Topic > Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail

Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Jesus, all these radical men and more are mentioned in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail". he use of their names in the context of this article creates a form of kinship between him and the men, supporting their disobedience against oppressive systems and at the same time defending his actions to fight against segregation. Using various writing strategies, such as parallelism, comparison, and careful word choice, King powerfully shows the adversity that black people lived in, defends his movement from those who would disagree, and effectively gives it a tone mature and serious to discuss. in.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay King goes on to describe his reasons for coming to Birmingham specifically to continue his protests: “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. The Negroes have suffered grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation..." By presenting the public with such grim facts as these, it helps to create empathy for its people and continues to justify his actions. King also shows in painful detail what his people have had to experience with powerful lines such as “when you saw hateful police officers cursing, kicking, and even killing your black brothers and sisters… ” By using parallelism in sentence structure, King forces the audience to imagine the pain that his friends and family had to endure during those difficult times. Another example where he achieves this is: "when you suddenly find yourself with a slurred tongue and a stuttering speech while trying to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park... and seeing tears well up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to children of color…” She uses dark language such as “hateful cops” and “closed to children of color” to paint an all-encompassing picture of that society in that blacks had to live through, by hitting readers with anecdote after anecdote of the depressing trials his community endured, he not only leaves the audience further sympathizing and feeling the vivid imagery he uses, but also entices them. to continue reading and finding positive ways for systemic change. He also justifies his nonviolent protest movement by establishing his cause on the basis of it preventing “immoral” and “unjust” laws. It does this by introducing dark moments into history where what was moral interfered with what was legal. He states: “We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was 'legal' and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was 'illegal'. In Hitler's Germany it was "illegal" to help and comfort a Jew. Despite this, I am sure that, if I had lived in Germany at that time, I would have helped and comforted my Jewish brothers." By establishing such a powerful example of when what was considered moral was in contradiction to what was legal, it forces its intended audience to further question the viability that laws are always right in their intentions. He also draws a comparison between the heinous crimes committed against the Jewish community and those of the African-American community. Although on a smaller scale, King still conveys the idea that unjust laws generated by hatred lead to needless violence and death. In.