parallelism in letter from birmingham jail parallelism in letter from birmingham jail

Read these passages aloud, and as you do so, feel their undeniable passion and power. 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. He wants the clergyman to realize that what they believe and think is wrong. . Just as well, King uses his aspirations to create ideas within the listeners. Furthermore, as King attests to the significance of the Birmingham injustices, he utilizes antithesis to foster logos: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere; Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly (515). 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. 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. 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 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. 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. What are some examples of parallelism in letter from Birmingham jail? 808 certified writers . 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. Get professional help and free up your time for more important things. I am here because I have basic organizational ties here (King 1), after describing his involvement in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as president. Dr. King often used repetition and parallel construction to great emotional effect when he spoke. These circumstances lead us to our next rhetorical focus: audience. 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. He goes on to add; I am in Birmingham because injustice is here (King 1). These "parallel" elements can be used to intensify the rhythm of language, or to draw a comparison, emphasize, or elaborate on an idea. We will write a custom Essay on King's Allusion in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" specifically for you. In this essay, King also brings up why he is justified in his preaching about the separation of African-Americans and white people. 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. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. Civil rights is an emotional subject for those who were affected by it, and MLK is proving his argument on civil disobedience. In. As King disproves the arguments of the white clergymen, he utilizes antithesis to create logos; furthermore, he calls the reader to take action against injustice across the nation. That sentence magnifies the fact that good people doing nothing is the same as bad people purposely hindering civil rights. 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. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. Saying it that way magnifies the imperative difference between the two types of laws. Mistreatment of this kind is labeled as racial discrimination. King's main thesis in writing the Birmingham letter is that, racial segregation, or injustice to the black American society, is due to the continuous encouragement of the white American society, particularly the powerful communities in politics and religions. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail is a letter that illustrates oppression being a large battle fought in this generation and location. "A Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Analysis. The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written by the African American hero Dr. Martin Luther King in Birmingham back in 1963, addressing the issues that the African Americans faced back in that time. 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. Back then, people were ready to oppose unjust laws that were causing inequality and preventing progress. In A Letter From A Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr defends his use of nonviolent protest in order to accomplish racial equality. His masterful delivery of these metaphors and the frequent repetition makes the speech much like a poem or a part of a song. 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. 100% plagiarism free, Orders: 11 In the "Letter from Birmingham Jail", written by Martin Luther King Jr., King delivers a well structured response to eight clergymen who had accused him of misuse of the law. In addressing and confronting the problem of injustices among the black Americans in the American society, particularly the violence that had happened in Birmingham, and, Martin Luther King Jr. faced many challenges during his life. Firstly, and most daunting, is the constraint of the letters audience. 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. As campaigning, King uses it in his speech in order to express all his points. 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. 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. He wrote the letter in response to criticisms made by white clergymen. 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. 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. Martin Luther utilizes powerful rhetoric to define his exigence. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive. Without King, America would be probably still heavily segregated. These circumstances lead us to our next rhetorical focus: audience. Recent flashcard sets. King uses tone, literal and figurative language to establish structure and language in his letter. 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. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. Required fields are marked *. 25 terms. 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). 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. Active Themes. Constraints bring light to the obstacles this rhetoric may face, whether it be social, political, economical, etc. 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. King has explained this through many examples of racial situations, factual and logical reasoning, and . However, Martin Luther King Jr is an extremely influential figure in the field of oration and rhetoric. 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. The Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses many problems, including the slow action occuring to stop racial discrimination. In this way, King asserts that African-Americans must act with jet-like speed to gain their independence. Later in the letter, parallelism is used to contrast just laws and unjust laws. 1963, a letter was written to the clergy to alert them of what great injustices were taking place in Birmingham, Alabama. 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. He evokes emotion on his audience by discussing the trials and injustice African Americans have endured. This comes to endanger our entire society. However, they each have different ideas about freedom, and about what they want their audience to do. There are people in the white community that are already standing hand-in-hand with them and their dreams. However, the racial divide was legislated in 1877 with the implementation of Jim Crow laws, which lasted until 1950. Dr. King was considered the most prominent and persuasive man of The Civil Rights Movement. In sum, all rhetoric has an external situation in which it is responding to. 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. 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. During this letter, King then uses the time to unroot the occasion of nonviolent protests in BIrmingham and the disappointing leadership of the clergy. Example: Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? He proves his authority through his explanation of his experience as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every Southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia (King 232), and he emphasizes the importance of addressing the situation to him when he says, seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas, referring to the people of Birminghams resistance to the civil protests that he has been leading in Birmingham (King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. mentions the atrocities of racism and describes his endless battles against it. He does an exceptional job using both these appeals throughout his speeches by backing up his emotional appeals with logical ones. Constraints bring light to the obstacles this rhetoric may face, whether it be social, political, economical, etc. 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). 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. In the letter, King appeals for unity against racism in society, while he wants to fight for Human Rights, using ethos. Repetitions help the writer give structure to his arguments and highlight important aspects. "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. Letter from a Birmingham Jail: The Rhetorical Analysis At the peak of the Civil War Movement in America on April 12th, 1963, eight Alabama . is undeniably effective at responding to the rhetorical situation at hand. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail.. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. 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). Dr. 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. This website uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. IvyMoose is the largest stock of essay samples on lots of topics and for any discipline. In the same manner, King believed that people could unite to combat oppression. 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. The first to come to mind for most would be civil rights activism, as he was an instrumental figure in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In Kings speech he says, Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of this country (King Page 6). Choose one type of reason and cite an example from these lines. One of the challenges that he faced included being criticized because of what he believed in concerning the laws of segregation. King goes on to explain how this right has not been kept, making it appear to be similar to a laid-back rule. During a civil resistance campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was arrested. , Atlantic Media Company, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail/552461/. 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. 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. Correspondingly, King urges the clergy to reconsider the horse-and-buggy pace of their methods of action through his logos. Kings arguments induce an emotional response in his readers. Repetition in "The Letter from a Birmingham Jail" Ethos Example "A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. 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. King establishes his position supported by historical and biblical allusions, counterarguments, and the use of rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos. 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. The letter from the Birmingham jail of Martin Luther King, Jr.. 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. Parallelism is useful to emphasize things and ideas to the audience, which, like all the other tropes and schemes. In each writing, he uses the devices for many different purposes. 114, Jr., Martin Luther King. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with moral law. Here are more examples of parallel structure within "Letter from Birmingham Jail" that I find especially powerful. King responds with complete confidence that he is in the right place at the right time, and that his actions are necessary. Engels . While in his cell, he composed the famous Letter from Birmingham Jail. 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. Letter from Birmingham Jail: Repetition BACK NEXT This guy knew how to write a speech. Who was he truly writing for? Both influential speeches rely heavily on rhetorical devices to convey their purpose. To truly understand the effectiveness of this letter, one must rhetorically analyse the contents. 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. Wiki User 2013-03-13 02:55:46 Study now See answer (1) Copy "One has not only legal but moral responsibility to obey just. The continuous mistreatment of African Americans for over a century was, at last, deeply questioned and challenged nationwide with the growing popularity of the Civil Rights movement, and the topic of equality for all had divided the country. 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. King intended for the entire nation to read it and react to it. There are three main considerations to make while analysing a rhetorical situation: the constraints, the exigence, and the audience. He wanted this letter to encourage and bring up a people that will start a revolution. King organized various non-violent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama that resulted in his arrest. 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. the exigence is the continued condemnation, segregation, and prejudice afflicted against African Americans since the emancipation of the slaves in 1863. Although the letter was addressed to the eight clergymen, the Letter from Birmingham Jail speaks to a national audience. samples are real essays written by real students who kindly donate their papers to us so that King wants to bring to the readers realization the fact that laws are only to be followed when they are rightfully just and correct. 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. Martin Luther King Jr., with the Rev. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere!" Explain why the examples fit your chosen reason. 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. Besides the use of pathos, King uses repetition to enhance the effectiveness of his argument. 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. 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. King had been arrested while participating in a peaceful anti-segregation march although several local religious groups counted on King for support. Dr. By clicking Receive Essay, you agree to our, Essay Sample on The Effects of the Atomic Bomb, Essay Sample: The Development of the Braille System in Nineteenth-Century France, Constitution of The United StatesResearch Paper Example, Hippies In The 1960's (Free Essay Sample), Positive And Negative Impacts Of The Columbian Exchange, Essay Sample on Early River Civilizations. The rhythm and frequent repetition are used to drive home his key points, stressing the importances of his goal. All of this accumulates into an unwavering social constraint placed on Martin Luther Kings rhetorical text. 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. 1, Penn State University Press, 1968, pp. 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 . To summarize, Martin Luther Kings rhetoric is effective and ultimately changed the course of the Civil Rights movement for the better. In terms of legacies, Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of someone whose legacy has left an impact on a great many fields. In Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was this line, "We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right." King was the leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement as well as an activist for humanitarian causes. Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail. 262). Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social colorblindness. Bitzer, Lloyd F. The Rhetorical Situation. Philosophy & Rhetoric, vol. King is saying that if we allow injustice to happen in some places, we risk it happening to everyone. 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 jail, King received a letter from eight Alabama clergyman explaining their concern and opposition to King and his non-violent actions. There are three main considerations to make while analysing a rhetorical situation: the constraints, the exigence, and the audience. He deliberately tries to make the audience feel as if racial segregation is both wrong and against basic morals. Additionally, personable elements such as tone, inflection, and overall vindication behind the letter are left to be determined by the rhetorical language. 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.