Themes In Letter From Birmingham Jail - 718 Words

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† was a powerful and eloquent letter that effectively argued the point that segregation is fundamentally unjust and should be fought with nonviolent protest. This letter, through describing the injustice taking place during the civil rights movement also provided some insight about Dr. King’s view of the government in the 1960s. Three mains themes present in Dr. King’s letter were religion, injustice, and racism. Dr. King repeatedly used the first theme, religion, to support his arguments throughout the letter. For instance, he used a religious comparison to explain his presence in Birmingham, saying â€Å"just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel†¦show more content†¦In general, the idea of justice was key in Dr. King’s letter, as he explained that his actions were essentially driven by his desire for justice, in this case in the form of racial equality and desegregation. Finally, racism was a major theme, and it was even the cause of the letter’s writing. For example, Dr. King said that though â€Å"it is unfortunate that so-called demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham at this time, but . . . it is even more unfortunate that the white power structure of this city left the Negro community with no other alternative† (78), describing how it was racism that forced his actions which led him to be jailed. Dr. King further described the immense racism present at the time by noting that â€Å"There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in this nation† (78). In his, letter, Dr. King seemed rather dissatisfied with the local government, particularly the one of Birmingham, Alabama. He openly expressed his desire â€Å"to see Mr. Conner [a local official] defeated [in an election]† (79), and even though after the election, Connor wa s replaced by a man named Boutwell, Dr. King said â€Å"While Mr. Boutwell is much more articulate and gentle than Mr. Connor, they are both segregationists, dedicated to the task of maintaining the status quo† (79), describing his continued dissatisfaction with the local government. Though Dr. King disliked theShow MoreRelatedTheme Of Pathos In A Letter From Birmingham Jail803 Words   |  4 PagesEthos, Pathos and Logos in â€Å"A Letter from Birmingham Jail† In August 1963, while sitting in Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King wrote a letter responding to the statement of the eight Clergymen. This letter addressed the criticisms of the marches conducted in Alabama. The Clergymen were not thrilled with the direct-action King and the protesters took. During this letter, King fights the battle with a well-mannered, step by step defense. King expertly combines Ethos and Logos to appeal to the ClergymenRead MoreLetter From Birmingham Jail Essay Essay1451 Words   |  6 PagesZhuo Liu Lauren Sassenoff English 1P-5 25 September 2016 Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter while incarcerated in Birmingham jail to eight clergymen in response to their letter known as â€Å"A Call for Unity.†Ã‚  The letter asked for the stop of direct action type protest in Birmingham, Alabama that Martin Luther King was leading.   The letter has become known as one of the greatest works of argument in American history. Part of the reason for the letter’sRead More The Rhetoric of Pathos in the Writings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.1141 Words   |  5 PagesAfrican-Americans behind a veneer of social and political platitudes accepted as givens by others in the same society. Those easy assumptions Dr. King challenged in his reflections on the African-Americans experience to that time. What set apart his remarks from all the others that day, however, were elements of style--an oratorical style--that Dr. King had honed in speech after speech for years. He was, in fact, a much practiced orator. A comparison of almost any set of his remarks reveals the key to theRead MoreSimilarities between Martin Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail and Jonathan Swifts A Modest Proposal1358 Words   |  6 Pagescursory analysis of Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. and A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift reveals glaring differences between the two essays. Surprisingly, a side-by-side comparison also yields many similarities between the two works. The most obvious similarity between the two essays is the overarching theme of the subject matter. In both essays, the writers address deeply-entrenched social injustices. For example, in Letter From Birmingham Jail, King, in his highly-impassionedRead More Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay1149 Words   |  5 PagesMartin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Martin Luther King Jr. writes the Clergymen that have written him a letter disputing his actions in Birmingham. King is disturbed and offended by the Clergymen disagreeing with his purpose in Birmingham. King say he normally does not respond to criticism because it would waste to much precious time, but since these were men of good will he wanted to give his answers to their statements. In Kings letter he appeals to many emotions asRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail1052 Words   |  5 Pagesdiscrimination is? A Rhetorical Analysis of Letter From Birmingham Jail It is known to all that Martin Luther King is a famous person in America, who strongly goes against the racial discrimination all the time. Here, in this letter, Letter from Birmingham Jail, it is easy for us to realize that racial discrimination appears and the non-violence action is still serious at that time. As a matter of fact, this letter is coming from the people in the Birmingham jail, stating their inner thoughts about theRead MoreSummary of Letters from Birmingham Jail Essay777 Words   |  4 PagesHelal Ahmed Professor Smith English 125 October 6, 2010 Summary of M.L.K.’s Letters from Bringham Jail   Ã‚              Ã‚         Martin Luther King Jrs â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† was written during his 8 day sentence in jail in 1963. He chose to travel and protest in Birmingham due to the fact that it was widely known as one of the most  segregated city in the U.S.  The letter not only addresses the issues of unjustly being arrested for being an extremist of his approach to the protest, and of theRead Moreâ€Å"a Comparison of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’S ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech and ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’†.1444 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"A Comparison of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’†. 9% Similarity Born in Atlanta Georgia in 1929, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., conceivably lived as one of the greatest social and religious leaders in a country where a group of its citizens had to endure excruciating conditions of disenfranchisement, inferiority and degradation of a second class citizenship by reasons of race, color or origin. In effort to condemn allRead MoreCivil Disobedience, And Martin Luther King Jr. s Letter From Birmingham Jail1018 Words   |  5 Pagescircumstances, mainly for the betterment of society. Historic figures such as Rosa Parks, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. all acted civilly disobedience, but society benefitted from their movements. Civil disobedience is the underlying theme of Sophocles’ Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail. The main character of Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone, acts civil disobedience, just as Dr. King acted civilly disobedient. Both Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. fought to gai nRead More Fighting for Equality and Freedom Essays910 Words   |  4 Pagesof Martin Luther King, Jr. in his â€Å"Letter from Birmingham City Jail† and from an excerpt of Aung San Suu Kyi’s In Quest of Democracy, the underlying theme of equality is thoughtfully penned with examples universally recognizable from each of their own perspectives, respectfully acknowledging their own histories, religions, and obstacles to illuminate the path toward that common goal of a just society despite unjust laws. In â€Å"Letter from Birmingham City Jail,† King’s detailed writings demonstrate