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American Idol of Literature

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Submitted By sixeighty680
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American Idol of Literature
The final judging in the American Idol of Literature competition took place in my mind between the three best written pieces of work in “Making Literature Matter”. The three pieces were “A Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, and even though it is not a story or play, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr.
Although the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was the best written thing in the text book, I don’t believe it could legitimately win in an “American Idol” type of competition because it wasn’t actually a story. He wrote that letter better than anything I have seen written to this day minus all of the Harry Potter books as I am very partial to them. He was in the heart of where the country needed to reform the most and no one was willing to help him make it happen. He had sincere guts and the faith required to help make the human rights movement work. All he was doing was answering the question “what are you doing here?” and he did it very successfully and effectively over thirteen pages. My favorite quote of his letter to the congressmen was;
As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us. We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community. (Jr.)
It was right after he said that they had tried everything else and that this was the only way to move forward. He was demonstrating the strength he was giving to the community. He was giving the city of Birmingham the motivation they needed to make the change necessary for true freedom. I think that between the three stories (Amontillado was great just not better than the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” or “A

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