Pathos In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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 it’s peak in the South. 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. In response to King’s peaceful protesting, the white community viewed “[his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist,” and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). 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. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive.

The two main purposes of writing the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" were to respond to the criticism of the moderate white clergy who opposed the nonviolent direct action and to defend the strategy of nonviolent resistance as the most powerful weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and justice. In the letter, Martin Luther King Jr. uses various strategies to convey his ideas effectively. One of the strategies is the use of ethos. He establishes himself as a credible and knowledgeable authority on issues of race, religion, and justice.

Dr martin Luther king jr is an influential figure in civil rights. While in jail for peacefully protesting he received a letter telling him that protests are "unwise and untimely. " In response to this, he wrote a letter from jail. He uses ethos pathos and allusion to establish himself as a credible leader.

Not only that, but while the clergymen condemns the statutes, they hardly do anything about it other than treating black Americans as equal as themselves. King reminds the clergymen through his allusions, that they need to follow and enforce the morality of God, he urges them to rethink about enforcing the segregation

King writes, "but when you have seen viscous mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sister and brother at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policeman curse,kick,and even kill you black brother and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negros brothers smothering in a air tight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park... when you have to answer for a five year old son who is asking "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"(586-87). King explains other situations that his community cannot do because the color of their skin. This paragraph is very powerful so how poorly the black community was treated. It also show their daily struggle of how there were these new thing but they could not attend because their skin color. To conclude this paragraph kings says "there comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the deep abyss of despair.

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was leading the march of the Civil Rights revolution in Birmingham, Alabama, when he was arrested for violating an unjust law. During King’s time in jail, he came across a news article that disparaged the march and degraded its purpose. Thus, evoking a letter response from King, most commonly known today as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Martin Luther King Jr. begins the letter by addressing his fellow clergymen, and pointing out that he normally does not respond to criticism. He then starts to explain how segregation has had a negative toll on the black community.

The main words King consistently brings up and definines have to do with the law, if something is a just or unjust law, or if what is legal or illegal are not the true definition of what people usually think they are. King tries to show that the original usage of a word does not always line up with it being morally right or wrong. To prove this he states, “we can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal’ and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was ‘illegal,’” (King 3) which shows that in the past the government or leaders may have said something is legal, but in actuality it is morally wrong. It is especially seeable in the case of Hitler, which King mentions, where he lead many innocent people to death.

King reminded them of “the time when early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed” (10), back when they were “a thermostat that transformed the mores of society” (10). This allusion parallels the early Christians’ struggles against persecution with the American black communities’ hardships in protecting their own civil rights. Additionally, King condemns how white moderate Christians infantilize the critical conditions black Americans are forced to live under—especially the Christians who worship holy martyrs. Although his criticisms may be harsh, King made such comparisons in order to connect young black to the early Christians he described. King’s true purpose for his harsh comparison against the American Christian communities is to emphasize hope.

In conclusion, Dr. King’s letter brought to me strong emotions of compassion to everybody facing life’s challenges. It also encourages readers to treat others with respect and not to bow down to violence. This letter was beautifully well put and marvelous to

In this particular passage, King addresses his Christian and Jewish brothers and makes two important confessions. First, he admits that he has been extremely disappointed in the so-called "white

The criticism made by the these eight clergyman epitomize the idea of whiteness and white privilege. Rather than to offer assistance and guidance for King and his efforts to diminish racial injustices prevalent in the South, they, instead, offer criticism in an attempt to depreciate King’s fight for racial equity. This rhetoric has occurred often throughout American history, where we see white individuals devaluing and hindering the progress made by individuals of color. For example, one of the critiques that King received was that The Negro community should be more patient and wait for society to move gradually toward civil rights. What white individuals fail to understand is that there is no such thing

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the letter from jail, after he got arrested during a peaceful protest. At the time segregation was still a part of the culture in the United States and Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers were working diligently and peacefully to try and make a change in people’s hearts about segregation. In this letter MLK Jr. is writing to defend his strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism, which he does effectively by using rhetoric. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference focused on Birmingham, Alabama to start a nonviolent direct action campaign with the goal to get the city to get rid of segregation laws.

In “A Letter From A Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr defends his use of nonviolent protest in order to accomplish racial equality. In the letter, Dr. King uses ethos, diction, and allusions when defending nonviolent protest which makes his argument really strong. His goal is to make the clergymen help him fight racial equality. He uses ethos to build up credibility.

Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses his fellow clergymen and others who critiqued him for his actions during this time. The clergymen along with others are addressed in an assertive tone allowing them to fully understand why his actions are justified. Throughout the letter critics are disproved through King’s effective use of diction and selection of detail. Martin Luther King opens the letter stating that the clergymen are being “influenced by the argument of ‘outsiders coming in” consequently he explains the reason for him being in Birmingham. In the opening of his explanation he states the injustices occurring, relating it to the prophets of eighth century B.C.

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. Persuasion within writing is an important tool to be utilized in order to garner support for one’s position. During the 1960s, equality between different races was a very controversial issue which required a certain finesse when being discussed. Martin Luther King demonstrated precisely this sort of finesse when writing about the racial injustices faced by black Americans, as well as when refuting the criticisms he faced from white clergymen.