At the time, Birmingham was one of the harshest places to live in America for African Americans; white supremacy groups would set off bombs to instill fear in the black community and withhold racial integration, and peaceful protests and sit-ins were met with unjustifiable police violence, in addition to the suffocating social qualms surrounding the black community (Eskew). 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. It was important for King to address this audience as their support would ultimately make the largest difference in the movement. Martin Luther King Jr. was born to a middle class family and was well educated. 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. While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. 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. 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. Dr. Kings goal of this letter was to draw attention to the injustice of segregation, and to defend his tactics for achieving justice. He wants the clergyman to realize that what they believe and think is wrong. This letter serves as a purpose to apply the need for love and brotherhood towards one another and avoid all the unjust laws. Martin Luther King, more than any other figure, shaped American life from the mid-"'"50s to the late "'"60s. Lastly he shows ethos by using authority in his speech by using quotes from two very famous documents. Martin Luther King responds to the subjectivity of law and the issue he paramounts by using precise and impactful rhetoric from inside of his jail cell. Some clergymen, mostly white American men, believe the nonviolent protest Dr. King and African Americans were during was "unwise" and "untimely". But the strongest influential device King used was pathos. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Behind Martin Luther King's Searing 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' 100% plagiarism free, Orders: 11 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. 1, Penn State University Press, 1968, pp. Order original paper now and save your time! Correspondingly, King urges the clergy to reconsider the horse-and-buggy pace of their methods of action through his logos. Additionally, as he confesses to the clergy, King employs antithesis to create a rational structure that fosters logos: I agree I cant agree; small in quantity big in quality and shattered dreams hope (521 & 524-525). This website uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. In order to properly convey his response to the questions proposed by the religious leaders of Birmingham, Dr. King uses it to draw comparisons which magnifies an idea, but it also commends one and disparages the other. Order can only be held for so long whilst injustice is around. MarkAHA. 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. King was jailed along with large numbers of his supporters, including hundreds of schoolchildren. Identify the parallel structure in paragraph 15. - eNotes.com We believe that King states in the first sentence himself that he does not usually comment upon the criticism of his work. 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. This letter is a prime example of Kings expertise in constructing persuasive rhetoric that appealed to the masses at large. Letter from Birmingham Jail; McAuley ELA I HON. Note: All essays placed on IvyMoose.com are written by students who kindly donate their papers to us. Good uses of similes, metaphors, and imagery will act on the reader's senses creating a false sense of perception. We allow people to think that it is okay to act unjustly towards some individuals. This audience is rhetorical as the social and political ideologies of the American people fuel democracy and are able to change the system around them through collective effort. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail.. Repetition in "The Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Maddie Hawkins - Prezi Parallelism In Letters From Birmingham Jail | ipl.org He uses the rhetorical appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos numerous times throughout his essay to relay his argument about the laws of segregation and the African-Americans that are being cruelly treated.. 1963, a letter was written to the clergy to alert them of what great injustices were taking place in Birmingham, Alabama. 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. They fought for what they believed in but in vastly different ways. We will write a custom Essay on King's Allusion in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" specifically for you. 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. Furthermore, exterior events regarding the movement could ultimately reflect on his influence and polarize the audience further. Repitition in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" by Katherine Caracappa - Prezi 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. In A Letter From A Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr defends his use of nonviolent protest in order to accomplish racial equality. Repetitions help the writer give structure to his arguments and highlight important aspects. 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. While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Prior to the mid 20th century, social injustice, by means of the Jim Crow laws, gave way to a disparity in the treatment of minorities, especially African Americans, when compared to Caucasians. 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. Martin Luther utilizes powerful rhetoric to define his exigence. He opens with an explanation to his response, stating, Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideasBut since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms(King 1). Rhetorical Devices In Letter From Birmingham Jail | ipl.org Dr. 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. for only $11.00 $9.35/page. He shows logos by giving a sense of hope to the people that better things will come in time. Several clergy who negatively critiqued Kings approach of seeking justice, wrote A Call for Unity, arguing that his protests were senseless and improper. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive. King says on page. In 1963, while Martin Luther King was in Birmingham Jail, King delivered a powerful letter to his Clergymen in order to take time and respond to the criticism he had received over his work in Birmingham. 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. If your first two elements are verbs, the third element is usually a verb, too. Despite this, the clergy never questions whether or not segregation is unjust. Abused and scorned through we may be, our destiny is tied with the destiny of America. (Page 9) The sureness King presents in this quote both instills hope in the reader and allows them to relate to Kings passion. As mentioned before, the social and political ideologies in America surrounding racial equity at this time, specifically in Birmingham, were extremely poor. Who was he truly writing for? While his letter was only addressed to the clergymen, it is safe to assume that King had intent on the public eventually reading his letter, considering his position within the Civil Rights movement, use of persuasive rhetorical language, and hard-hitting debates on the justification of law. His goal is to make the clergymen help him fight racial equality. Greater importance is placed on his tone, choice of words, choice of argument, and credibility, for better or for worse, and he must carefully make rhetorical decisions, not only because of his race. He uses these rhetorical techniques along with a logical argument to demonstrate why his methods were right., Martin Luther King, Jr. a civil rights activist that fought for the rights of African Americans in 1963. Metaphors, Similes, and Imagery In "Letters from a Birmingha Allusions From "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" - GraduateWay Kings goes on to say how racial equality can not be achieved until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream (King). 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. However, Martin Luther King Jr is an extremely influential figure in the field of oration and rhetoric. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" "United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. He had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress (King 267). There are three main considerations to make while analysing a rhetorical situation: the constraints, the exigence, and the audience. 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. He writes of his own problems that may apply to the daily struggles of the abused African, Parallelism In Speech From Birmingham Jail, Throughout the speech, another scheme King uses frequently is parallelism, the strategy of repeating similar clauses, several times. In his "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. presents an argument through analogy by comparing his situation to Apostle Paul. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. Not only was this a social division, but those who opposed King were reinforced by the respective legislature that sought to burden him. 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. He hopes that this letter will stop this injustice matter, and show what the African American desire. Take for instance when the part of the letter when Dr. King talks about different men, both biblical, Martin Luther King Jr.s goal in Letter From Birmingham Jail is to convince the people of Birmingham that they should support civil disobedience and the eventual end to the segregation laws in Birmingham. Another instance of parallelism in the letter is, We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people(Barnet and Bedau 745). During the era of the civil rights movements in the 60s, among the segregation, racism, and injustice against the blacks, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial to deliver one of the greatest public speeches for freedom in that decade. The audience of Letter From Birmingham Jail was initially the eight clergymen of Birmingham, all white and in positions of religious leadership. and may encompass the audience, as seen while analysing, The audience of a rhetorical piece will shape the rhetoric the author uses in order to appeal, brazen, or educate whoever is exposed. To get a high-quality original essay, click here. This evidence, revealing MLKs use of pathos, was used to reach out to the emotional citizens who have either experienced or watched police brutality. Writers commonly use parallelism when there is a pair or a series of elements, or in the headlines or outlines of a document. Firstly, and most daunting, is the constraint of the letters audience. Here, King combines divergent interpretations of justice to demonstrate the gravity of the injustice that he confronted in Birmingham. 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. 114, Jr., Martin Luther King. 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. 1, no. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. Furthermore, as King attests to the significance of the Birmingham injustices, he utilizes antithesis to foster logos: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere; Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly (515). Using emotional appeals captures an audience's attention and makes them think about what the narrator is saying. Examples Of Juxtaposition In Letter From Birmingham Jail These encompass his exigence, at its most simple and precise, and validify the importance behind transforming the country in a positive way. 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. 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. To achieve this, he used rhetorical strategies such as appeal to pathos and repetition. To summarize, Martin Luther Kings rhetoric is effective and ultimately changed the course of the Civil Rights movement for the better. Martin Luther Kings Letter From Birmingham Jail is undeniably effective at responding to the rhetorical situation at hand. He uses a large number of rhetorical devices in his letter to reach his goal, including point of view, imagery, and rhetorical questions. The letter from the Birmingham jail of Martin Luther King, Jr.. Choose one type of reason and cite an example from these lines. Throughout the letter critics are disproved through Kings effective use of diction and selection of detail. 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. To minimize the possibility of being deemed invalid due to his race, he must choose what he states and how he states it very precisely which correlates to the constraints Martin Luther himself has on his rhetorical situation. This wait has almost always meant never (King 2). Furthermore the Kings parallel structure clarifies and highlights his intent by building up to a more important point. 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. 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. Martin Luther King, Jr. reads his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., along with many other civil activist, began a campaign to change the laws and the social attitudes that caused such a disparity. 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. That sentence magnifies the fact that good people doing nothing is the same as bad people purposely hindering civil rights. 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. In paragraphs 33 to 44 of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s response to A Call for Unity, a declaration by eight clergymen, Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963), he expresses that despite his love for the church, he is disappointed with its lack of action regarding the Civil Rights Movement. Despite his support, Martin Luthers audience is one of the largest constraints in his rhetorical situation. Thus, these essays are of lower quality than ones written by experts. 1, no. King has explained this through many examples of racial situations, factual and logical reasoning, and . 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. On the other hand, logical appeals helps to grasp the concept better and provides facts that prove it to be true. Dr. King fought against segregation between Black Americans and White Americans. He does an exceptional job using both these appeals throughout his speeches by backing up his emotional appeals with logical ones. Lincoln states, We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. What he says means that the soldiers lost their lives to give us freedom. However, they each have different ideas about freedom, and about what they want their audience to do. . He points out the irony of America because Black Americans were still not truly free. 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. These purposes can be similar, or different. 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. As campaigning, King uses it in his speech in order to express all his points. Without King, America would be probably still heavily segregated. Parallel Structures: Examples from MLK The Writer's Toolbox Additionally, personable elements such as tone, inflection, and overall vindication behind the letter are left to be determined by the rhetorical language. 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. 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. King spins the constraining pressure to properly represent the movement on its head, using his rhetoric to uplift the underprivileged and leave no room in his language for criticism, proven by the continuous adoption of his messages by the public. 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. To truly understand the effectiveness of this letter, one must rhetorically analyse the contents. Letter from Birmingham Jail: Repetition - shmoop.com He had a great impact on race relations in the U.S. and he made a great impact on many lives. King goes on to explain how this right has not been kept, making it appear to be similar to a laid-back rule. 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. was initially the eight clergymen of Birmingham, all white and in positions of religious leadership. 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. 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. Introduction. He ended up creating a very persuasive letter, one that effectively uses ethos in establishing his character, logos in providing reason and logic, and pathos in reaching human emotions. Read these passages aloud, and as you do so, feel their undeniable passion and power. 25 terms. 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. Civil rights is an emotional subject for those who were affected by it, and MLK is proving his argument on civil disobedience. Moreover, King juxtaposes contradictory statements to bolster the legitimacy of his argument against injustice -- in stark contrast to the racist beliefs held by the clergy -- which creates logos that he later capitalizes on to instill celerity within the audience. When teaching speeches and letters, it's helpful to refresh or introduce students to literary elements that enhance rhetorical strategies. Repetition. He uses parallelism by repeating I had hoped to ironically accuse his attackers. In his letter he uses examples like when you have seen hate-filled policeman curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters. and when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and gathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim to make his audience envision and feel what many negroes felt while watching their families put up with this mistreatment.