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¶ … Letter from a Birmingham Jail," Marin Luther King's audience involved the authorities and African-Americans requesting equality. He also wrote to the clergymen in Atlanta. King wrote the letter in a calm and logical manner and this is how it meets his purpose. From a jail, he writes about oppression, justice, and nonviolent action. King does not discount the frustration his fellow African-Americans feel but he also realizes violent will get them nowhere. He also knew certain actions were justified. He wrote about how he "earnestly worked and preached against violent tension, but there is a type of constructive tension that is necessary for growth" (King) and the "purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation" (11). He did not want violence but he did believe that some kind of action was warranted. King believed in the goodness of his fellow man and he had great dreams for America. He knew that racial divides could be conquered as long as men remained rational.
King's appeal to authority, or ethos, emerges when he states it was "was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake . . . To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience" (King). Here King illustrates how civil disobedience has good consequences and, in the end, one must follow one's on inclination. When he refers to the Boston Tea Party, he is appealing to ethos because they were disobeying, too. His appeal is logical and more difficult to dispute. The last thing King wanted to do was seem illogical and irrational.
Work Cited
King, Martin Luther. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 1963. University of Pennsylvania online.
Information Retrieved January 27, 2009.
Letter Birmingham Response to the Letter from Birmingham Jail It is difficult to imagine being in the position Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in when he wrote this letter. Though it was far from the only time he was arrested during his campaigning for civil rights, the "Birmingham Campaign" that led to this arrest was one of the larger movements of civil disobedience that King helped to lead, and the weight
Letter from Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dear Sir: My name is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I am currently imprisoned in a Birmingham Jail as a result of accusations of inciting a riot. On the eve of October 14th of this year, 1958 I lead a peaceful demonstration protesting unfair wages and poor working conditions of the poor people in the city of Birmingham. I would like to
King also makes another point in this passage that directly refutes something another minister told him. He says that this particular minister told him to be patient and wait for the right time. King points out that time itself never did anything; it is "neutral" as he puts it. It is people's actions that make things happen, King asserts, and though it still takes time and perseverance to accomplish things,
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"In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty." In that argument, the author also draws a comparison with those most committed to maintaining segregation; presumably, he was referring to those who physically attacked and sometimes killed both African-Americans and