A Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Letter From Birmingham Jail' He also paints Birmingham as an evil unjust place by saying things like I am in Birmingham because injustice is here (king 1)., The Non-Proclaimed Guilt of the White Christian Moderate An anaphora is a rhetorical device that consists of repeated phrases or words in the beginning of neighboring clauses (not to be confused with just simple repetition). They believed that these [], In the Letter from Birmingham Jail by Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. he explains the injustices happening all over the United States but especially in the city of Birmingham. The papers are not supposed to be submitted for academic credit. (including. When Marting Luther King calls God an extremist he goes on saying the question is not whether we will be an extremist, but what kind of extremist these two follow after one another because some not all people think it is insane to love your enemies, to bless them because they are bringing you down but people go by it because it is the right thing to do so with that being said Martin Luther King Jr. is claiming he might be considered an extremist now for doing something out of the ordinary but soon his extreme actions will no longer be considered extremebut will be considered doing something good. He appeals to peoples emotions. Throughout the whole paragraph using this kind of sentence structure and a lot of imagery the audience starts to feel what it would be like to be in Kings position and feel the pain and troubles he had to go through. Carson_Walker797. Definition. When these leaders praise the police for preventing violence, they are only concerned about violence against white citizens. By reiterating that the only time is now, King pokes holes into the argument of the clergy, in an effort to make them understand the importance of now. King expresses his disappointment with the white church for failing to stand with him and other nonviolent activists campaigning for an end to racial segregation. Letter from Birmingham Jail Summary & Analysis | LitCharts (2009). He points out that everything Hitler did in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s was legal, because the Nazis changed the laws to suit their ideology and political aims. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper. King points out that the newly elected mayor of the city, like the previous incumbent, is in favour of racial segregation and thus wishes to preserve the political status quo so far as race is concerned. In this way, King establishes that segregation is an immoraland therefore unjustlaw. All rights reserved. By challenging the statement and proving otherwise, King adequately justifies his claim to the clergymen that he is not responsible for precipitating any, He dances between an iron fist of retaliation and an admirable reassurance of the patience and peace his brothers and sisters have shown; this crafts the clear message that the fight of oppression will certainly be surmounted by justice. So instead of the view that law and justice are synonymous, Letter from Birmingham Jail is a powerful argument for obeying a higher moral law rather than manmade laws which suit those in power. copious: (a) anxious, (b) typed, (c) scarce. King Jr also uses anaphora to emphasize the weight of the statements, add emotions, and lessen the intensity of negative words. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. What made this protest more challenging was the timing; Birmingham was in the middle of the Mayor election., It was a public response to a letter penned by eight white Alabama religious leaders who denounced King's methods of nonviolent protest and his involvement in Birmingham's civil rights movement. The most evident aspect states, when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cannot go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness toward white people (King Jr, 1963). King now turns to the question of law-breaking. Martin Luther King Jr. effectively crafted his counter argument by first directly addressing his . Martin Luther King then proceeds to justify his cause for protest and establishes reasons for the advancement of civil rights. Use of Anaphora Conclusion The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was important in the history of the civil rights movement. By clicking Continue, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy. By showing his own emotions, King inspires compassion in the, does use historical and biblical allusions through out his whole letter, there are two allusions that really stand out. Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle That Changed a Nation. 1 / 26. allegory. (b) Complete a similar chart about Cassius' motivation in The Tragedy of julius Caesar, Act b, Scene ii, in given line. By using religious examples which appeal directly to his audience, the preachers, he attempts to gain their support and legitimize his course of action. Though disappointed, King still loves the church. In Martin Luther King Jrs, Letter from Birmingham Jail, written in August of 1963, he addresses the Call for Unity written by the eight clergymen of Alabama in response to ongoing protests. His critics vehement condemnation of the protests, then, is a sign that they are, indeed, creating the pressure needed to spark change. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. King encourages the readers of his letter to feel sorry for the African American population. King often used repetition and parallel construction to great emotional effect when he spoke. There's a little bit of everything in "Letter from Birmingham Jail": Dr. King makes an appeal to his readers' hearts and heads while alluding to the moral authority of the Christian tradition, American ideals, and the collective . Jefferson, for example, was considered an extremist for arguing, in the opening words to the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal. In Alabama, with its extreme racial injustice,, both white and some hesitant black Americans prefer allowing more time to . He knows that comparing the protesters to the early Christians places his critics in the role of the enemies of freedom. The incorporation of pathos and anaphora makes the letter effective in conveying the intended message. Dr. King wanted to end segregation and he also wanted equal rights for everyone, but he was told by the clergyman that the movement was unwise and untimely. Rhetorical Appeals Used by Martin Luther King in His Letter from Nobel Peace Prize winner, Martin Luther King Jr. writes "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to address Clergymen during April 16, 1963, after being jailed for parading without a permit. Letter from Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis, Nikola Tesla and theoretical significance of his work, Historical developments of moral and political philosophy, How does Jane Austen present marriage within Pride, Choose a Historical Figure that Reminds You of. King uses anaphora in the multiple use of the phrases I doubt that you. He had dedicated his life to bringing liberty to people of color and making the United States a truly 'free' nation. King describes his disappointment in the church, The judgement of God is upon the church as never before. Give examples of the writers use of metaphors, imagery, and anaphora That same day, civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for protesting without a permit. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. King wrote this open letter in April 1963 while he was imprisoned in the city jail in Birmingham, Alabama. A document known as, A Letter from a Birmingham Jail., In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail", he presents a notable and exceptional argument. Kings use of religious knowledge gave him the tools he needed in order to not only castigate the stance of his opposition, but to show them that they lost the meaning of the religion they devoted their lives. He then goes on to say, I am here because I have organizational ties here. Refine any search. Other religious figures, as well as American political figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, might be called extremists for their unorthodox views (for their time). LitCharts Teacher Editions. For instance, Martin Luther King says like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid. Since Martin Luther King King is writing his letter to clergymen, his religious allusions are used to appeal to them; specifically, Dr. King brings up the point that certain tension is caused by people who have been subjected to grievances and believe that the white man is an incurable devil. In saying this, Martin Luther King tells the clergymen that their sanctimonious acts and racial. It also intensifies emotion and the tone of the essay which can also be considered an appeal to pathos. We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. . The phrase judgement of God is associated with fear of the power of God, in reference to biblical stories involving consequences of Gods disapproval, causing the audience to feel fearful (an effect of pathos) and to feel a need to change in order to avoid Gods wrath. Throughout Kings argument, he appealed his own ethos to his opponents by saying I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth. Letter from the Birmingham Jail Quotes Showing 1-30 of 33. Mre precisely, however, it's effective appliance can be seen in paragraph 15. According to Wrbel (2015), pathos is used as an emotional appeal that persuades the audience to evoke emotions and feelings the author wants to achieve. Few people had the bravery to go against what the masses believed, and fewer had the authority to do so. Dr. King was told several times to wait, which prolonged his protest and marches. specific to broad logic Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the letter from jail, after he got arrested during a peaceful protest. Extremism doesnt have to mean one is a violent revolutionary: it can simply denote extreme views that one holds. Both Christianity and America have personal significance for King, who was a reverend as well as a political campaigner and activist. These rallies were in regards to the racial inequality and segregation that were persistently worsening in the city of Birmingham. He contrasts his nonviolent approach with that of other African-American movements in the US, namely the black nationalist movements which view the white man as the devil. Martin Luther King Jr's "Letter from Birmingham Jail", expressed his beliefs and his actions about the Human Rights Movement. The repetition of a word can intensify the overall meaning of the piece. The other is examples from American history: Abraham Lincoln (who issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the American Civil War, a century before King was writing) and Thomas Jefferson (who drafted the words to the Declaration of Independence, including the statement that all men are created equal). Classical Rhetoric Revisited. A comment like this doesnt leave the reader unmoved. The first two lines read, Your door is shut against my tightened face, / And I am sharp as steel with discontent. McKay uses imagery to help the reader visualize the isolation of African Americans from a society they desire to be a part of. In King's letter, he uses this technique to develop tension in his argument, emotionally stimulating his audience by continually addressing the pain and the sufferings.