King was able to turn this argument on its head, showing its inherent fallibility and how such a mindset only serves to protect those in power. The triumph of this letter is that King is able to respond to this fallibility through arguments based on religious, legal, and historical ideas. As a citizen, he is able to call out the nightmarish circumstances for so many African Americans, while using strong persuasive tactics to sway the sensibilities towards his viewpoint. At its core, the letter is a tremendous justification for the methods, strategies and objectives of the Birmingham campaign, as architected by him, and of the greater Civil Rights Movement as a whole.
Another beacon of light that the letter provided was that King offered a fresh perspective on the myopic disapproval voiced by the clergymen in regards to the tensions manifested by the acts of non-violent resistance. King was able to offer a clear explanation of how they were attempting to actively create “constructive tensions as a means of provoking worthwhile negotiations with those who were in control of political power. Just as important, King illustrated that because so many earlier negotiations had failed, black Americans had no other options. This he illustrated clearly.
An additional aspect of defense and explanation that King had to address was the attack the clergymen had made regarding the overall timing of the campaign. Essentially, these community leaders argued that it would have been better if the black community had waited to engage in such “extreme” action. King showed how his group, the SCLC had already made a decision to wait, as a means of regrouping a better overall strategy—a decision which indicated a high amount of responsibility. However, one of the more insightful things that King insightfully points out is that throughout history, “wait” often means “never.” It is the “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” that Shakespeare speaks of that never actually comes. As an accountable citizen and one is who is willing to make courageous actions to create change in society, King knows that in order to correct the imbalance of society, swift action must be taken regardless of what the current law is. The letter further asserts the necessity of civil disobedience, meditates on extremism, expresses frustration with white moderates, and alludes to the necessity of the clergymen to praise the courage of the protesters rather than the police, who had happened to act non-violently during this one incidence.
Abstract This paper serves as a letter from Birmingham jail analysis essay. It first gives background information on the Birmingham Campaign and why King was there in the first place. Then it proceeds to discuss the reason he wrote his letter, which was a public response to public criticism he received from eight white Southern preachers. The analysis examines the letter itself and shows how King used various arguments and persuasive
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He clarifies his status i.e. A spiritual leader and a learned person by using well chosen ethos of St. Aquinas, Jesus and Paul therefore puts him forth as a trustworthy person. Also being an African-American makes him the right person to participate in this event because he understands the situation properly. By use of logos he explains the reason behind the actions of the black persons of which the
I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk," (para. 47). The use of sarcasm allows King to retain his sense of confidence rather than to seem conciliatory to those who have thrwarted civil rights. Earlier on, King also uses sarcasm to enhance the confident tone of his writing. "I am sure that none of you would want
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