Martin Luther King's 'Paragraph 14'

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly”. King addresses the fact that even though at the time blacks are the ones being segregated upon, it still affects the white community, not just blacks. This quote is relevant to the entirety of the paper because the whole letter is focused on injustices and how they have affected

Argument Analysis Paper During the nineteen sixties, there were high racial tensions between the whites and minority races, mainly with blacks. This was an issue that occurred almost everywhere in the United States at this time, but Birmingham, Alabama was affected the most. Public places in that town were segregated from transportation services to restaurants to restrooms. There were restaurants that did not allow blacks, public water fountains were separated from blacks and whites, and blacks had to sit in certain sections of buses.

Paragraph 14 stands out in Dr. King's Letter from Birmingham Jail because it is extremely different from the previous and following paragraphs. Dr. King's writing style changes and he suddenly takes on a much more emotional approach. In the beginning, for example, Dr. King addresses the "concerns" of the clergymen very rationally. He mentions their statements and then presents a rebuttal.

In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr. is responding to criticism of the peaceful protests and sit-in’s that were taking place in Birmingham, which led to his being arrested and the reason that he was in jail. He first responds to the accusation of being an “outsider” by setting the stage for his being in Birmingham due to being invited because of his ties to the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights organization and due to the fact that he is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Next, Martin Luther King expands on his moral beliefs that there is “injustice” in the way that Birmingham is “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States”.

When a federal injunction was put into place to prevent the protest without permission of the city, Martin Luther King Jr. persevered and decided to go on with the campaign. He got arrested for heading the demonstration and was in jail for eight days. When King heard of the eight clergymen who wrote a letter criticizing the direct action campaign, he began to write his well-known Letter from a Birmingham Jail. One of the tactics he uses to get people to agree with him is he uses emotion to get people’s attention. An example of this comes from paragraph eleven in which the main focus is a lengthy sentence devoted to naming the struggles African Americans endured during that time.

King uses tone, literal and figurative language to establish structure and language in his letter. King’s use of tone in his letter was a great way to lay out the foundation of his letter and add structure. In paragraph 2 and 3, King explains in the “hard, brutal and unbelievable facts” of the actions taken toward blacks

The intro to King's book can be split into three individual sections, each having its own meaning. The first describes the poor living conditions for a black boy and a black girl. In the following section, King reminds the audience of

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” it can easily be argued that King used many rhetorical devices such as anaphora and tone in order to further persuade his audience to take action on behalf of the Civil Rights movement. Through copious examples, the reader is presented with King’s effort to use repetition in order to drive his point as well as being presented with the changing tone of his writing which allows the reader to experience a shift in emotions and urgency throughout the

On page 285 King says, “Supreme Court 's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws” King’s allusion reinforces the facts of his argument by directing the critical event of the decision made in 1954. It shows that the decisions that are being made are not helping the problem that Birmingham has, it is only making the segregation problems worse. It’s efficient because it shows that the courts have been making laws that are what the called just but, in reality, they are anything, but just they are unjust laws that shouldn’t be

“...when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”- then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.” (MLK, 276). King uses this strong sense of appeal to emotion to engross his readers and let them know how hard it is for them.

King uses biblical allusions to appeal to the eight white clergymen and their religious affiliation when he states his duty to carry the “gospel of freedom beyond his home town... Like Paul.” His final point of this section is the clergymen’s failure to recognize the underlying causes of the demonstrations they so harshly condemn, a failure causing further ignorance and confusion on racial

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement in Birmingham, Alabama. The purpose of the demonstration was to bring awareness and end to racial disparity in Birmingham. Later that night, King and his followers were detained by city authorities. While in custody, King wrote the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This letter voiced out his disappointment in the criticisms, and oppositions that the general public and clergy peers obtained.

These people have a passion for what they are protesting for, and the fight for rights will never die off until the black people of America have the equal rights and respect as a white man. Just like king said, “And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the negro is granted his citizenship rights.” The way he states his idea of unrest of the nation till rights are granted really puts an urgency into his ideas, and makes them seem as they are, which is the most important issue in the nation. This idea also develops his central idea in a deep way that says he wants everlasting equality, and there will be an everlasting fight until rights are granted. This really persuades his audience to realize that his idea he is putting in the reader 's head is really the best choice for the nation, and says that America will continue to be fair and equal, because there will be nothing unjust or unfair to fight about.

This reference in particular evokes the strongest emotional response from black people because many African Americans revered Lincoln for his decision to sign the revolutionary Emancipation Proclamation, and how the document symbolized a free future for slaves--the ancestors of the blacks in the crowd. But the next few lines following this allusion also persuades those ignorant of how little things have changed by highlighting the “manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” that blacks still suffer from despite the hundred year gap. Here, he uses the connotations of “manacles” and “chains” to evoke a negative emotional response from the audience, especially from those unaware of the need to change, causing their opinion to match the speaker’s: against segregation. Additionally, King weaves biblical allusions into his speech to appeal to the Christians within the crowd. He uses the “dark and desolate valley of segregation” to illustrate the injustice African Americans have endured for centuries and juxtapositions it with the “sunlit path of racial justice” to exemplify a future where true freedom exists for

He places the strong authority of the declaration on his side to show how the American people are in contradiction to their own “sacred obligation” and the Negros have gotten a “bad check.” A metaphor representing the unfulfilled promise of human rights for the African Americans. King skillfully evokes an emotional response from all races with the use of religion: “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” By doing this he finds a common ground that brings black and whites closer with a common belief in God they share, as well as the mention of