Letter from Birmingham Jail Analysis free essay sample

Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King wrote the letter on the 16th of April in 1963. He was responding to his fellow clergymen after they called him unwise and untimely. King was arrested for his civil disobedience in the protests and marches that he led. Martin Luther Kings audience in the letter were the clergymen who are men of religion. Therefore King alludes to religious figures in order to appeal to the clergymen. He speaks in a respectful tone so they believe that he is a civil man and does not mean to offend them. In response to the clergymens first claim that King is a an extremist, he uses allusions that appeal to the clergymen as well as anaphora and a rhetorical question. He refutes the claim that he is a lawbreaker by allding to religious figures and human rights. The clergymen also claim that Kings actions are untimely. We will write a custom essay sample on Letter from Birmingham Jail Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Martin Luther King responds to this with charged words and anaphora that are meant to refute their claim. In response to the claim that he is an extremist Martin Luther King uses allusions and compares himself to religious extremists and shows that extremism is not exclusively negative to appeal to the clergymens religious values and to prove that he is a positive extremist. When King claims, â€Å"was not Jesus an extremist for love was not Amos an extremist for justice,† he is making an allusion to religious figures who fought for the greater good. This comparison appeals to the clergymen because he uses allusions they can relate to and also uses anaphora to stress the importance of his point. Another response to their claim King makes is â€Å"Will we be extremists for hate of for love? ,† which proves that it is not necessarily negative to be an extremist. In asking this, Martin Luther King uses a rhetorical question to make the clergymen reconsider their claim and their definition of an extremist. King effectively counters his audiences accusations about extremists with allusions, anaphora and a rhetorical question. Martin Luther King responds to the clergymens claim that he is a lawbreaker by using charged words and anaphora that explain that some laws are meant to be broken. When King explains, â€Å" here are two types of laws: just and unjust I would agree with St. Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all† he is alluding to St. Augustine who is a religious figure which would appeal to the clergymen. In addition to St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas is brought up as well, â€Å" An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and nat ural law. Any law that uproots human personality is unjust. † this describes in what seperate forms a law can be percieved. Martin Luther King refutes the clergys claim by backing up his side with religious figures who parallel his ideals. As a result of the clergymen who claim that Kings actions are those of an untimely man, he uses charged words and anaphora to refute their claim. When King describes the situation in the eyes of a fellow African-American, â€Å"when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your lack brother and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent socirty; when you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cant go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television he is using pathos, an emotional appeal to get the audinces attention, and anaphora, which emphasises the point behind his words. King describes the feelings of each and every Negro effected by the segregation and hate of the time in an attempt to emotionally effect the audience, the clergymen. King wraps up his argument by appealing to the clergys emotions with sensory detail that leaves them with a feeling of their fellow Americans, the Negro community. In Kings explantion, â€Å"Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities † he describes his hopes for the future of humanity that will one day lead to equality among all of us. He refers to the clergy as his â€Å"brother† and â€Å"fellow† which puts him at their level of understanding. King believes that every man deserves the right to walk alongside one another with the thought of peace and tranquility crossing their minds.