Premium Essay

Quotes From Birmingham Jail Analysis

Submitted By
Words 527
Pages 3
America was built upon the principal of abolishing ties with a hierarchy that was suffocating and restricting their god given liberties. America is a success story that models how the often looked down techniques retaliation and social dispute can work towards a greater good. However, as time passes, whether we as a country choose to forget or there is a willing ignorance we have turned against the same fundamentals that made us a country and tagged it as "untimely", "disrespectful", and "pesky." Protests and civil disobedience no matter how peaceful and legitimate receive backlash for being "out of place", "not the time" and "disruptive." In the words of Martin Luther King Jr. as he sat in his jail cell in Birmingham Jail, "One of the basic …show more content…
Those who have been stampeded by unjust legislation and are constantly bombarded with the heavy weigh of society's foot on their throats can not sit idly by until the time is convenient for action."We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." Martin Luher King Jr. If the brave black students in Alabama never participated in sit ins, sitting at diner tables patiently waiting to be served; if they had not broke one mere purely unjust law, maybe society could have been drastically different today. Although civil disobedience involving race has been a hallmark in American history, there have been more recent, just as controversial instances of this. Edward Snowden. Depending on your opinion of the situation, that name may evoke feelings of sickness and disgust, or a true hero. Call me unpatriotic, and a extreme left leaner, but I full heatedly agree and with the leaking of classified information on the part of Edward Snowden. He provided the transparency and truth that the government wasn't giving to its own

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Ethos In I Am In Birmingham Jail

...Martin Luther King Jr. speaks from the Birmingham Jail to the “new administration” about his nonviolent protests as a result of the violence towards blacks and to secure civil rights. King used the rhetorical devices ethos, logos and allusion to reach the clergymen. Martin Luther King Jr. uses ethos to influence his audience to trust him and believe that he knows what he’s talking about. King states “I am in Birmingham because there is injustice here ”pg.1 paragraph 3. In this quote King is telling the audience that he is in Birmingham for them, so he can stop the injustice. If he is there to stop injustice, then he is there for the people and their safety. That is how he uses ethos in this quote, it makes the people believe he...

Words: 390 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Letter From Birmingham Jail

...assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee during one of his many protests to end segregation. As King writes the letter, he appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos numerously by using techniques such as parallelism, repetition, rhetorical questions, metaphors, similes, and allusions to construct a strong effective argument. “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in 1963 from King’s jail cell in Alabama to clarify his reasoning for refusing to obey the laws of his time by constructing and leading nonviolent protests. Within the first paragraphs of his letter to the eight white clergymen, King first uses the appeal to ethos strongly to captivate the minds and attention of his audience. In paragraph two of “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” beginning on page 800, King appeals to ethos to ensure credibility and...

Words: 1691 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail

...Friedrich Nietzsche was a European philosopher from Prussia. He was born in 1844 and passed away at age 55 in Germany. Nietzsche was very well educated. He studied Theology at the University of Bonn and eventually earned his doctorate from the University of Leipzig. For ten years he served as chair of classical philology at Basel in Switzerland. My focus is going to be on his writing, Beyond Good and Evil. It is important to note for the analysis of this book that Nietzsche came from a materialist, or atheist background. In Beyond Good and Evil, the ethical model he promotes is one that is driven by power. The other writing I will look at is Martin Luther King, Jr's Letter from Birmingham Jail. Like Nietzsche, King was also very sophisticated....

Words: 869 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Critical Analysis: Letter from Birmingham Jail

...Critical Analysis Essay “Letter from Birmingham Jail” In arguing, writers use different techniques to effectively convey their message to their intended audience. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a response to "A Call for Unity" by eight white clergymen in which King’s presence in Birmingham and his methods of public demonstration were questioned. King’s letter was not only a response to his presence in Birmingham, but he also used the opportunity to address the unjust proposals by the clergymen that Negroes wait for the legal system to abolish segregation and unjust laws. King uses rhetorical modes of persuasion such as ethos, pathos and logos to meticulously address and discredit the claims made by the eight white clergymen. Throughout his letter, King also makes many comparisons to effectively illustrate how the Negro pursuit of freedom was timely. To answer the question of his presence in Birmingham, King uses both ethos and pathos to explain why he is qualified to be present leading the demonstrations. To argue the perception of him being “an outsider coming in”, King first states that because he has organizational ties in Birmingham, he has an obligation to be available whenever he is needed. This statement discredits the notion that he is an outsider. To lay the foundation of his argument, King states, “But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.” This statement is used to make King’s presence seem less personal...

Words: 1198 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Rhetorical Analysis of Letter from Birmingham Jail W/ Focus on Ethos

...MLK Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis- w/ focus on Ethos “...we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders…” In this quote, from the third paragraph of the letter written by eight Alabama clergymen, the term outsiders is used. Early on, this creates a label for Martin Luther King, outsider. Throughout his Letter From Birmingham Jail, King is able appeal to ethos in order to refute his title of “outsider” and generate a connection with his audiences, the clergymen and the people of America. King is able to do such a thing by alluding to multiple passages from the Bible as well as the figures it contains, which is done so that he may identify with the clergymen. When not speaking in reference to the Bible, King makes allusions and references to specific points and people in American history, which allows him to connect to his larger audience, the people of America. By demonstrating his practical wisdom, through the use of allusion, King attempts to strengthen his character with a visible appeal to ethos. King alludes to the Bible multiple times throughout his Letter From Birmingham Jail. These allusions are notable in paragraph three, where king refers to the biblical figures “Jesus Christ” and “the Apostle Paul.” The context in which these two are used is to reiterate the story of Paul leaving Tarsus, which King also mentions, to spread the word of Christ. In paragraph...

Words: 1579 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Alienation In Letter From Birmingham Jail

...Seeing as how the years stretching from 1960 through 1969 encompass some of the most volatile in American history, it is only fitting that one of the most polarizing letters of all time finds its birthdate among them. Dr. Martin Luther King’s bluntly-titled “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is, on one scale, a tactful reply to public statements released by eight white religious leaders from the South who condemned the involvement and communal acceptance of “outsiders” in local civil rights protests; on another, it is an impeccably dense treatise regarding both the philosophical and biblical histories of human rights in the context of the 1960s decade. Even within a piece meant to unite rather than divide, however, King bears both the risk of alienating...

Words: 1508 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

A Critque of Martin Luther King

... Paradoxically, Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from the Birmingham City Jail,” Initially uses classical natural law theory to define his actions, but immediately thereafter contradicts a fundamental tenet of this theory and relies on a “weaker” version of natural law. In doing so, King must attempt to formulate a theory which justifies his illegal actions in view of his moral obligation to obey the law. King’s failure to distinguish between legal obligations and moral obligations yields a logical paradox in his final formation of natural law theory. However, Kings theory need not be completely rejected if his argument is slightly modified to reject the moral obligation to obey laws. King initially uses classical natural law theory as his rational basis to defend his actions. This theory has two main point of views, the first being,” Moral Validity; is a logically necessary condition for legal validity an unjust or immoral law being no law at all” followed by, “The moral order is part of the natural order moral duties being in some sense “read off ” from essences of purpose fixed (perhaps by God) in nature.” According to this theory, morality law, but law that equals morality by definition. Thus for King to use this theory, two requirements are implicit. He must assert that an unjust law is not really a law, and he must provide a moral theory to distinguish just and unjust laws. King first quotes St. Augustine, “an unjust law is no law at all,” to emphasize...

Words: 1278 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Rhetorical Analysis of Mlk Jr's I Have a Dream

...Rhetorical Analysis Paper Martin Luther King Jr.: I Have a Dream According to Aristotle, there are three ways for a speaker to persuade his audience: ethos, logos, and pathos ("American rhetoric: Aristotle's rhetoric - selected moments," n.d.). Aristotle noted that a speech should “engage both the rational and non-rational elements of the listener's soul” (Wardy, 1996, p. 63). The speaker must have credibility with their audience and appear fair, open-minded, honest, and knowledgeable (ethos). He/she must also have logical appeal with strong, valid arguments based on facts and, perhaps, with personal experience and observations (logos). And, finally, the speaker must emotionally appeal to the audience and create a personal connection to draw and hold their attention (pathos). Of the three, Aristotle believed that ideally arguments should be made with reason, or logic, alone (McKay & McKay, 2010). However, it is often a speaker’s emotional appeal that creates the personal connection, as well as captivates and motivates the audience … and few have done that better than the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. If you say the words “I have a dream”, Americans from age 18 to 80 immediately think of Martin Luther King Jr. They may not know the words achieved notoriety from a speech given at an equal rights march on Washington, DC in August 1963. They may not know that 250,000 blacks gathered at the National Mall to demand "jobs and freedom" (Hampson, 2013). Additionally, they...

Words: 1178 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Letter from Birmingham Jail

...Letter from a Birmingham Jail Analysis Ethos is author’s reputation, credentials and trustworthiness in an argument. King first establishes ethos in his letter through addressing the audience as "fellow clergymen." It lays out a warming and trustworthy tone that, despite his leadership, brings him onto familiar levels with the audience. In the second paragraph, King mentions “I have the honor of serving as president of Southern Christian Leadership conference". Through this, he has establishes his credibility to a greater extent. Through the first ten paragraphs King uses history to set up his credibility. He quotes Bible verses and stories, which reveals him as a knowledgeable man of God. King states “so I am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to Macedonian call for aid." While establishing his virtuous nature, he also demonstrates his wisdom. He does so by quoting from historical figures such as Socrates, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and many other well-known leaders and reformers. He also shows a knowledge of the laws. His core argument focuses on the justice, which is a God given right that he and his people were not receiving. This idea is supported through the use of historical situations and court cases that are relevant to his argument. This allows the clergymen to understand better from where King’s argument grows. Pathos is a part of argument which touches the emotions of the reader. Martin...

Words: 625 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

The Terms and Conditions of My Life According to Jimmy

...Self-Analysis My portfolio demonstrates my understanding of persuasive writing. My idea of persuasive writing is that a good essay will affect the reader in some way shape or form. I believe combining effective uses of logos, pathos, and egos along with structure are very important. My persuasive writing reflects the way I think about argumentation in general. I can see how easy it can be to write a paper arguing a point, but not doing it in the correct manner. For example, if a writer just argues his point without giving any strong evidence and offers no counter-argument the paper will not be effective in persuading the reader. While my writing demonstrates strengths in organization and thesis development, I will continue to work to improve proofreading skills and sentence structure. What’s helped my writing this semester is that I feel confident about work. My writing demonstrates my strength in organization. A lot of this strength originates from class activities and notes. The class that had the biggest effect on me was when we learned about rhetorical analysis structure on page one of my handwritten evidence. In my notes I specifically write down the structure along with extra notes under some categories so I fully understand how to attack the assignment. This led to me getting a perfect ten score under the argumentative structure part on the grading rubric on my rhetorical analysis essay, which is titled “Exposing Education.” Since that learning moment from class...

Words: 1643 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Genres

...ENC 11102 August 15, 2009 Genre is a term which defines the different categories which things are categorized into. For example, when defining different forms of music; music is put into categories in which we use the term genre. Different music is put into these genres depending on the different rhythms used in it. It allows Rhythm and Blues to be differentiated from and Rock and Roll, and Rock and Roll to be differentiated from Gospel. In writing, a writer’s choice of style is the determining factor in how we choose his/her genre. When the genre of the writing is determined, then the particular audience can be determined to who its interest of reading might be. The audience in writing is defined by the person or group of people that is reading or listening to a certain choice of writing. Depending on what kind of writing genre is presented, determines the audience of the writer and how the writer choose to reach his or her audience. In order for a writer to reach a particular audience, the writer has to be able to compose his writing. The writer can do so in such a way that a rhetorical situation is formulated in a particular genre which reflects the type of audience that it interests. A rhetorical situation is situations in which a story and a scenario is presented and explains a situation that could possible occur in real life, therefore giving a situation in which the reader can assume the outcome; a certain form of communication...

Words: 1571 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Final Review

...#2: Almaz at Step Up Silicon Valley * Is Rawls veil of ignorance the equivalent of Ellacuria’s preferential option for the poor? * Recford and Daniel: * Both Protestant ministers (biblical texts as source or vehicle for framing and thinking through issues) * Both deliberate and conscious of challenges of relating Biblical faith to Social issues * Housing and immigration are public policy issues * Daniel devotes a chapter to this question, using “Caesar vs. God” image from New Testament * Micah Shows up in both books (see below) * Differences? * Is immigration more of a “hot button” issue than housing? * If so, do we find different kinds of rhetoric? * Phil comment in class: Does Reckford focus more on system or structures or root causes (next slide) and Daniel more on individuals? * If so, do we have different kinds of solidarity in these two approaches? * Root Causes (“cycle”) of Poverty (structural analysis) (52-53) * Rhetorical device? * Cites 5 of them * “social capital” (56-58) is a rich illustration * Solidarity involves “learning” and “sensitivity” and “collaboration” (60) * Corresponding interventions/Solutions * E.g. “not charity but capital” (Clarence Jordan, cited 54) * 62-63: justice = level playing field (Sen. M. Fenwick, grandmother) * Housing is one of several interventions, but foundational (59) * Note structural components...

Words: 2923 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Introduction to Philosophy - Mill, Plato, Descartes

...Final Exam Paper 1. The First Meditation discusses the importance of doubting everything. Releasing the prejudices that one is accustomed to, one finds himself in need to embark a search for knowledge based on a foundation of solid truths. Descartes establishes that in order to doubt his present opinions, he needs simple reasons, and rather than doubt his all his opinions individually, he has to admit that the entirety of his beliefs is wrong. Everything the author accepts as true he has come to learn from his senses, and though the senses can sometimes deceive with objects that are either very small or far away, he admits that our sensory knowledge is sturdy. In the Second Meditation, after making the choice to doubt everything, the author comes to the conclusion that his body and his senses must not exist, but does that mean he himself does not exist either? And if one doubts the existence of his or her body and senses, then the rest of the world must not exist either, therefore, one is persuaded that he himself does not exist. This leads the author to the conclusion that he exists, since he was there to be persuaded. Descartes reasons that while we must doubt everything, "doubting" is a form of thinking, which is solid proof that the he that is doing the thinking exists, and is a thinking thing. If something is believed to be true by the majority or the ruling class, does not necessitate it to be true. John Stuart Mill in On Liberty emphasizes three types of liberty;...

Words: 1910 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Business and Management

... |College of Humanities | | |ENG/125 Version 3 | | |Literature in Society | Copyright © 2010, 2008, 2006 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course introduces themes in literature and provides guided study and practice in reflecting on themes which describe the human experience across cultural and societal boundaries. The course includes readings from literature in different genres and cultures. Students study the literature in thematic units and are asked to make connections to their own lives and cultures. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies...

Words: 2590 - Pages: 11

Free Essay

Absolute

...GAYLES  2O1O  p.1   INTRODUCTION  TO  AFRICAN-­‐AMERICAN  STUDIES   AAS  2010     CRN:  85710,  88310   Please   note:   The   course   syllabus   provides   a   general   plan   for   the   course;   deviations   may   be   necessary  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  class.   Jonathan  Gayles,  Ph.D.   Associate  Professor,  African-­‐American  Studies   Telephone   404-­‐413-­‐5638    (E-­‐mail  is  the  most  efficient  way  to  reach  me)   E-­‐mail     All  course-­‐related  e-­‐mail  should  be  sent  through  Desire  to  Learn  (D2L)   Class  meets   Tuesday/Thursday  in  Classroom  South  103,  1:00-­‐2:15pm   Office     1  Park  Place  South,  Suite  962   Office  Hours   Tuesdays  2:30-­‐3:30pm  and  by  appointment     Calvin  Monroe   Graduate  Teaching  Assistant   cmonroe8@student.gsu.edu POWER  DOWN  YOUR  PHONE  NOW  AND  FOR  EACH  CLASS ABOUT  THE  COURSE   Course  Description   The  university’s  course  description:  “Intellectual  and  social  origins  of  African-­‐American   Studies.  Key  concepts,  themes,  and  theories  of  the  discipline.”     More  specifically...

Words: 2765 - Pages: 12