In his "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. presents an argument through analogy by comparing his situation to Apostle Paul. This letter is a prime example of Kings expertise in constructing persuasive rhetoric that appealed to the masses at large. Order original paper now and save your time! MarkAHA. 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. He is placing hope among the Negro community and assuring the white superiority that one day, they will share the same rights as their nation distinctively promised a hundred years earlier. Martin Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses his fellow clergymen and others who critiqued him for his actions during this time. In Kings letter, he states, We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right. Funny thing is he had lots of time to think about and write this letter. Letter to Birmingham Jail is a response to a group of Birmingham ministers who voiced negative comments and questioned the civil rights demonstrations Dr. King was leading in Birmingham. King says on page. In addition, King is also in Birmingham because he feels compelled to respond to injustice wherever he finds it. Dr. King fought against segregation between Black Americans and White Americans. He wrote the letter in response to criticisms made by white clergymen. These circumstances lead us to our next rhetorical focus: audience. As he sits in a cell of Birmingham Jail in 1963, he responds to criticism from eight white clergymen. 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. 1963, a letter was written to the clergy to alert them of what great injustices were taking place in Birmingham, Alabama. However, they each have different ideas about freedom, and about what they want their audience to do. To this day, Kings speech remains one of the most famous and influential speeches in. 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. By stating the obvious point and implying that moderates act as though this was not true, he accuses them of both hypocrisy and injustice. Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail. This letter occasioned his reply and caused King to write a persuasive letter "Letter from Birmingham Jail," justifying his actions and presence in Birmingham. Furthermore, Dr. King had four steps to achieve his goals by collecting facts, negotiation, self-purification, and direct, Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a response to Dr. King's follow clergymen criticism. These "parallel" elements can be used to intensify the rhythm of language, or to draw a comparison, emphasize, or elaborate on an idea. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. Despite his support, Martin Luthers audience is one of the largest constraints in his rhetorical situation. Dr. King goes on to say that laws that do not match what the Bible says are unjust. " A just law is man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of the god. Not only was this a social division, but those who opposed King were reinforced by the respective legislature that sought to burden him. Fred Shuttlesworth, defied an injunction against protesting on Good Friday in 1963. We believe that King states in the first sentence himself that he does not usually comment upon the criticism of his work. He does an exceptional job using both these appeals throughout his speeches by backing up his emotional appeals with logical ones. He seeks to make them see the logic behind their protesting and make them feel ashamed and embarrassed by the way that they have been treating the African Americans. 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. Macbeth) in the essay title portion of your citation. Yet his most important method of reaching his audience, and conveying his enduring message of equality and freedom for the whole nation was his appeal to pathos. In Kings speech he says, Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of this country (King Page 6). 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 defends his primary thesis all throughout the length of his letter, and the arguments that he has made to prove that his thesis is true and valid will be the focus of this rhetorical analysis. Letter from Birmingham City Jail - eNotes Your email address will not be published. The Rhetorical Situation of Letter from Birmingham Jail The letter was addressed to clergymen who had criticized King and made many claims against him. Letter From Birmingham Jail One of the most famous documents in American history is the 1963 letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from his jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama. 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. Back then, people were ready to oppose unjust laws that were causing inequality and preventing progress. However, in the months that followed, Kings powerful words were distributed to the public through civil rights committees, the press, and was even read in testimony before Congress (Letter from Birmingham Jail), taking the country by storm. 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. These two techniques played a crucial role in furthering his purpose and in provoking a powerful response from the audience that made this speech memorable and awe-inspiring. Amidst the intense Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and put in solitary confinement for peacefully protesting racial discrimination and injustice in Birmingham, Alabama. His passionate tone flowed through these strategies, increasing their persuasive power on the people and encouraging them to follow/listen to his message on racial injustice. Ultimately, King crafts antithetic parallelism to establish a logical structure that emphasizes logos in his argument: the timeliness of justice. , 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail. Since Kings arrest he had time to think deeply about the situation; therefore, he decides to reply back to the Alabama clergymen. 50 Years Later, King's Birmingham 'Letter' Still Resonates Without King, America would be probably still heavily segregated. Martin Luther King then goes on to make an analogy to the Bible, portraying Apostle Pauls proliferation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in parallel to his own efforts, stating, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown (1). In paragraph 15 of his "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King uses parallel structure to compare just and unjust laws. 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. Martin Luther King Jr. was an American baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement in 1954. Throughout the work, Letter from Bimingham Jail, Martin Luther constantly uses examples from historical figures in order to unite his argument that action must be taken in order to end discrimination and segregation. The rhythm and frequent repetition are used to drive home his key points, stressing the importances of his goal. In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action. In terms of legacies, Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of someone whose legacy has left an impact on a great many fields. Repitition in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" by Katherine Caracappa - Prezi The letter is a plea to both white and black Americans to encourage desegregation and to encourage equality among all Americans, both black and white, along all social, political and religious ranks, clearly stating that there should be no levels of equality based upon racial differences., In Letter from Birmingham Jail, author Martin Luther King Jr. confirms the fact that human rights must take precedence over unjust laws. Ultimately, he effectively tackles societal constraints, whether it be audience bias, historical racism, or how he is viewed by using the power of his rhetoric to his advantage. Dr. King brought people up and gave them hope that one day everything will be taken care of and we 'll all be happy, he said that one day we 'll have peace and love among each other. 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. While the Civil Rights movement superseded the dismantling of Jim Crow, the social ideologies and lackadaisical legislature behind anti-black prejudice continued to rack the country far into the 1960s. African Americans have been waiting to have there civil rights of freedom, but the social courts has requested them not protest on the street but to take it to court. King's Allusion in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" Essay Letter from a Birmingham Jail (article) | Khan Academy Martin Luther King Jr. displays pathos by targeting the audiences emotion by talking about his American dream that could also be other peoples too. Parallelism In Letter From Birmingham Jail - 420 Words | Bartleby was initially the eight clergymen of Birmingham, all white and in positions of religious leadership. 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.
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