Martin Luther explains using these methods how black people are treated and why their cause needs to be supported. After highlighting his non-violence approaches to condemning discriminative rules, the author states that if this philosophy (of nonviolence) had not emerged, by now many streets of the South would, I am convinced, be flowing with blood (King 4). Pages: 4. For example, students at Miles College boycotted local downtown stores for eight weeks, which resulted in a decrease in sales by 40% and two stores desegregating their water fountains. In Henry David Thoreaus Civil [], Dr. Martin Luther Kings letter from Birmingham Jail came as a response to his critics, especially the clergymen who denounced all his activities citing that they tantamount to incitement and unrest in the society. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you. Was not Amos an extremist for justiceLet justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus ChristI bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Was not Martin Luther an extremistHere I stand; I can do none other so help me God. Was not John Bunyan an extremistI will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience. Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremistThis nation cannot survive half slave and half free. Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremistWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. So the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be. Rhetorical Analysis Of The Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr Essay, Analysis Of Pathos, Ethos, And Logos In The Letter From Birmingham Jail Essay, Letter from a Birmingham Jail: the Rhetorical Analysis Essay, A Comparison of "Civil Disobedience" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" Essay, Analysis Of Rhetorical Strategies In The Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr Essay, Rhetorical Analysis Of The Letter From Birmingham Jail Essay, Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jrs Letter From Birmingham Jail Essay, Stoicism and Civil Disobedience Interconnection Essay, Comparison Of Kings Letter From Birmingham Jail And Lincoln's Inaugural Address Essay. 324,118,787 people consider themselves to be Americans and 324,118,787 people have decided that America really is worthy enough to be called home. But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. If I lived in a communist country today where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I believe I would openly advocate disobeying these anti-religious laws. The three principles of rhetoric in Letter from Birmingham Jail ethos, pathos, and logos are analyzed in this essay. The "Letter" transformed the idea of reasonableness from the province of moderation alone and united it with justifications for direct civil disobedience. Isnt segregation an existential expression of mans tragic separation, an expression of his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? 2023 gradesfixer.com. This statement reveals the major purpose of all the social unrest planned by the king. King stumbled upon a statement in a newspaper while in jail and felt the need LoveAllPeople.org. The concept of kairos figures in classic and contemporary rhetoric. For instance, when the clergymen referred the author as an extremist, he responded with a series of rhetorical questions; Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ? and also Was not Jesus an extremist in love? (King 4) (King 4). Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood, Natural Law, Natural Rights, and American Constitutionalism. Available from: https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/ethos-logos-and-pathos-in-letter-from-birmingham-jail-by-martin-luther-king-jr/. One may well ask: How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others? The answer is found in the fact that there are two types of laws: There are just laws and there are unjust laws. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty. Dr. King might have shown a lot Over the course of Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963), the author, Martin Luther King Jnr., makes extended allusions to multiple philosophers, among them theologizer and Athenian. All rights reserved. 5. The pathos method appeals to an emotion which persuades the clergymen by how their emotions get mixed. Point of analysis # 1: He has to get them out. Let's fix your grades together! GradesFixer. 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help you just now, Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 addresses his letter referred to as the Letter from Birmingham Jail to the eight white clergy men who made it known to the public that his actions, which took place in Birmingham, Alabama were [], On April 16, 1963, DR. Martin Luther King, Jr responded in the newspaper which had been written by some clergymen urging him to abandon the demonstrations which he was leading in Birmingham. The King makes use of pathos on page five of the letter to support his affiliations pacifist tactics. Now there is nothing wrong with an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade, but when the ordinance is used to preserve segregation and to deny citizens the First Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and peaceful protest, then it becomes unjust. To accomplish this, I will first provide an EduBirdie considers academic integrity to be the essential part of the learning process and does not support any violation of the academic standards. Another way that King uses pathos in the letter is in the way that he talks about the way people are affected by the segregation. As of the year 2016, there are an estimated 324,118,787 people living in America. At a broader level , I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil rights leader, but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother. Over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. Essay Topic: Letter From Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King. In Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail and Henry David Thoreaus On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, many rhetorical devices such as ethos and the difference between just and unjust laws play a direct role in exemplifying main ideas throughout the essays. What are the four basic steps to a direct action non-violent campaign? Of course there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. These writings also included the persuasive techniques of pathos included in I Have a Dream and logos included into Letter from Birmingham Jail.. Let me give another explanation. By creative use of kairos and pathos the letter rebutted the claims of Consider, for example, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s famous I Have a Dream speech. While in jail, Martin Luther King Jr. expressed discontentment concerning such critiques and desired to address these concerns with an appropriate mechanism through this letter. In your statement you asserted that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. To a degree academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. 