King strategically persuades. There are three main considerations to make while analysing a rhetorical situation: the constraints, the exigence, and the audience. Specifically, King's letter addresses three important groups in the American society: the white American political community, white American religious community, and the black American society. It managed to inspire a generation of blacks to never give up and made thousands of white Americans bitterly ashamed of their actions, forging a new start for society. 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. MLK uses both ways to gain the attention and agreement of the audience but, he uses pathos not just more, but in a more relatable way in order to appeal to his audience. , 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail. Dr. Kings goal of this letter was to draw attention to the injustice of segregation, and to defend his tactics for achieving justice. In terms of legacies, Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of someone whose legacy has left an impact on a great many fields. What type/s of rhetorical device is used in this statement? Not only does he use pathos to humanize himself, but he also uses it to humanize his immediate audience, the eight clergymen. In Letter from Birmingham Jail, King implements antithesis -- along with his background as a minister -- to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the Southern clergymen, as he attempts to further diverge the two diametric rationales; thus, he creates logos as he appeals to the audiences logical side and urges African-Americans to act punctual in their fight against injustice, prompted by the imprudent words of the clergy. King chose to write this for a reason; to resonate with those who were not his enemies but who held back the movement through compliance. 1, no. Additionally, personable elements such as tone, inflection, and overall vindication behind the letter are left to be determined by the rhetorical language. In response to Kings peaceful protesting, the white community viewed [his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist, and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). From the very beginning of it , King brings his crowd back to the origin of America when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, that freed all slaves and gave hope to the former slaves. There are people in the white community that are already standing hand-in-hand with them and their dreams. However, this constraint did not ultimately halt the spread of Kings message nation-wide, as it became a persuasive landmark of the civil rights movement, likely due to both his impactful position and persuasive use of rhetoric. All of these factors influence each other to shape rhetoric, which Bitzer describes as, pragmatic; it comes into existence for the sake of something beyond itself (3), with Martin Luther Kings. " A just law is man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of the god. This exigence is rhetorical because it can be improved if enough people are socially cognizant, whether that be in legislature or the streets of Birmingham, through creation and enforcement of equitable laws and social attitudes. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" Allusion Essay. However, Martin Luther King Jr is an extremely influential figure in the field of oration and rhetoric. The letter goes on to explain his choice to act directly and nonviolently, stating, For years now I have heard the word wait. It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. With this addressed, his audience was truly the population of the United States, especially Birmingham, with a focus on those who withheld and complied with the oppression of African American citizens, even if not intentionally. Though this letter was intended for the judgemental and condescending men of high faith, his response touched the hearts and minds of the entire U.S. population, then, and for years to come. In addressing and confronting the problem of injustices among the black Americans in the American society, particularly the violence that had happened in Birmingham, and, Martin Luther King Jr. faced many challenges during his life. 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. In order to dispel any misguided ideas that whites have of the Negroes fortune, King tells them directly that Negroes are in poverty as everybody is blocking them from entering the ocean of material prosperity. The second time King uses antithesis is when he states that Nineteen Sixty-Three is not an end, but a beginning, which he aims to express that the revolution will not stop at 1963; rather it will have a new beginning. King is not speaking only of racism; he is speaking of injustice in general. In Letter From Birmingham Jail, the exigence is the continued condemnation, segregation, and prejudice afflicted against African Americans since the emancipation of the slaves in 1863. Recent flashcard sets. King uses parallelism to add balance and rhythm to his rhetoric. Throughout the letter critics are disproved through Kings effective use of diction and selection of detail. The topic of Dr. Kings letters from a Birmingham prison is the nonviolent protest being done in Birmingham, Alabama in the fight for African Americans civil rights. To achieve this, he used rhetorical strategies such as appeal to pathos and repetition. Dr. King often used repetition and parallel construction to great emotional effect when he spoke. As a black man and pacifist-forward figurehead of the Civil Rights movement, the way Martin Luther is perceived is mostly dictated by preconceived biases and is rampant, widespread, and polarized. The eight clergymen in Birmingham released a public statement of caution regarding the protesters actions as unwise and untimely (King 1), to which Martins letter is a direct response. This protest, his subsequent arrest, and the clergymens public statement ostensibly make up the rhetorical exigence, but it truly stems from a much larger and dangerous situation at hand: the overwhelming state of anti-black prejudice spread socially, systematically, and legislatively in America since the countrys implementation of slavery in Jamestown, 1619. 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. 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. the exigence is the continued condemnation, segregation, and prejudice afflicted against African Americans since the emancipation of the slaves in 1863. King concludes with optimism about the future of the relationship between the currently segregated blacks and whites. Ultimately, King crafts antithetic parallelism to establish a logical structure that emphasizes logos in his argument: the timeliness of justice. Initially, the eight Birmingham clergymen are the audience and while they were not overtly racist, King uses rhetoric meant to have them understand his urgency. King uses pathos to invoke anger, sympathy and empathy, his impeccable use of logos makes his argument rational to everyone, and his use of ethos, especially the use of biblical references, makes his opinions more reliable. 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. These circumstances lead us to our next rhetorical focus: audience. Lastly he shows ethos by using authority in his speech by using quotes from two very famous documents. King provides imagery to make the audience see what it would be like to be an African American in the united, I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal. Dr. King also states that one day he would like his children to be free as whites were. When Dr. King first arrived in Birmingham, trouble occurred when he and fellow activists were . This period of quiet speculation over the law illuminates the national divide in opinion over the matter, one which King helped persuade positively. Example: Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Yes he does criticize the white clergymen but basically he is trying to tell them that they should stop this segregation and that the black are not to be mistreated. The answer is found in the fact that there are two types of laws: there are just laws, and there are unjust laws Any law that uplifts human personality is just. At this time, he is representative of the Black American population and the Civil Rights Movement as a whole he is Martin Luther King Jr., and while this is a powerful position to occupy, the constraints imposed are just as dominant. Parallelism is useful to emphasize things and ideas to the audience, which, like all the other tropes and schemes. All of these factors influence each other to shape rhetoric, which Bitzer describes as, pragmatic; it comes into existence for the sake of something beyond itself (3), with Martin Luther Kings Letter From Birmingham Jail being a shining example. His letter has become one of the most profound pieces of literature of the 20th century, as King uses vivid examples and eloquent rhetorical devices to counter all nine arguments. "A Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Analysis. . Dr. King was arrested, and put in jail in Birmingham where he wrote a letter to the clergymen telling them how long Blacks were supposed to wait for their God giving rights and not to be force and treated differently after, In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail from jail in Birmingham, Alabama in response to a public statement issued by eight white clergyman calling his actions unwise and untimely. Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social colorblindness. During a civil resistance campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was arrested. 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. He also wants the readers to realize that negroes are not to be mistreated and that the mistreatment of negroes could have severe implications as in a violent protest against the laws made by the court. On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a famous speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, this speech was called I have a dream. This speech was focused on ending racism and equal rights for African Americans during the civil rights movement. Lastly, the exigence of a rhetorical piece is the external issue, situation, or event in which the rhetoric is responding to. Pathos are present more often in the I Have A Dream speech, mainly because he is bravely facing a crowd, speaking from the heart, rather than formality. 1963, a letter was written to the clergy to alert them of what great injustices were taking place in Birmingham, Alabama.
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