How Did Martin Luther King Use Ethos Pathos Logos

Martin Luther King Jr. was an influential civil rights leader. He wanted to bring all people together and live in a peaceful society. In his speech, King talked about how as a leader of a civil rights movement, he couldn't support the war in Vietnam. Martin Luther King Jr. persuaded his audience to not support the Vietnam war through his use of ethos and pathos.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used pathos, ethos, and logos to reach his audience and explain to them the pain that comes from segregation during a difficult time in civil rights history. The letter was written as a response to several critics that were white religious leaders of the South. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. started out by using pathos to connect to the readers emotions. He explained the difficulty that one must go through on a daily basis as a colored individual. For example, Dr. King had to explain to his daughter why she can not go to a new amusement park because it is not opened to those that are colored and she does not understand because of her age and innocence.

At one point in the speech he says, “One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.” (King 261)This quote uses logos to show that even one hundred years after slavery was ended they were still mistreated. In his “Letter From

Martin Luther King Jr is an incredible writer and speaker which did help him when he was in the civil rights act to end the segregation of African Americans and white people. In king’s famous works such as his “I Have A Dream” speech and his “Letter From Birmingham Jail” King discusses his want to the end of segregation through the means of persuasion. By doing this he uses two types of persuasive appeals, logos(using a clear line of reasoning supported by evidence, and pathos (using loaded or charged language and other devices to arouse emotions) in King’s coordination towards each texts targeted speech and audience. King uses both of these appeals excellently and is not exactly better at one than the other mainly because of the target audience and occasion these texts are represented by. Let the rest of essay explain to you as to why this is.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is considered as one of the most influential Civil Rights activists during the twentieth century in a period of prejudices and racism were still prevalent. King fought against discrimination of all people, but often found himself campaigning against the unfair treatment of African Americans during the mid-twentieth century. In 1963, King found himself in an Alabama jail in the city of Birmingham. He was arrested for being a part of a nonviolent demonstration without a permit. King had been protesting because of continuous unfair treatment of African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama.

A look into Eathos, Logos, and Pathos “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality”. In that quote Martin Luther King Junior uses an example of what African American ar asking for, people seem to think they are asking for too much. When talking about what African Americans want and rightfully deserve he uses Ethos, Logos and Pathos. Just in this one quote he uses all three, this is an ethical reason, it is also a Logical reason, no one deserves to be treated like that by people they are suppose to trust to protect them, and finally they have a Pathetic reason, police brutality is a horrible thing all around but the words he uses around it like: “victim”, “unspeakable horrors”.

Martin Luther King Jr. uses the rhetorical appeal of logos to help reinforce his argument for civil disobedience. He further supports his claim through the use of antithesis. King uses logos to point out the flaws of the treatment of minorities and the and the justice system by stating “Its ugly record f police brutality is known in every section of this country. Its unjust treatment of negros in the courts is a notorious reality” on page 6. King uses logos to prove that using civil disobedience would be more effective than trying to change society through law and order.

King is smart he starts his speech very similar to a great man in history before him. King states “Five score years ago”, just as Lincoln starts his gettysburg address “Four score and seven years ago”. (1) King starts the very beginning of his speech using his logic. He knows that he needs to persuade whites to see his views as big of a problem that they are. He continues to use Lincoln's emancipation proclamation, as his first piece of evidence.

Martin Luther King Jr., a minister and social activist, led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. He was an advocate for equality between all races and a civil and economic rights Activist. Because of his leadership, bravery and sacrifice to make the world a better place, Martin Luther King was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. His incredible public speaking skills and ability to properly get his message across can clearly be scene throughout the speech. Tone: Dr. King delivered his speech at the university of Oslo in Oslo Norway in front of a large group of people.

How cool would it be to stand up for something that you believe is right and make a change in history well that is what Dr Martin Luther King Jr did. In the “I Have a Dream Speech” by Martin Luther King Jr he is promoting civil rights to a crowd by the Lincoln Memorial. Also his letter “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he was writing back to eight clergymen who criticized his ideas and beliefs about the civil right movement. In his speech and in his letter he uses logos and pathos, but he uses them different in his speech and in the letter I will be comparing his two text and see how he uses them.

Martin Luther King uses ethos to expand his credibility and rhetorical questions to challenge the audience’s view on civil disobedience. For example, King uses ethos when he says, “I have the honor of serving as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference… I have basic ties here” (6). King establishes his trustworthiness in this statement. King gets the audience to listen to what he has to say by starting his speech with this idea of letting them know who he is. The audience listens because he proves his importance by stating his position in the organization.

A Letter From Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. is a name that will never be forgotten, and that will go down in the books for all of time. He was foremost a civil rights activist throughout the 1950s and 1960s. during his lifetime, which lasted from January of 1929 to April of 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and a social activist and was known for his non- violent protests. He believed that all people, no matter the color, have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take a direct action rather than waiting forever for justice to come through and finally be resolved. In the Spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stated in a speech that Birmingham was among one of the most segregated cities in the world.

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people”- Martin Luther King Jr. A young man from Atlanta, Georgia, the son of a schoolteacher and a pastor, came to be known as a world hero; his name was Martin Luther King Jr. For Martin Luther King Jr. the civil rights movement began one summer in 1935, when he was six years old. During this time two of his friends did not show up to play with him. He decided that he would go and look for them.

“And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.” (MLK, 264).  Martin Luther King Jr. was a recognized activist in terms of supporting complete freedom for African Americans.   He was a well known author and public speaker who served as a shred of hope for many during the dark times in which racial prejudice was exercised.

He incorporated a lot of biblical allusions to insist the audience that his speech is in accordance to the Bible, as King writes that he has a dream that one day, “every valley shall be exalted,” every hill and mountain “made low,” all rough places will be “plain” and crooked places “straight” and that the “glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” (Isaiah 40:4-5). On another occasion he paraphrased one of biblical statement “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalms 30:5 ) in his words as “It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity “cite .King’s allusions to past events help to create unite both races and inspire them to tackle this problem collectively as both colors experienced American history in some form or another. King not only references the Biblical allusions which emotionally appeal to people but also mentions legal statements like declaration of independence and Emancipation proclamation by mentioning “Five score years …” to refer to Abraham Lincoln’s address and “promissory note” to direct their attention towards their legal rights as mentioned in the constitution.