Letter from Birmingham Jail - Literature review Example

Letter from Birmingham Jail; Rhetorical Analysis Introduction “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King, Jr, is a message in which King was writing to his “fellow clergymen” in a response to their criticism of the actions he was leading in Birmingham at the time. This letter was written in 1963 in a time when racism was at the peak particularly in the Birmingham City, USA. King went ahead to notify the clergymen about the reality of the situation where he was and how waiting was not an option any longer. In this letter, King used numerous rhetorical strategies to achieve the task of appealing to the readers from a logical standpoint and to create a powerful tone that would back up his ideas and opinions. As a result, his point was effectively passed not only to the eight white clergymen, but also to the whole generation as well. King can be said to be a master of rhetoric since he managed to use the three points of the rhetoric triangle with his argument still flowing effectively. As a matter of fact, most of the sentences in the letter can be linked to logos, pathos or ethos and his incorporation of appeals is masterful. King was able to refute the clergymen’s’ accusations and used their harsh points in presenting his own opinions instead (Longaker and Jeffrey 25). King first stated the general purpose of the letter and later addressed the clergymen so as to set up his counter-argument. One of the examples in which King presented his ethos tactically is in the excerpt “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. “We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights” (Burton 93). In this extract, King presented himself as an insider though he was presented as an outsider by the clergymen. The clergymen were using the term ‘outsider’ to make King feel unwelcome and question his purpose for being in the state of Alabama (Longaker and Jeffrey 71). His statement made them realize that he was not just an ordinary man who decided to protest in an outside community, but the president of the conference. Other forms of ethos that exist in this letter are whereby King demonstrated his religious ethos by discussing his own church leadership as well as his own ministerial ancestors(Burton 91). He also made biblical references to a point of comparing his struggle with those of Apostle Paul and other prophets mentioned in the Bible who persecuted while spreading their messages to the nearby villages-similar to what king was doing for his people (Burton 93). First, King established his credibility before answering the clergymen by mentioning his title and by comparing himself with one of the highest historical authoritarian, Apostle Paul. He also used repetition of his experiences in the Birmingham city to describe the situation from an emotional standpoint. Giving his personal experiences and stating his credibility demanded the audience’s attention to listen to him as he explained his reasoning about the actions taken in the Birmingham. This convinced the clergymen that his reasoning was justified. Another use of ethos is when King told the clergymen that “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional God-given rights (Longaker and Jeffrey 71).” This was rational since the clergymen were suggesting that he needed to wait for some more years. Moreover, King proved that he was knowledgeable when he stated that “We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal’ and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was ‘illegal’”(Burton 123). This indicates King’s prowess in using history to prove his argument and to help people understand his point better. Finally, King made himself appear moral by making the statement that “...so we must see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood” (Longaker and Jeffrey 83). This made him appear to be moral because it became clear that his main goal was to make everyone be together and at peace. In the letter, King also used numerous pathos appeals among them the emotional appeals (Longaker and Jeffrey 56). He was able to make people believe whatever he wanted them to believe by using this effective communication strategy. At one point in the letter, King made the clergymen upset and become convinced by his message. One prime example of King using pathos appeals is on page 2 whereby he said that “...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 that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children (Burton 63).” This is was a very effective use of emotional appeal and especially using a child as his approach. There was a very high likelihood that majority of the people would sympathize with a kid being discriminated. He did this to make the readers feel the disappointment and the pain black people were going through particularly children every time they were discriminated. Immediately the audience sympathizes with the discriminated child, there is a high probability that they would take King’s side in the argument. His creativity in the way he was using adjectives was another strategy that would persuade the audience. Saying that the tears of the discriminated child were “welling up” adds imagery thus making the audience to actually picture the scene and thereby making them feel guilty or sad. Another use of pathos emotional appeal in the letter is the excerpt “Our hopes had been blasted and the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us” (Burton 53). This shows how blacks felt and how their hope had been crushed many times by the actions of whites leaving them with nothing but disappointment. The extract makes the reader become angered by the white’s actions and expresses to the reader the bitterness blacks were going through. The use of logos in the letter is also evident as King attempted to back up his argument opposing the clergymen. In the letter, King supported that they had no other alternative other than preparing and engaging in a direct action. To some extent, King was able to prove his argument by using logical fallacies like appeals to the authority such as when he stated that “Thomas Jefferson; “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...” This was an effective appeal to authority since Thomas Jefferson was a popular person who was respected by many people and using his name to support what their icon thought about racism was likely to make them think that Thomas Jefferson must be right. In conclusion, Martin Luther King Jr’s letter comprises of good use of pathos, logos, as well as ethos to support his point of view (Burton 74). He was a highly talented speaker and leader who influenced people’s decisions and opinions and made them believe whatever he wanted them to believe. He had a clear planned audience for the white clergy and white moderate and there was a high probability that his audience was persuaded by his letter as a result of his good use of rhetorical appeals and valid information. King was able to convince the audience that demonstration was absolutely the way viable option at the time and that his deeds were justified. Works Cited Top of Form Burton, Gideon O. “Basic Questions for Rhetorical Analysis.” Silva Rhetoricae. Brigham Young University. 26 February 2007. Web. 16 July 2010. Longaker, Mark G, and Jeffrey Walker. “Rhetorical Analysis: A Brief Guide for Writers.” Boston: Longman, 2011. Print. Bottom of Form Read More