Kings use of pathos gives him the ability to encourage his fellow civil rights activists, evoke empathy in white conservatives, and allow the eight clergymen and the rest of his national audience to feel compassion towards the issue. King wants to bring to the readers realization the fact that laws are only to be followed when they are rightfully just and correct. Repetition. 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. Malcolm X, on the other hand, grew up in a rather hostile environment with barely enough schooling. Egypt) and titles (e.g. In Kings speech he. and may encompass the audience, as seen while analysing, The audience of a rhetorical piece will shape the rhetoric the author uses in order to appeal, brazen, or educate whoever is exposed. As campaigning, King uses it in his speech in order to express all his points. Furthermore, exterior events regarding the movement could ultimately reflect on his influence and polarize the audience further. 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). Here are more examples of parallel structure within "Letter from Birmingham Jail" that I find especially powerful. 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. Throughout the work, Letter from Bimingham Jail, Martin Luther constantly uses examples from historical figures in order to unite his argument that action must be taken in order to end discrimination and segregation. 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. Martin Luther leading peaceful Birmingham protest, AP News. 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. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust(Barnet and Bedau 742). Lastly he shows ethos by using authority in his speech by using quotes from two very famous documents. 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. 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. While in his cell, he composed the famous Letter from Birmingham Jail. Here, King offers disparate hypotheticals to illustrate the necessity for brevity in his acts. All of these factors influence each other to shape rhetoric, which Bitzer describes as, pragmatic; it comes into existence for the sake of something beyond itself (3), with Martin Luther Kings Letter From Birmingham Jail being a shining example. 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. He died in 1968. 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. Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a civil rights activist that fought for the rights of African Americans in 1963. 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. King goes on to explain how this right has not been kept, making it appear to be similar to a laid-back rule. Emotional appeal uses intense words and charged language to grab listeners to get them to keep listening. 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. Your email address will not be published. King was jailed along with large numbers of his supporters, including hundreds of schoolchildren. This website uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. One example of parallelism he uses is, But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity (Barnet and Bedau 741). Throughout the letter, Dr. King does a tremendous job of supporting his argument with the three elements of Aristotles rhetorical appeal. He goes on to add; I am in Birmingham because injustice is here (King 1). 1, Penn State University Press, 1968, pp. Besides the use of pathos, King uses repetition to enhance the effectiveness of his argument. What are some examples of parallelism 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. Mistreatment of this kind is labeled as racial discrimination. 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. Back then, people were ready to oppose unjust laws that were causing inequality and preventing progress. 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. 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. 1, no. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail.. 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. 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. Letter from Birmingham Jail: Repetition BACK NEXT This guy knew how to write a speech. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. We believe that King states in the first sentence himself that he does not usually comment upon the criticism of his work. Found a perfect sample but need a unique one? 1963, a letter was written to the clergy to alert them of what great injustices were taking place in Birmingham, Alabama. Order can only be held for so long whilst injustice is around. . Correspondingly, King urges the clergy to reconsider the horse-and-buggy pace of their methods of action through his logos. 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. Throughout the Letter from Birmingham Jail, ethos, pathos, and logos are masterfully applied by Martin Luther King. Therefore, as King fabricates antithetic parallelism, he constructs logos and persuades the audience to take prompt action against injustice through the careful juxtaposition of inverse statements. 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. Black Americans were forced to sit behind buses and kids were to use old books and uniforms of White Americans. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. Explain why the examples fit your chosen reason. 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. King uses pathos to invoke anger, sympathy and empathy, his impeccable use of logos makes his argument rational to everyone, and his use of ethos, especially the use of biblical references, makes his opinions more reliable. 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. , 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail. 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. To summarize, Martin Luther Kings rhetoric is effective and ultimately changed the course of the Civil Rights movement for the better. 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. 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. " 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. 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. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law." Letter from Birmingham Jail; McAuley ELA I HON. The letter was addressed to clergymen who had criticized King and made many claims against him. However, the racial divide was legislated in 1877 with the implementation of Jim Crow laws, which lasted until 1950. 114, Jr., Martin Luther King. 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. 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. Example: Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Martin Luther King Jr. twists the perspective of his audience -- Southern clergymen -- to create antithetic 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. 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. 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). We allow people to think that it is okay to act unjustly towards some individuals. This use of parallelism draws on the emotions of personal experiences to persuade that segregation is a problem in a myriad of ways. Martin Luther King Jr., with the Rev. The rhythm and frequent repetition are used to drive home his key points, stressing the importances of his goal. 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.. Whether this be by newspaper, flyers, or restated by another in speech, the spread of information is slower and potentially more controllable. This letter serves as a purpose to apply the need for love and brotherhood towards one another and avoid all the unjust laws. The way Dr. King constructs his argument is as if he was preaching his argument to his congregation. 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. 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. Parallelism takes many forms in literature, such as anaphora, antithesis, asyndeton, epistrophe, etc. IvyMoose is the largest stock of essay samples on lots of topics and for any discipline. Who was he truly writing for? Dr. When Dr. King first arrived in Birmingham, trouble occurred when he and fellow activists were . 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. 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. Letter From Birmingham Jail One of the most famous documents in American history is the 1963 letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from his jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama. , vol. 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. 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. Both influential speeches rely heavily on rhetorical devices to convey their purpose. King is not speaking only of racism; he is speaking of injustice in general. In order to do this, Martin Luther King uses several techniques in paragraph thirteen and fourteen of his letter such as repetition, personification, as well as allusion, to support his claim that racial unity has taken too long. 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 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. 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 any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and . King uses parallelism to add balance and rhythm to his rhetoric. 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. 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. 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. SophAbs. While in jail, King received a letter from eight Alabama clergyman explaining their concern and opposition to King and his non-violent actions. King uses tone, literal and figurative language to establish structure and language in his letter. There are people in the white community that are already standing hand-in-hand with them and their dreams. 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." In this essay, King also brings up why he is justified in his preaching about the separation of African-Americans and white people. We will write a custom Essay on King's Allusion in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" specifically for you. They were arrested and held in . Laws should build up society to be better so that a law is not need to be enforced and people will still follow it. He said that one day we won 't have to worry about our skin color and segregation and that we 'll all come together as one. 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 wants the clergyman to realize that what they believe and think is wrong. Both works utilizes the persuasive techniques of pathos in Dream and logos in Birmingham. Both of the works had a powerful message that brought faith to many. With these devices, King was able to move thousands of hearts and inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This special lyrical and parallel structure helped get his main points across and allows a large audience to understand simple but powerful words (Layfield) . Jr., Martin Luther King. 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. These circumstances lead us to our next rhetorical focus: audience. King goes on to write that he is disappointed that white moderates care less about justice and more about order. The main argument Dr. King is making in the letter is the protest being done in Birmingham is "wise" and most important "timely". His masterful delivery of these metaphors and the frequent repetition makes the speech much like a poem or a part of a song. To get a high-quality original essay, click here. In sum, all rhetoric has an external situation in which it is responding to. Constraints bring light to the obstacles this rhetoric may face, whether it be social, political, economical, etc. 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 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 letter King effectively manipulates language and tone to strengthen his argument against the complaints of the clergyman and successfully address the white people. The rhetorical choices referenced above are riddled with pathos, also known as language utilized to persuade the audience emotionally. Martin Luther King Jr. displays pathos by targeting the audiences emotion by talking about his American dream that could also be other peoples too. 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. 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. Despite his opposition, however, the letter is truly addressed to those who were not against King, but did not understand the urgency of his movement. 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 understood that if he gained support from the white American, the civil rights movement would reach its goals much faster. 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. His letter has become one of the most profound pieces of literature of the 20th century, as King uses vivid examples and eloquent rhetorical devices to counter all nine arguments. One example of Kings use of pathos appeals to the audiences emotions by showing Kings confidence in his endeavors. 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. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive. 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 audiences logical side and urges African-Americans to act punctual in their fight against injustice, prompted by the imprudent words of the clergy. 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. All of these factors influence each other to shape rhetoric, which Bitzer describes as, pragmatic; it comes into existence for the sake of something beyond itself (3), with Martin Luther Kings.
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