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. Here, King concedes that the clergy acts with the virtuous goal of justice in mind, which allows him to establish his argument against the manner in which they seek equality. 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. Although Dr. Kings exploits are revered today, he had opponents that disagreed with the tactics he employed. 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 "Letter from Birmingham Jail", King typically uses repetition in the form of anaphora - repeating the same word (s) at the beginning of consecutive clauses. 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. We will write a custom Essay on King's Allusion in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" specifically for you. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. Dr. King often used repetition and parallel construction to great emotional effect when he spoke. Letter from Birmingham Jail: Repetition - shmoop.com Egypt) and titles (e.g. Example: Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Comparison Of Letter From Birmingham Jail And The Perils Of Indifference "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. Although Kings reply was addressed to the Alabama clergyman, its target audience was the white people. " Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." 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. Ultimately, King crafts antithetic parallelism to establish a logical structure that emphasizes logos in his argument: the timeliness of justice. In Kings speech he says, Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of this country (King Page 6). Analysing a rhetorical situation clarifies why a text was created, the purpose in which it was written, and why the author made specific choices while writing it. 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. 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. Lastly, the exigence of a rhetorical piece is the external issue, situation, or event in which the rhetoric is responding to. 114, Jr., Martin Luther King. He needed something, that special something, that would ignite the fire that had somehow died out. 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. 50 Years Later, King's Birmingham 'Letter' Still Resonates Dr. King was the foremost civil rights leader in America in the 1950s and 1960s who was ordained minister and held a doctorate in theology. The amount of original essays that we did for our clients, The amount of original essays that we did for our clients. King establishes his position supported by historical and biblical allusions, counterarguments, and the use of rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos. King says on page. Yet his most important method of reaching his audience, and conveying his enduring message of equality and freedom for the whole nation was his appeal to pathos. Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr's Letter From Birmingham Jail Who was he truly writing for? Civil rights is an emotional subject for those who were affected by it, and MLK is proving his argument on civil disobedience. 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. Kings arguments induce an emotional response in his readers. Behind Martin Luther King's Searing 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' Parallelism In Letter To Birmingham Jail - 1093 Words | Studymode In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action. Examples Of Juxtaposition In Letter From Birmingham Jail 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. One of the challenges that he faced included being criticized because of what he believed in concerning the laws of segregation. On the other hand, logical appeals helps to grasp the concept better and provides facts that prove it to be true. He hopes that this letter will stop this injustice matter, and show what the African American desire. He uses rhetorical devices such as repetition, analogy, and rhetorical questions. This essay was written by a fellow student. The way Dr. King constructs his argument is as if he was preaching his argument to his congregation. In paragraph 15 of his "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King uses. 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. King uses parallelism to add balance and rhythm to his rhetoric. Any deadline. 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. Parallelism - Definition and Examples | LitCharts However King also deliberately wrote his letter for a national 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. King goes on to explain how this right has not been kept, making it appear to be similar to a laid-back rule. King implies that one day, all, I Have a Dream, however, played a major step into changing it. While his supporters nation-wide were avid, determined, and hopeful, they were challenged by the opposing, vastly white population, comfortable in their segregated establishments and racist ideologies who would certainly weaponize his viewpoints. Here, King offers disparate hypotheticals to illustrate the necessity for brevity in his acts. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with moral law. In sum, all rhetoric has an external situation in which it is responding to. The letter was addressed to clergymen who had criticized King and made many claims against him. What are some examples of parallelism in letter from Birmingham jail While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Therefore, these other literary devices and figures of speech are specific types of parallelism.. One of the most well-known examples of . 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. " Any law that uplifts human personality is just." If your first two elements are verbs, the third element is usually a verb, too. King strategically persuades. An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and Wiki User 2013-03-13 02:55:46 Study now See answer (1) Copy "One has not only legal but moral responsibility to obey just. Martin Luther King Jr. twists the perspective of his audience -- Southern clergymen -- to create antithetic parallelism in Letter from Birmingham Jail. His masterful delivery of these metaphors and the frequent repetition makes the speech much like a poem or a part of a song. 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. In Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was this line, "We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right." King was the leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement as well as an activist for humanitarian causes. Letter From Birmingham Jail Questions Flashcards | Quizlet While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. This period of quiet speculation over the law illuminates the national divide in opinion over the matter, one which King helped persuade positively. 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. 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. As mentioned before, the social and political ideologies in America surrounding racial equity at this time, specifically in Birmingham, were extremely poor. Right after that, he alludes to another American writing, the Declaration of. The rhetorical choices referenced above are riddled with pathos, also known as language utilized to persuade the audience emotionally. 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. There are people in the white community that are already standing hand-in-hand with them and their dreams. He goes on to add; I am in Birmingham because injustice is here (King 1). King goes on to write that he is disappointed that white moderates care less about justice and more about order. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust(Barnet and Bedau 742). His Letter from Birmingham Jail is a work that he wrote while incarcerated in the Birmingham City Jail in response to criticism from Alabama clergymen. Dr. King goes on to say that laws that do not match what the Bible says are unjust. 1, Penn State University Press, 1968, pp. 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. With his respectful nature, humility, compassion, optimism, and determination, King responded to a group of white Alabama clergymen who had condemned the civil rights protests as extreme in their open letter, A Call for Unity. Although his letter was directed towards a small group of eight men, his words eventually reached the minds and hearts of the entire country. In paragraph 15 of his "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King uses parallel structure to compare just and unjust laws. 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). 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. Repetition in "The Letter from a Birmingham Jail" Ethos Example "A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail.. Back then, people were ready to oppose unjust laws that were causing inequality and preventing progress. 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. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail is a letter that illustrates oppression being a large battle fought in this generation and location. Bitzer, Lloyd F. The Rhetorical Situation.. you can use them for inspiration and simplify your student life. 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). This website uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. Why was the letter from Birmingham written? - Wise-Answer Although the letter was addressed to the eight clergymen, the Letter from Birmingham Jail speaks to a national audience. The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written by the African American hero Dr. Martin Luther King in Birmingham back in 1963, addressing the issues that the African Americans faced back in that time. Glenn Eskew, Bombingham: Black Protest in Postwar Birmingham, Alabama, 1997. Original: Apr 16, 2013. By clicking Receive Essay, you agree to our, Essay Sample on The Effects of the Atomic Bomb, Essay Sample: The Development of the Braille System in Nineteenth-Century France, Constitution of The United StatesResearch Paper Example, Hippies In The 1960's (Free Essay Sample), Positive And Negative Impacts Of The Columbian Exchange, Essay Sample on Early River Civilizations. Parallelism is a literary device in itself, but it is also a category under which other figures of speech fall, such as those mentioned previously. 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'"' is a clearly written essay that explains the reasons behind, and the methods of nonviolent civil disobedience, and gently expresses King's disappointment with those who are generally supportive of equal rights for African-Americans. In Letter From Birmingham Jail, 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. 25 terms. 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 audience's logical side and urges African-Americans to act punctual in their 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.