16 April 1963. He does this by showing what the South would be like if they resorted to violent actions, and also how African Americans would trudge along if they were completely compliant to the segregation laws. WebWhen reading "Letter from Birmingham Jail" one may notice that Martin Luther King Jr. Used many instances of logos, ethos, pathos, and even Kairos. masterfully applied by Martin Luther King, Your time is important. The Aristotelian Appeals In Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr. Letter To Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr.: Analysis, Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr: Reality For African Americans, Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr: Advocating Equality, The Idea Of Civil Disobedience In Letter From Birmingham Jail And Crito, Free revision, title page, and bibliography. Even when they were told so it was not widely believed. However, the clarity with that he makes his arguments and therefore the dedication to one premise strikes most powerfully of philosopher. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong or even more so to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. Purpose? He appeals to the community standards of the clergy, using the device of Ethos. Some events that they shared was the participation in the mayoral election. One who breaks an unjust law must do it openly, lovingly (not hatefully as the white mothers did in New Orleans when they were seen on television screaming nigger, nigger, nigger) and with a willingness to accept the penalty. An unjust law is a code that a majority inflicts on a minority that is not binding on itself. He was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. Webfrom Birmingham Jail. " Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2012. This essay wont pass a plagiarism check! After reading this article, King took it upon himself to write back to the clergymen, stating his opinion on their article. King responds with complete confidence that he is in the right place at the right time, and that his actions are necessary. But since I feel that you are men of genuine goodwill and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms. 16 April 1963. They will be the James Merediths, courageously and with a majestic sense of purpose, facing jeering and hostile mobs and the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer. King Jr., Martin Luther. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard so many ministers say, Those are social issues with which the gospel has no real concern, and I have watched so many churches commit themselves to a completely other-worldly religion which made a strange, un-biblical distinction between body and soul, the sacred and the secular. It is the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. The major aim was not to be violent but rather to create a hot air environment until the whites gave in to discussions. On April 16, 1963, DR. Martin Luther King, Jr responded in the newspaper which had been written by some clergymen urging him to abandon the demonstrations which he was leading in Birmingham. I commend the Catholic leaders of this state for integrating Spring Hill College several years ago. The circumstance or event that Dr. Martin Luther King. This essay is available online and was probably used by another student. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below: By clicking Send, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. Category: Racism. Never before have I written a letter this long (or should I say a book?). Using logos shows that they know what they are talking about. Of course there are some notable exceptions. Letter from a Birmingham Jail, abridged, [Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter from a Birmingham Jail. The First Version. On April 12, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested. Like a boil that can never be cured as long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its pus-flowing ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must likewise be exposed, with all of the tension its exposing creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured. Let us turn to a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. This logical approach is meant to make the audience understand that what the king is doing is not bad but rather important for the greater good on the course of justice. Stallings, for your Christian stand on this past Sunday, in welcoming Negroes to your worship service on a non-segregated basis. The second way in which ethos have been developed in the letter is through the language used. He wrote this letter from his jail cell after him and several of his associates were arrested as they nonviolently protested segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. From the letter, the author has also managed to use ethos from two major approaches. In this essay therefore, the focus will be on assessing how the King has made use of the refutation, pathos, ethos, and logos in persuading and convincing the audience to align to his school of thoughts and actions. The ongoing crisis of racism greatly existed in Birmingham, where King used ethos to persuade his peers that the white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative but to revolt (5). There is the more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest. He wants to awaken the conscience of more people, and he wants to use moral force to expose the unjust law. Jr that he is responding to in this letter is the Civil Rights Movement. The capacity to read the signs of the timesthe kairosand respond is an issue of faith. His comparison would seem to indicate that he shares [], Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Jesus, all these radical men and more are alluded to in Martin Luther King Jrs Letter from Birmingham Jail. His use of their names in the context of this paper creates a form of kinship [], The Stoic way of life described in Epictetuss Enchiridion (135 A.C.E.) I say it as a minister of the gospel, who loves the Church; who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen. Overall, the Letter From Birmingham Jail displayed a original method to convince the clergymen that was sufficient to defend the strategy of nonviolent defiance to, Ethos, Logos, and Pathos are important aspects in Martin Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail. Consequently, the "Letter" as rhetorical response opened a new public frame for pragmatic, value-based identification with civil rights for historical and contemporary audiences. I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. Beyond this, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Regarding the accusation on the timing of demonstrations, the King states that and so we speedily decided to postpone action until after Election Day (King 2).In this statement, the King is defending his cause of action against the clergy accusations that his actions are not properly timed. Kairos is a rhetorical strategy that considers the timeliness of an argument or message, and its place in the zeitgeist. I am coming to feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. This is difference made legal. I received a letter this morning from a white brother in Texas which said: All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but is it possible that you are in too great of a religious hurry? 3.I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. This is not a threat; it is a fact of history. greene county, tennessee, 1783 tax list,