luther King Jr. was, In “Letters from Birmingham jail” Martin Luther King, responded to his fellow white clergymen who opposed his nonviolent approach to get racial justice for African Americans while he was confined in Birmingham jail. Throughout the letter King Use rhetorical devises such as allusion to biblical and historical figures, metaphors, and anaphora, that allows the reader to think about the issues King is talking about. In the letter the author use allusion to biblical and historical figures to allow the reader to create parallels in their minds. The parallels leads to comprehension of what King is saying through his letter.

A Letter from Birmingham Jail was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on scraps of paper in response to a "public statement of concern and caution from eight white religious leaders of the South" while incarcerated in Birmingham for participating "in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation." In response to the statement King makes a claim of "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. "

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was a powerful and eloquent letter that effectively argued the point that segregation is fundamentally unjust and should be fought with nonviolent protest. This letter, through describing the injustice taking place during the civil rights movement also provided some insight about Dr. King’s view of the government in the 1960s. Three mains themes present in Dr. King’s letter were religion, injustice, and racism.

Martin Luther King Jr. is a well-known icon of the civil rights movement. Throughout his time leading the movement, he wrote two of some of his best works, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream,” which was a speech he presented on August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C. The letter on the other hand addressed his wrongful jailing in Birmingham, Alabama and also the treatment of African Americans. His speech is one of the most important speeches in America and he is mainly identified by it alone. These two works contain Logos and Pathos that add life and understanding to his writing, and overall changes the way readers and listeners alike think about the civil rights movement as a whole.

In the year of 1963, Martin Luther King was imprisoned for peacefully marching in a parade as a nonviolent campaign against segregation. In Martin Luther King’s essay “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the paragraphs that have the most emotional appeal are, just as the critics say, paragraphs thirteen and fourteen. King tugs at the reader’s emotions in these specific paragraphs using very detailed examples about the difficult, heart-wrenching misfortunes that have happened to the African American society and what they had to endure on a daily basis in Birmingham by using metaphors, contrasts, alliteration, anaphora, and imagery. As taken from an excerpt of “MLK - Letter From A Birmingham Jail,” In paragraphs thirteen and fourteen of Letter

In 1963, Martin Luther King was confined in Birmingham because of his protesting contributes. During this time, there was segregation going on which enjoined African Americans from utilizing particular areas or any type of accommodations in all. King had indited a letter in replication to the eight white clergymen who reprehended King 's actions. In the "Letter from Birmingham jail" King bulwarks the lawfulness of protesting, transgressing the law in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation and racism. The major premise here is that all laws that devalue the human disposition are inequitable. The white clergymen who conveyed objection to King 's actions felt that his actions were transgressing the law and causing chaos. King argues that the laws of the segregated south are inequitable and should not be accepted or followed. King breaks the distinguishment between God 's laws and discriminatory, man-made laws that are made to oppress the Black race, and how he is obligated to fight against those types of laws. The more diminutive premises here is that laws of segregation devalue the ebony man/woman character.

Obviously, again my primary motivation for writing my Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is that this is a requirement for my English Composition Class. My heartfelt motivation for writing my Rhetorical Analysis is the respect I have for Martin Luther King’s intelligence and commitment that he displayed for the equality of the African American population. In analyzing “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, I developed an even stronger understanding of the dedication Mr. King had for the disadvantaged poor black population and the injustice that victimized them on a daily basis.

In this quote I will be showing one of many examples of logos found in MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. “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 chose this quote because MLK clearly states that people in America during the 1960s were being corrupted by this thought that African-American were inferior to normal Americans. But in the letter from Birmingham jail MLK not only used logos, but he also used pathos, to try and show just how miserably the African-American was treated at the time. Here is a quote where MLK tries to explain how the African-Americans were becoming an exception to our constitution. “As the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise.”(273 King) This quote effectively uses pathos because MLK is stating how the negro became a victim of a cruel and unjust system that was prominent in

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” indicates the struggles Martin Luther King Jr previously dealt with in an attempt to end segregation. MLK uses rhetorical devices such as allusion, pathos and anaphora to assist his reasoning. The devices applied help MLK direct and relate the conditions African Americans were facing due to their discrimination.

In Martin Luther King Junior’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, MLK uses ethos, logos, and pathos powerfully and effectively to present his argument that the discrimination of African Americans all over the country is unbearable and should be outlawed forever. King wrote the letter in Birmingham, Alabama after a peaceful protest against segregation which was King’s way of reinforcing his belief that without forceful, direct actions (such as his own), true civil rights could never be achieved.

Martin Luther King Jr wrote an extremely powerful letter that created awareness within the Negro community that displayed use of logos, pathos, and ethos effectively. King writes from Birmingham Jail to the clergymen using the rhetorical appeals to persuade, particularly the white community that, “oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever” (King 7) by being the voice of the Negro communities. Even though the letter was written to diminish the clergymen’s assertions about the Negro community, King wrote a timeless piece of literature that moved both the white and Negro communities. Balanced sentence structures offered logical and concrete arguments that were addressed by Dr King through the heavy use of logos. King argues against the

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s powerful, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King strongly advocates for an immediate change in segregation laws. Give his audience of clergymen oblivious what life is like for black people, King uses pathos to enlighten the men of the urgency for change. He creates a very deep and passionate tone to convey the severe necessity for a reform. He also uses different kinds of figurative language like anaphora, to build the intensity of the paragraphs.

King combines the use of ethos and pathos as he compares himself and the rights of men to religious backgrounds. His first comparison is with the Apostle Paul, where Paul had “carried the gospel of Jesus Christ,” as to Kings carrying of “the gospel of freedom.” King addresses this similarity to show why he felt committed to go to Birmingham, because like Paul, he needed to respond as an aid to his people. Towards the end of Kings letter; he exemplifies courageousness in the Negro demonstrations by relating them to the actions of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they refused to follow what they believed to be unjust laws. Saying that if they are supposed heroes by going against unjust laws, why shouldn't the people see Negro demonstrators the same way? They are also God's children and by those disobedience’s, they were really showing the grace of God. These connections to religion supports their fighting against unjust laws as a divine cause.

Martin Luther King’s 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.