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. Parallelism In Letters From Birmingham Jail 172 Words1 Page 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. Martin Luther King Jr. uses both logical and emotional appeals in order for all his listeners to be able to relate and contemplate his speeches. Martin Luther King Jr. twists the perspective of his audience -- Southern clergymen -- to create antithetic parallelism in Letter from Birmingham Jail. 114, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40236733. " Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." Find step-by-step Literature solutions and your answer to the following textbook question: Identify the parallel structures in the following sentence from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," and explain their effect. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust(Barnet and Bedau 742). When teaching speeches and letters, it's helpful to refresh or introduce students to literary elements that enhance rhetorical strategies. 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. We will write a custom Essay on King's Allusion in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" specifically for you. Dr. King often used repetition and parallel construction to great emotional effect when he spoke. The way Dr. King constructs his argument is as if he was preaching his argument to his congregation. 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.. Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter From A Birmingham Jail. Despite this, the clergy never questions whether or not segregation is unjust. All The clergymen along with others are addressed in an assertive tone allowing them to fully understand why his actions are justified. 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). 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. 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. Since Kings arrest he had time to think deeply about the situation; therefore, he decides to reply back to the Alabama clergymen. This website uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. 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. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. Whether this be by newspaper, flyers, or restated by another in speech, the spread of information is slower and potentially more controllable. 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. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere!" King had been arrested while participating in a peaceful anti-segregation march although several local religious groups counted on King for support. Throughout the essay, King uses several powerful tones to complement his strong opinion, Martin Luther King Jrs Letter from Birmingham Jail is one his many writings on segregation and racial inequality towards blacks in the southern American states. He wants the clergyman to realize that what they believe and think is wrong. In this essay, King also brings up why he is justified in his preaching about the separation of African-Americans and white people. Lastly, the exigence of a rhetorical piece is the external issue, situation, or event in which the rhetoric is responding to. In Kings speech he says, Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of this country (King Page 6). Active Themes. The Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses many problems, including the slow action occuring to stop racial discrimination. While this fight had been raging for nearly 10 years, the release in 1963 was shortly followed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. 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 Dr. King was considered the most prominent and persuasive man of The Civil Rights Movement. 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. Required fields are marked *. This helps King focus on the differences between them. To summarize, Martin Luther Kings rhetoric is effective and ultimately changed the course of the Civil Rights movement for the better. Dr. King fought against segregation between Black Americans and White Americans. Dr. King brought people up and gave them hope that one day everything will be taken care of and we 'll all be happy, he said that one day we 'll have peace and love among each other. 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. One of the challenges that he faced included being criticized because of what he believed in concerning the laws of segregation. Ultimately, King crafts antithetic parallelism to establish a logical structure that emphasizes logos in his argument: the timeliness of justice. This letter occasioned his reply and caused King to write a persuasive letter "Letter from Birmingham Jail," justifying his actions and presence in Birmingham. During this letter, King then uses the time to unroot the occasion of nonviolent protests in BIrmingham and the disappointing leadership of the clergy. Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social colorblindness. 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. 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. His masterful delivery of these metaphors and the frequent repetition makes the speech much like a poem or a part of a song. 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. 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 following well-known adage is an example of parallelism: "Give a . 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 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. Furthermore the Kings parallel structure clarifies and highlights his intent by building up to a more important point. King understood that if he gained support from the white American, the civil rights movement would reach its goals much faster. 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. 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. Specifically he targeted the clergymen who made laws at that time. 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. 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). Original: Apr 16, 2013. Emotional appeal uses intense words and charged language to grab listeners to get them to keep listening. 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. Divided there is little we can dofor we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder." - John F. Kennedy, "1961 First Inaugural Address" As the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s unfolded, Martin Luther King Jr. had, perhaps, the most encompassing and personal rhetorical situation to face in American history. 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. Parallelism, in the way King uses it, connects what seems like small problems to a larger issue. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. , 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail. 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. Letter from a Birmingham Jail AP.GOPO: PRD1.A (LO) , PRD1.A.2 (EK) Google Classroom Full text of "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. 16 April 1963 My Dear Fellow Clergymen: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely."