MLK : Rhetorical Analysis

Martin Luther King Jr. civil rights activist was imprisoned in the spring of 1963 after him and his organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), targeted Birmingham, Alabama, with a series of peaceful demonstrations aimed at ending segregation. There was a letter published calling his action "unwise and untimely" and Luther responded with his own letter using irony, tone, and pathos to justify his actions.

In the second paragraph of the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Mr. King shows irony when describing why he was in Birmingham in the first place. Not only was Birmingham Alabama a place where segregation was at large and the main cause of any non-violent demonstration needed to be held but also Mr. King Relays some not so public information about how the SCLC has eighty-five affiliated organization across the south the Alabama conference invited Mr. King to come and help with the demonstrations. Now the Irony here if you haven't already caught it was Me. King was invited to be there to help and by being there he allowed himself to be locked up and for being there for the reason he was invited. Another form of irony that Mr. King showed throughout the book was when discussing negotiation and how many whites are probably wondering why the civilize didn't think of that. Well, Mr. King puts it like this,” Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. Now you're probably wondering when they tried to negotiate in the past, right? Well in paragraph 7 Mr. King spills the beans about when the negro leaders met with the Birmingham leaders to negotiate, story short there were promises made by the Birmingham leaders and there were promises broke by the Birmingham leaders which showed that negotiation the easy was was not an option anymore. Furthermore proving how Martin Luther King Jr. Justified his actions through irony.

Lines 113 through 150 was a deep subject that broke many of hearts to help Mr. King justify his actions. Martin Luther King Jr. used pathos and the example of a little girl to bleed deeper than the skin and tissue but to bleed through the heart of every white, black, colored person who read this letter. Mr, King used the example of a little girl who sees an amusement park advertised on television a lot and she wants to go but the part that her daddy has to stand there look into her brown eyes and tell her because she was colored the park was closed to the colored and she couldn't go. How would you feel telling your child she can't go play and enjoy her childhood because her skin is the wrong color to play there. That is the question Mr. King seaves through the blood of everyone reading it and when it reaches the heart it breaks them. Helping him justify that no one should have to tell their child that because they are of a different race means they cant have a life. Which is why he needed the negotiation that's why he wants to end segregation in Birmingham Alabama. Furthermore proving how Martin Luther King Jr. Justified his actions through Pathos.

Now the next way he justified his actions was spread out through the whole letter which was tone. Mr. King was Disappointed throughout this whole letter by the way the white Moderate have understood the laws. He hopes that they understand that their laws are unjust and order needs the exist for the purpose of establishing justice. However, the most precious line was when Mr. King was directing his action to those white leaders who published the letter that prompted this letter to be written. Mr. King states, “ I’m afraid it is much too long to take your precious time.” The reason this shows disappointment is because anyone who cannot make time for there city for their people is a disappointment. By the whites not having the time to deal with the blacks of their community it just further shows why the non-violent actions were needed in Birmingham. Furthermore proving how Mr. King used tone-disappointment to justify his actions.

Martin Luther King. Jr. used irony, tone, and pathos throughout his letter proficiently to justify his actions in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. Wouldn’t you join the civil right for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood??