On The Letter from Birmingham Jail, Fall 2008

This is a write up of some in-class essay I had to write from my AP Lang class Junior year.  Total crap.

Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasive writing: A Letter From Birmingham Jail

In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther king Jr.  discusses the pain caused by racism and segregation.  He communicates the feelings of isolation and humiliation that African Americans are forced to endure at the hands of racism. Through his use of serious tone and emotional diction that appeals to pathos,King explains why he and other African Americans can no longer "wait" for equality.

King’s tone throughout the letter is serious and establishes the fact that African Americans are suffering.  His use of the phrase "stinging darts" suggests that he is hurt directly by racism in American society.  This imagery is an implication that the white clergymen he is addressing might not see how serious the situation is, but simply consider it a game.  White Americans have not had to suffer through the pain that African Americans have endured.  King wishes to show the reader that he cannot wait when this sort of injustice is still happening.  He explains that people are being "lynch[ed] at will."  This statement clarifies that the laws are not being followed by either side of the issue.  Clearly the government does not have control over what is happening to these people and this lack of control applies to the African Americans themselves.  King does not take the issue of segregation lightly, and uses his tone to communicate to the American people that they too should stand up against the injustice.

The emotional diction that King uses appeals to pathos and is a primary rhetorical strategy used in his argument.  His biggest appeal is the use of familiar terms such as referring to his fellow African Americans as "[his] black brothers and sisters."  The idea of the unity he feels with his fellow black man makes them seem more like a community.  At this King assumes that the reader will think of their own family and their own community being harmed.  From this point of view people can understand his need to protect his family.  King also uses an anecdote about the tears in the eyes of his, "six year old daughter," allowing the audience to better understand and sympathize with their pain.  He uses his young children to show that innocent people are being victimized.  Through the use of this story as a method of appealing to pathos, King associates himself to every parent or family member who reads his letter.  The idea of his "twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty," is sickening.  The imagery in this statement implies mass amounts of suffering.  The pain that the poverty brings about is like a slow death that they cannot escape.  It is almost unbearable to even imagine this sort of agony which is exactly what King intends.  King wants the reader to know that the only escape from this "cage" is to no longer have to "wait" for liberty.

The grief that is brought about by segregation and racism in America is clearly displayed in King's letter.  By showing white Americans exactly how he and his, "Negro brothers," are treated, he is intending to open the eyes of his audience.  He invites them to see the pain in the lives of the average African American, and asks them to understand why he can no longer wait for equality.  He knows that the law is unfair, and he has to break some in order to change his world.