I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character. Dr. King uses his own words to describe what he wants the nation to look like in the future. Since Kings arrest he had time to think deeply about the situation; therefore, he decides to reply back to the Alabama clergymen. By using it, you accept our. His audience ranged between those who his message empowered, a radical positive force, and those who disagreed, made up of southern states, extremist groups, and the majority of American citizens stuck in their racial prejudices. Kings use of pathos gives him the ability to encourage his fellow civil rights activists, evoke empathy in white conservatives, and allow the eight clergymen and the rest of his national audience to feel compassion towards the issue. Martin Luther Kings "letter from Birmingham Jail" strives to justify the desperate need for nonviolent direct action, the absolute immorality of unjust laws together with what a just law is. To get a high-quality original essay, click here. Several clergy who negatively critiqued Kings approach of seeking justice, wrote A Call for Unity, arguing that his protests were senseless and improper. There may have been advantages to broadcasting this message similarly to his I Have a Dream speech, which touched America deeply, due potentially to the accessible, instantaneous, and widespread coverage in American media. You can order a custom paper by our expert writers. King has explained this through many examples of racial situations, factual and logical reasoning, and . While there were consistent and impactful efforts made by various groups for equality throughout the civil rights era, the proximity between the public release of the letter, found nation-wide by late 1963, and the passing of the Civil Rights Act in early July 1964 shows the direct impact the letter had on social attitudes following its publicization. Throughout the text, King utilized the values of his audience to gain sympathy and later on support. King's letter from Birmingham Jail addresses the American society, particularly the political and religious community of the American society. There are three main considerations to make while analysing a rhetorical situation: the constraints, the exigence, and the audience. Throughout the letter critics are disproved through Kings effective use of diction and selection of detail. King goes on to explain how this right has not been kept, making it appear to be similar to a laid-back rule. Both influential speeches rely heavily on rhetorical devices to convey their purpose. Throughout the essay, King uses several powerful tones to complement his strong opinion, Martin Luther King Jrs Letter from Birmingham Jail is one his many writings on segregation and racial inequality towards blacks in the southern American states. The rhetorical choices referenced above are riddled with pathos, also known as language utilized to persuade the audience emotionally. By stating the obvious point and implying that moderates act as though this was not true, he accuses them of both hypocrisy and injustice. Similarly, King uses pathos to trigger the emotional . Dr. King wrote 2 famous works, Dream and Birmingham and each had a different audience and purpose. In this example, King employs antithesis to highlight the logical structure and urgency of his argument against inequity, which allows him to establish logos. 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. Dr. King was considered the most prominent and persuasive man of The Civil Rights Movement. He was able to further interact with the audience; they were able to hear his voice, listen to the intended tone behind his words, see his face, and study his demeanor in the face of adversary. Emotional appeal uses intense words and charged language to grab listeners to get them to keep listening. The letter from the Birmingham jail of Martin Luther King, Jr.. Martin Luther King, more than any other figure, shaped American life from the mid-"'"50s to the late "'"60s. This comes to endanger our entire society. Within the article, the clergymen provide nine different critiques that asserted how Kings protest are invalid, uneffective, and simply unintelligent in the fight for obtaining justice and equity for individuals of color. Jr., Martin Luther King. Both lincolns Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech are similar in that they both express the concept of freedom to achieve their purpose. But immediately after Dr. King speaks out on how after 100 years Blacks still do not have the free will that is deserved. Early in his speech, King writes riches of freedom and security of justice and then justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. In these two examples, King is using parallelism to express that the African American wants justice and freedom by repeating them next to each other and mentally connecting them in the readers mind, which is also connected with pathos as the terms King uses subtly emphasize those words and create good feelings in the reader. 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. 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. However, Martin Luther King Jr is an extremely influential figure in the field of oration and rhetoric. Martin Luther utilizes powerful rhetoric to define his exigence. Although Kings reply was addressed to the Alabama clergyman, its target audience was the white people. Using emotional appeals captures an audience's attention and makes them think about what the narrator is saying. King intended for the entire nation to read it and react to it. Glenn Eskew, Bombingham: Black Protest in Postwar Birmingham, Alabama, 1997. One example of parallelism he uses is, But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity (Barnet and Bedau 741). King organized various non-violent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama that resulted in his arrest. In "Letter from Birmingham Jail", King typically uses repetition in the form of anaphora - repeating the same word (s) at the beginning of consecutive clauses. 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. Active Themes. 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. Kings arguments induce an emotional response in his readers. King strategically persuades. 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. 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. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive. Lastly, King is constrained by his medium. King's main thesis in writing the Birmingham letter is that, racial segregation, or injustice to the black American society, is due to the continuous encouragement of the white American society, particularly the powerful communities in politics and religions. His Letter from Birmingham Jail was the match. King uses tone, literal and figurative language to establish structure and language in his letter. Read along here: https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.htmlop audio here: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/lett. 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. 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. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. From this revelation, the audience will also realize that it is no fault of the Negro that they have been left behind in contrast, modern society have been dragging them back through racism. In the Letter from Birmingham Jail written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., King addressed the concerns of the white clergy and gave support to the direct action committed by African Americans. Explain why the examples fit your chosen reason. For example, to use parallelism in a sentence in which you list a series of elements, each element typically has the same form. Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a civil rights activist that fought for the rights of African Americans in 1963. This is the beginning of King's point-by-point rebuttal of the criticisms leveled against him. Parallelism is a figure of speech in which two or more elements of a sentence (or series of sentences) have the same grammatical structure. It was during this time that Dr. King, refusing to sit idly by, wrote his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, one of the most inspiring documents in history. The letter was written April third, 1963, it was published for the public in June of the same year, a slower spread than a nationwide address on television or radio. He hopes that "[o]ne day the South will know that [the Negroes] were in reality standing up for the best in the American dream" (47), and that "the evil system of segregation" (46) will come to an end. Additionally, personable elements such as tone, inflection, and overall vindication behind the letter are left to be determined by the rhetorical language. What are some examples of parallelism in letter from Birmingham jail? In each writing, he uses the devices for many different purposes. While in solitary confinement for nearly 8 days, reverend and social justice activist, Martin Luther King Jr., wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail in response to the criticism he received for his non-violent protests. Choose one type of reason and cite an example from these lines. Here, King combines divergent interpretations of justice to demonstrate the gravity of the injustice that he confronted in Birmingham. He approaches his argument with logic and appealing to the people of Birminghams emotions. 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. He takes up for his cause in Birmingham, and his belief that nonviolent direct action is the best way to make changes happen. Throughout the letter, Dr. King does a tremendous job of supporting his argument with the three elements of Aristotles rhetorical appeal. Ralph Abernathy (center) and the Rev. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and, Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader in the Civil Rights movement, the son and grandson of a minister, and one heck of a letter writer. King implies that one day, all, I Have a Dream, however, played a major step into changing it. He uses rhetorical devices such as repetition, analogy, and rhetorical questions. Finally, King uses antithesis one more time at the end of his speech, when he writes when all of Gods children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands. The pairs he mentions are all the direct opposites of each other, yet he says that they will all join hands together and be friends. 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. 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. King gives a singular, eloquent voice to a massive, jumbled movement. is undeniably effective at responding to the rhetorical situation at hand. They fought for what they believed in but in vastly different ways. King writes the letter to defend his organization's actions and the letter is also an appeal to the people, both the white and black American society, the social, political, and religious community, and the whole of American society to encourage desegregation and encourage solidarity and equality among all Americans, with no stratifications according to racial differences. These "parallel" elements can be used to intensify the rhythm of language, or to draw a comparison, emphasize, or elaborate on an idea. Whether this be by newspaper, flyers, or restated by another in speech, the spread of information is slower and potentially more controllable. In this way, King asserts that African-Americans must act with jet-like speed to gain their independence. The law was written in 1962, but the powerful response pushed the courts to finalize their decision. Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social colorblindness. He uses parallelism by repeating I had hoped to ironically accuse his attackers. Introduction. Letter from a Birmingham Jail: The Rhetorical Analysis At the peak of the Civil War Movement in America on April 12th, 1963, eight Alabama . To truly understand the effectiveness of this letter, one must rhetorically analyse the contents. Letter from Birmingham Jail; McAuley ELA I HON. A seminal text of the Civil Rights Movement, King's, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism, justifies the measures that brought about his arrest, and asseverates that the segregation laws against blacks in the south must be repealed. It elucidated the exigence behind his letter as his presented rationale behind his arrest only made unjust laws appear more asinine and questionable by relation. During this period in the 1960s, King was disappointed by the way the white clergy was not in support of the religious civil rights movement and Kings goal of equality as a whole. Furthermore, exterior events regarding the movement could ultimately reflect on his influence and polarize the audience further. He points out the irony of America because Black Americans were still not truly free. As example, King uses I have a dream that one day and Let freedom ring.. to open his points on how Americans should change against racial indifferences. Magnifying the differences between two things and repeating statements with similar structure brings about emotion to realize the wrongness of the injustice of civil. 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. Both their speeches, I Have a Dream and The Ballot or the Bullet may have shared some common traits, but at the same time, differed greatly in various aspects. In parallel structure, a writer repeats the same pattern of words or/and pattern of grammatical structure. He said that one day we won 't have to worry about our skin color and segregation and that we 'll all come together as one. These encompass his exigence, at its most simple and precise, and validify the importance behind transforming the country in a positive way. One example of Kings use of pathos appeals to the audiences emotions by showing Kings confidence in his endeavors. Found a perfect sample but need a unique one? Constraints bring light to the obstacles this rhetoric may face, whether it be social, political, economical, etc. King addressed these communities as the primary groups wherein racial segregation is continuously proliferated (the white American political and religious community) and points much of his arguments to and for his fellow black Americans in the society. 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. He goes on to add; I am in Birmingham because injustice is here (King 1). King uses parallelism to add balance and rhythm to his rhetoric. 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. 1, no. While pathos elicits an emotional response from the audience to make them more accepting of Kings ideas, repetition structures the speech and emphasizes key ideas for the audience to take away from listening. This essay was written by a fellow student. Some clergymen, mostly white American men, believe the nonviolent protest Dr. King and African Americans were during was "unwise" and "untimely". Throughout Kings letter, he used various ways of persuasive strategies: pathos, logos, and ethos. 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. There are people in the white community that are already standing hand-in-hand with them and their dreams. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. 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. 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. 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. Here, King offers disparate hypotheticals to illustrate the necessity for brevity in his acts. Therefore, as King fabricates antithetic parallelism, he constructs logos and persuades the audience to take prompt action against injustice through the careful juxtaposition of inverse statements. Parallelism/ Juxtaposition. If your first two elements are verbs, the third element is usually a verb, too. 262). He wants the clergyman to realize that what they believe and think is wrong. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" Allusion Essay. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. In this example, King manufactures logos through the creation of antithetic parallelism, as the structure of his essay provides justification for his argument against the postponement of justice. Repetition. was initially the eight clergymen of Birmingham, all white and in positions of religious leadership. Martin Luther in Birmingham Jail, The Atlantic. Other than the speechs heartwarming and moving content, Kings effective structure along with the usage of all three rhetorical modes and certain rhetorical tropes and schemes has revealed the reason I Have a Dream as a masterpiece of rhetoric and it persuades hundreds of thousands of people support the blacks instead of treating them. Lloyd Bitzer describes rhetorical situation as, a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action to bring about the significant modification of the exigence (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. After reading "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", ask your students to do a scavenger hunt using the storyboard creator. King through this letter tries to express his, "Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail, which was written in April 16, 1963, is a passionate letter that addresses and responds to the issue and criticism that a group of white clergymen had thrown at him and his pro- black American organization about his and his organization's non- violent demonstrative actions against racial prejudice and injustice among black Americans in Birmingham. King concludes with optimism about the future of the relationship between the currently segregated blacks and whites. This period of quiet speculation over the law illuminates the national divide in opinion over the matter, one which King helped persuade positively. Not only does he use pathos to humanize himself, but he also uses it to humanize his immediate audience, the eight clergymen. In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action. As campaigning, King uses it in his speech in order to express all his points. During a civil resistance campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was arrested. Any subject. This letter serves as a purpose to apply the need for love and brotherhood towards one another and avoid all the unjust laws. In his "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. presents an argument through analogy by comparing his situation to Apostle Paul. Black Americans were forced to sit behind buses and kids were to use old books and uniforms of White Americans. In. 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. On the other hand, logical appeals helps to grasp the concept better and provides facts that prove it to be true. Back then, people were ready to oppose unjust laws that were causing inequality and preventing progress. IvyMoose is the largest stock of essay samples on lots of topics and for any discipline. 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. In Kings speech he. Overall, King is saying that we need to fight against injustice anywhere we see it,, In April of 1963, while incarcerated in Birmingham City jail, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an influential letter defending his anti-segregation protests. In the letter, King appeals for unity against racism in society, while he wants to fight for Human Rights, using ethos. Martin Luther King's 'Letter From Birmingham Jail' 16 terms. With these devices, King was able to move thousands of hearts and inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Right after that, he alludes to another American writing, the Declaration of. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America till the Negro is granted his citizenship rights (King pg. While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. 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 its peak in the South. The Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses many problems, including the slow action occuring to stop racial discrimination. The constraints surrounding Martin Luther Kings rhetorical situation include the audience, the rhetorical exigence of the situation he is responding to, Dr. King himself, and the medium, all of which are deeply connected. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law." Parallelism In Letters From Birmingham Jail, 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. Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail.