To summarize, Martin Luther Kings rhetoric is effective and ultimately changed the course of the Civil Rights movement for the better. It managed to inspire a generation of blacks to never give up and made thousands of white Americans bitterly ashamed of their actions, forging a new start for society. 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. The audience of a rhetorical piece will shape the rhetoric the author uses in order to appeal, brazen, or educate whoever is exposed. Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social colorblindness. During this letter, King then uses the time to unroot the occasion of nonviolent protests in BIrmingham and the disappointing leadership of the clergy. The clergymen along with others are addressed in an assertive tone allowing them to fully understand why his actions are justified. Consequently, Birmingham became the core of the Civil Rights movement, pumping the life-blood of social change into the rest of the country. 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. During a civil resistance campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was arrested. 808 certified writers . He approaches his argument with logic and appealing to the people of Birminghams emotions. 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. , Atlantic Media Company, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail/552461/. This use of parallelism draws on the emotions of personal experiences to persuade that segregation is a problem in a myriad of ways. 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. 262). In this example, King employs antithesis to highlight the logical structure and urgency of his argument against inequity, which allows him to establish logos. This essay was written by a fellow student. This wait has almost always meant never (King 2). 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. 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. His masterful delivery of these metaphors and the frequent repetition makes the speech much like a poem or a part of a song. 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. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust(Barnet and Bedau 742). In paragraph 15 of his "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King uses parallel structure to compare just and unjust laws. The following well-known adage is an example of parallelism: "Give a . 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. 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. 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. Being nearly symbolic, King being held prisoner in Birmingham, the most polar racial arena of the United States, made his rhetoric more effective. 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. 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. 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. In the letter, King appeals for unity against racism in society, while he wants to fight for Human Rights, using ethos. As mentioned before, the social and political ideologies in America surrounding racial equity at this time, specifically in Birmingham, were extremely poor. 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. Martin Luther leading peaceful Birmingham protest, AP News. To achieve this, he used rhetorical strategies such as appeal to pathos and repetition. Throughout the letter, Dr. King does a tremendous job of supporting his argument with the three elements of Aristotles rhetorical appeal. Lastly he shows ethos by using authority in his speech by using quotes from two very famous documents. 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. 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). King is saying that if we allow injustice to happen in some places, we risk it happening to everyone. This letter serves as a purpose to apply the need for love and brotherhood towards one another and avoid all the unjust laws. " Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." 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. With the use of King's rhetorical devices, he described the ways of the Birmingham community and their beliefs, connected to the reader on an emotional level, and brought to light the overall issues dealing with segregation., The letter was ostensibly conceived in response to a letter that had recently run in a local newspaper which had claimed that the protest were "unwise and untimely." 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. Despite this, the clergy never questions whether or not segregation is unjust. 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. How does this comparison appropriately justify. " Any law that uplifts human personality is just." With these devices, King was able to move thousands of hearts and inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law was written in 1962, but the powerful response pushed the courts to finalize their decision. 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. In paragraph 15 of his "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King uses. 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. 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. 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. Throughout the Letter from Birmingham Jail, ethos, pathos, and logos are masterfully applied by Martin Luther King. All of this accumulates into an unwavering social constraint placed on Martin Luther Kings rhetorical text. 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. This evidence, revealing MLKs use of pathos, was used to reach out to the emotional citizens who have either experienced or watched police brutality. Black Americans were forced to sit behind buses and kids were to use old books and uniforms of White Americans. The use of pathos is effective because it appeals to emotions and the issue of civil rights and civil disobedience. 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. 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. To get a high-quality original essay, click here. Letter to Birmingham Jail is a response to a group of Birmingham ministers who voiced negative comments and questioned the civil rights demonstrations Dr. King was leading in Birmingham. 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. 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. The problem is that this kind of thinking can spread and infect other people to believe this is acceptable. Not only was this a social division, but those who opposed King were reinforced by the respective legislature that sought to burden him. The main argument Dr. King is making in the letter is the protest being done in Birmingham is "wise" and most important "timely". Martin Luther King Jr. was born to a middle class family and was well educated. Dr. King repeats the same starting words when you have seen with different examples of injustices. 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. "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. King uses parallelism to add balance and rhythm to his rhetoric. 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. 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. 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. First, King writes that the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. This antithesis makes the audience realize that the Negroes have been left behind and ignored while the rest of modern society has charged forward into prosperity and fortune. 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. Here are more examples of parallel structure within "Letter from Birmingham Jail" that I find especially powerful. 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. The amount of original essays that we did for our clients, The amount of original essays that we did for our clients. Martin Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses his fellow clergymen and others who critiqued him for his actions during this time. 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. Constraints bring light to the obstacles this rhetoric may face, whether it be social, political, economical, etc. By using it, you accept our. King understood that if he gained support from the white American, the civil rights movement would reach its goals much faster. In each writing, he uses the devices for many different purposes. The law was written in 1962, but the powerful response pushed the courts to finalize their decision. Mistreatment of this kind is labeled as racial discrimination. On the other hand, logical appeals helps to grasp the concept better and provides facts that prove it to be true. King says on page. But the strongest influential device King used was pathos. Here, King combines divergent interpretations of justice to demonstrate the gravity of the injustice that he confronted in Birmingham. In Letter From Birmingham Jail, the exigence is the continued condemnation, segregation, and prejudice afflicted against African Americans since the emancipation of the slaves in 1863. At this time, he is representative of the Black American population and the Civil Rights Movement as a whole he is Martin Luther King Jr., and while this is a powerful position to occupy, the constraints imposed are just as dominant. His goal is to make the clergymen help him fight racial equality. These two techniques played a crucial role in furthering his purpose and in provoking a powerful response from the audience that made this speech memorable and awe-inspiring. 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. 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). Jr., Martin Luther King. MLKs use of pathos and repetition is an effective way to persuade his audience about his position on civil disobedience. Firstly, and most daunting, is the constraint of the letters audience. . One of the challenges that he faced included being criticized because of what he believed in concerning the laws of segregation. The letter was addressed to clergymen who had criticized King and made many claims against him. I am here because I have basic organizational ties here (King 1), after describing his involvement in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as president. Pathos are present more often in the I Have A Dream speech, mainly because he is bravely facing a crowd, speaking from the heart, rather than formality. This use of parallel structure emphasizes how just and unjust laws can look deceptively similar. 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. Lastly, the exigence of a rhetorical piece is the external issue, situation, or event in which the rhetoric is responding to. Letter from Birmingham Jail: Repetition BACK NEXT This guy knew how to write a speech. 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). In Birmingham, Alabama, in the spring of 1963, King's campaign to end segregation at lunch counters and in hiring practices drew nationwide attention when police turned dogs and fire hoses on the demonstrators. Dr. King fought against segregation between Black Americans and White Americans. To this day, Kings speech remains one of the most famous and influential speeches in. In Martin Luther Kings Jr, Letter from Birmingham Jail the letter was a persuasive attempt to get Americans to finally see the inequality in the United States of America. 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. Parallelism takes many forms in literature, such as anaphora, antithesis, asyndeton, epistrophe, etc. MarkAHA. King concludes with optimism about the future of the relationship between the currently segregated blacks and whites. 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. Example: Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Lastly, the exigence of a rhetorical piece is the external issue, situation, or event in which the rhetoric is responding to. 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. Dr. King was considered the most prominent and persuasive man of The Civil Rights Movement. Laws should build up society to be better so that a law is not need to be enforced and people will still follow it. 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. In his "Letter form a Birmingham Jail" and his "I have a Dream speech, Dr. King uses metaphor, repetition and parallel structure to provide visual images which may evoke empathy in the readers and audience and emphasize the ideas he presents: the argument for civil rights and the goal to end segregation. Civil rights is an emotional subject for those who were affected by it, and MLK is proving his argument on civil disobedience. The way Dr. King constructs his argument is as if he was preaching his argument to his congregation. 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. Dr. King responded to criticism that was made by clergymen about calling Dr. King activities as "Unwise and Untimely". Using emotional appeals captures an audience's attention and makes them think about what the narrator is saying. 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. What are some examples of parallelism in letter from Birmingham jail? 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. 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. Both influential speeches rely heavily on rhetorical devices to convey their purpose. for only $11.00 $9.35/page. The anaphora "If you were to" is meant to inspire his readers to emp. Lastly, King is constrained by his medium. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. He uses rhetorical devices such as repetition, analogy, and rhetorical questions. 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). 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. In sum, all rhetoric has an external situation in which it is responding to. Letter from a Birmingham Jail: The Rhetorical Analysis At the peak of the Civil War Movement in America on April 12th, 1963, eight Alabama . The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. It was important for King to address this audience as their support would ultimately make the largest difference in the movement. 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). There are three main considerations to make while analysing a rhetorical situation: the constraints, the exigence, and the audience. 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. 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. With this addressed, his audience was truly the population of the United States, especially Birmingham, with a focus on those who withheld and complied with the oppression of African American citizens, even if not intentionally. Macbeth) in the essay title portion of your citation. But immediately after Dr. King speaks out on how after 100 years Blacks still do not have the free will that is deserved. This period of quiet speculation over the law illuminates the national divide in opinion over the matter, one which King helped persuade positively. 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 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. In the same manner, King believed that people could unite to combat oppression. Martin Luther King Jr. twists the perspective of his audience -- Southern clergymen -- to create antithetic parallelism in Letter from Birmingham Jail. One example of Kings use of pathos appeals to the audiences emotions by showing Kings confidence in his endeavors. Furthermore, good usage of these rhetorical device . While his actions may not have had much success at first during the 1960s what made his arguments so powerful was his use of pathos and logos., In Dr. Martin Luther Kings letter from Birmingham, he targeted specific people who he wrote the letter for including everybody. was initially the eight clergymen of Birmingham, all white and in positions of religious leadership. 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. Who was he truly writing for? 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. Just as well, King uses his aspirations to create ideas within the listeners. He points out the irony of America because Black Americans were still not truly free. However, Martin Luther King Jr is an extremely influential figure in the field of oration and rhetoric. These "parallel" elements can be used to intensify the rhythm of language, or to draw a comparison, emphasize, or elaborate on an idea. 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. 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.

Brunswick County Courthouse Florida, Pecten Gibbus Biological Evolution, Articles P