I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. In the Gettysburg Address Lincoln talks about how people fought the war and how people should honor their soldiers. While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. 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. Martin Luther King Jr., with the Rev. This essay was written by a fellow student. 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. To truly understand the effectiveness of this letter, one must rhetorically analyse the contents. 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 Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were both two African American civil rights activists who were very prominent throughout history. you can use them for inspiration and simplify your student life. While in jail, King received a letter from eight Alabama clergyman explaining their concern and opposition to King and his non-violent actions. Similarly, King uses pathos to trigger the emotional . When teaching speeches and letters, it's helpful to refresh or introduce students to literary elements that enhance rhetorical strategies. The concept of parallelism in letters from birmingham jail by martin luther king jr.. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/the-concept-of-parallelism-in-letters-from-birmingham-jail-by-martin-luther-king-jr-Q1aX8ugT Be sure to capitalize proper nouns (e.g. Therefore this makes people see racism in a whole new light; racism has not been justified because the United States have failed to uphold their promises. In his letter King effectively manipulates language and tone to strengthen his argument against the complaints of the clergyman and successfully address the white people. I am here because I have basic organizational ties here (King 1), after describing his involvement in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as president. An Unjust Law Is No Law At All: Excerpts from "Letter from Birmingham Jail" January 18, 2021 By The Editors In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we're sharing excerpts from King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail," one of the most important moral treatises of the twentieth century. Martin Luther King Jr. writes his letter while being held in Birmingham Jail after being arrested for participating, in a non-violent anti segregation march. 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. 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. Because of his skill in creating such pieces of writing, as well as his influential role within the Civil Rights Movement, and the reminder that Letter from Birmingham Jail provides of these trying times, his letter should continue to be included within A World of Ideas. "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," written by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, describes a protest against his arrest for non-violent resistance to racism. Dr. King wrote, This wait has almost always meant never. This is why Dr. king addresses this matter in a letter about the battle of segregation. There are people in the white community that are already standing hand-in-hand with them and their dreams. Kings decision to compare his efforts to those of biblical figures with shared intent was a deliberate attempt to find common ground with his initial readers, the eight religious Birmingham clergymen, through the faith of a shared religion. He evokes emotion on his audience by discussing the trials and injustice African Americans have endured. 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. 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. Lastly, King is constrained by his medium. Martin Luther King then goes on to make an analogy to the Bible, portraying Apostle Pauls proliferation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in parallel to his own efforts, stating, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown (1). 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. 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. With these devices, King was able to move thousands of hearts and inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His use of diction and syntax would align his mission to Gods, and show that he was in the right and the clergymen were in the wrong. The eight clergymen in Birmingham released a public statement of caution regarding the protesters actions as unwise and untimely (King 1), to which Martins letter is a direct response. 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. By using it, you accept our. Dr. King often used repetition and parallel construction to great emotional effect when he spoke. 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. Letter from a Birmingham Jail: The Rhetorical Analysis At the peak of the Civil War Movement in America on April 12th, 1963, eight Alabama . He wrote the letter in response to criticisms made by white clergymen. Constraints bring light to the obstacles this rhetoric may face, whether it be social, political, economical, etc. The law was written in 1962, but the powerful response pushed the courts to finalize their decision. This wait has almost always meant never (King 2). In. His mention of involvement and leadership within a Christian civil rights organization, strength of religious analogy, and general politeness are effective rhetorical choices used to shape how he is perceived despite his critical response, racial setbacks, and arrest: a relatable man of faith, rationale, and initiative. 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. Parallelism takes many forms in literature, such as anaphora, antithesis, asyndeton, epistrophe, etc. Martin Luther Kings Letter From Birmingham Jail is undeniably effective at responding to the rhetorical situation at hand. 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. You may use it as a guide or sample for writing your own . Despite his support, Martin Luthers audience is one of the largest constraints in his rhetorical situation. He uses rhetorical devices such as repetition, analogy, and rhetorical questions. For example, to use parallelism in a sentence in which you list a series of elements, each element typically has the same form. In the beginning of the speech, King goes back to the Constitution and Declaration of Independence stating that .all men, black or white, were to be granted the same rights (Declaration of Independence). IvyMoose is the largest stock of essay samples on lots of topics and for any discipline. Martin Luther utilizes powerful rhetoric to define his exigence. Magnifying the differences between two things and repeating statements with similar structure brings about emotion to realize the wrongness of the injustice of civil. Likewise, King creates logos as he employs another antithetical statement that demonstrates the timeliness of his argument: Never voluntarily given by the oppressor must be demanded by the oppressed; Jet-like speed horse-and-buggy pace (518). Glenn Eskew, Bombingham: Black Protest in Postwar Birmingham, Alabama, 1997. In this essay, King also brings up why he is justified in his preaching about the separation of African-Americans and white people. In response to Kings peaceful protesting, the white community viewed [his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist, and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). Despite his support, Martin Luthers audience is one of the largest constraints in his rhetorical situation. These circumstances lead us to our next rhetorical focus: audience. On April 12, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and nearly 50 other protestors and civil rights leaders were arrested after leading a Good Friday demonstration as part of the . Jr., Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail/552461/. Martin Luther King, more than any other figure, shaped American life from the mid-"'"50s to the late "'"60s. Although the letter was addressed to the eight clergymen, the Letter from Birmingham Jail speaks to a national audience. 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. 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. 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. 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. In Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter From Birmingham Jail and I Have a Dream speech he uses many different rhetorical devices. Your email address will not be published. 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. 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. Correspondingly, King urges the clergy to reconsider the horse-and-buggy pace of their methods of action through his logos. Martin Luther found himself arrested on the twelfth of April 1963 after leading a peaceful protest throughout Birmingham, Alabama after he defied a state courts injunction and led a march of black protesters without a permit, urging an Easter boycott of white-owned stores (Jr., Martin Luther King). His passionate tone flowed through these strategies, increasing their persuasive power on the people and encouraging them to follow/listen to his message on racial injustice. Here, King combines divergent interpretations of justice to demonstrate the gravity of the injustice that he confronted in Birmingham. His goal is to make the clergymen help him fight racial equality. It is rather for us to be here, As it may do that, it also seems to serve more of a logical appeal because he mentions the evidence of white brotherhood. Therefore, these other literary devices and figures of speech are specific types of parallelism.. One of the most well-known examples of . Its important to note that his initial readers/supporters greatly impacted the scope of his audience, spreading the letter through handouts, flyers, and press, in the hopes that others would be impacted for the better by the weight of the exigence at hand. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. He goes on to add; I am in Birmingham because injustice is here (King 1). Throughout Kings letter, he used various ways of persuasive strategies: pathos, logos, and ethos. The problem is that this kind of thinking can spread and infect other people to believe this is acceptable. 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. Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter From A Birmingham Jail. This special lyrical and parallel structure helped get his main points across and allows a large audience to understand simple but powerful words (Layfield) . 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. Through powerful, emotionally-loaded diction, syntax, and figurative language, King adopts a disheartened tone later shifts into a determined tone in order to express and reflect on his disappointment with the churchs inaction and his goals for the future. 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. The Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses many problems, including the slow action occuring to stop racial discrimination. 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). 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. King has explained this through many examples of racial situations, factual and logical reasoning, and . The audience of a rhetorical piece will shape the rhetoric the author uses in order to appeal, brazen, or educate whoever is exposed. 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. 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. Kings arguments induce an emotional response in his readers. In each writing, he uses the devices for many different purposes. Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail. Emotional appeal uses intense words and charged language to grab listeners to get them to keep listening. This helps King focus on the differences between them. Later in the letter, parallelism is used to contrast just laws and unjust laws. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere!" How does this comparison appropriately justify. 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. The main argument Dr. King is making in the letter is the protest being done in Birmingham is "wise" and most important "timely". However, Martin Luther King Jr is an extremely influential figure in the field of oration and rhetoric. 100% plagiarism free, Orders: 11 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 organized various non-violent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama that resulted in his arrest. 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. 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. In addition, King is also in Birmingham because he feels compelled to respond to injustice wherever he finds it. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. 114, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40236733. Martin Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses his fellow clergymen and others who critiqued him for his actions during this time. Furthermore the Kings parallel structure clarifies and highlights his intent by building up to a more important point. 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. To achieve this, he used rhetorical strategies such as appeal to pathos and repetition. Through the masterful use of analogies and undeniable examples of injustice, Kings disgruntled response to the clergies proves the justification for direct action taking place to establish equality for African Americans., Martin Luther Kings letter from Birmingham Jail was written to respond to white religious leaders who criticized his organizations actions against racial prejudice and injustice among black society in Birmingham. By addressing his respect for the clergymen, feigned or not, he is acknowledging the effectiveness of respect to those in power, whether they may or may not deserve it. Explain why the examples fit your chosen reason. That sentence magnifies the fact that good people doing nothing is the same as bad people purposely hindering civil rights. In terms of legacies, Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of someone whose legacy has left an impact on a great many fields. "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. This is the beginning of King's point-by-point rebuttal of the criticisms leveled against him. parallelism really etches into the audience's mind the seemingly never-ending hardships blacks face and the repetition makes it seem like a regular routine they endure. Parallelism is useful to emphasize things and ideas to the audience, which, like all the other tropes and schemes. 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. 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. Right after that, he alludes to another American writing, the Declaration of. To this day, Kings speech remains one of the most famous and influential speeches in. What King discloses in his essay, Letter From Birmingham Jail, displays how the laws of segregation have affected African-Americans. Lastly, the exigence of a rhetorical piece is the external issue, situation, or event in which the rhetoric is responding to. 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. Dr. 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. 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. 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. In this way, King juxtaposes his perspective with that of the clergy to demonstrate the depravity of his oppressors. Parallelism is a figure of speech in which two or more elements of a sentence (or series of sentences) have the same grammatical structure. Firstly, and most daunting, is the constraint of the letters audience. Besides the use of pathos, King uses repetition to enhance the effectiveness of his argument. He approaches his argument with logic and appealing to the people of Birminghams emotions. Martin Luther King's 'Letter From Birmingham Jail' 16 terms. In Martin Luther King Jrs I Have a Dream speech he effectively uses ethos, diction and powerful metaphors to express the brutality endured by African American people. Dr. King fought against segregation between Black Americans and White Americans. The topic of Dr. Kings letters from a Birmingham prison is the nonviolent protest being done in Birmingham, Alabama in the fight for African Americans civil rights. 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. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law." King provides imagery to make the audience see what it would be like to be an African American in the united, I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal. Dr. King also states that one day he would like his children to be free as whites were. The amount of original essays that we did for our clients, The amount of original essays that we did for our clients. In the letter, Dr. King uses ethos, diction, and allusions when defending nonviolent protest which makes his argument really strong. Who was he truly writing for? "Letter from Birmingham Jail" Allusion Essay. 1, Penn State University Press, 1968, pp. 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. Here, King offers disparate hypotheticals to illustrate the necessity for brevity in his acts. In his "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. presents an argument through analogy by comparing his situation to Apostle Paul. '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. He writes how the white church is often disappointed in the African Americans lack of patience and how they are quick to be willing to break laws. There isn't quite as much of that in "Letter From Birmingham Jail," but it still pops up a couple of times. These purposes can be similar, or different. 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). 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. 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. 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. During a civil resistance campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was arrested. 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. From the very beginning of it , King brings his crowd back to the origin of America when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, that freed all slaves and gave hope to the former slaves. 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. " Any law that uplifts human personality is just." 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. He deliberately tries to make the audience feel as if racial segregation is both wrong and against basic morals. 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. similes, metaphors, and imagery are all used to make the letter more appealing to the audiences they make the letter more descriptive while making you focus on one issue at a time. It was important for King to address this audience as their support would ultimately make the largest difference in the movement. This exigence is rhetorical because it can be improved if enough people are socially cognizant, whether that be in legislature or the streets of Birmingham, through creation and enforcement of equitable laws and social attitudes. 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). Writers commonly use parallelism when there is a pair or a series of elements, or in the headlines or outlines of a document. The way Dr. King constructs his argument is as if he was preaching his argument to his congregation. 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 his tear-jerking, mind-opening letter, King manages to completely discredit every claim made by the clergymen while keeping a polite and formal tone. However, they each have different ideas about freedom, and about what they want their audience to do.