LfBJ Essay

Ashley Ducrepin
AP English – Mr. George
10.14.09
“Letter from Birmingham Jail”

In response to a letter sent to him condemning him for civil disobedience, civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. formulated a well-articulated letter to present his disposition. Eight clergymen reproached King, also a pastor, for his deliberate defiance of the law. However, King refutes this claim and explains the reasons for his actions in his letter titled, Letter from Birmingham Jail. The letter earned that title, because King actually wrote the letter while he was incarcerated. Despite these horrible circumstances, King is still able to exhibit his skills in the English language and persuade these clergymen otherwise. His objective throughout the letter is to exemplify how flawed the justice system is and to present suggestions on how it can be improved. To efficiently persuade his audience, King realizes that he cannot rely solely on the knowledge he’s gained. Thus, King opts to engage and ultimately appeal to his audience with emotion, logic and with his character. He also captivates his audience with the inclusion of syntax and diction.

Considering the fact that Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American in the 1960s, little or nothing was expected of him by the dominant whites. In this letter, King ventured to establish himself as a respectable individual. He commences his argument by calling these men who’ve criticized him his “fellow brothers”. This allows the audience to identify King’s ability to accept anybody as a close companion of his. To continue this thought, rather than expressing his anger in the clergymen, King reiterates his feelings of disappointment in the men: “I came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership of the community would see the justice of our cause and … serve as the channel through which our grievances could get to the power structure … But again I have been disappointed” (749). His expression of disappointment emphasizes the forgiving demeanor of King and it appeals to his audience’s emotions. As the letter progresses, King’s intelligence is exhibited. King makes references to philosophical intellects, such as Socrates, Martin Buber, and St. Thomas Aquinas, which enhances his assertion. His insertion of quotes stated by these idols demonstrates his ability to be knowledgeable beyond what most would assume, despite his current circumstances. As King reveals more of his character, he subtly incorporates emotional appeal to intrigue his audience.

King’s emotional appeal seems effortless and he is able to evoke a sense of empathy within his audience through vivid and factual descriptions: “angry violent dogs literally biting six unarmed, non-violent Negroes … their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail … [they] push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls … [they] slap and kick old Negro men and young Negro boys” (751). The accurate depiction appeals to his audience emotionally, because it is filled with a compelling vocabulary. To establish camaraderie, King also intentionally uses words like “mother”, “father”, “brother”, and “sister”. His uses of these relationships allow him to bring his audience down to the same level as him: “when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your brothers and sisters at whim … then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait” (742). Just as King has family he cares about; the clergymen have family they care about. With emotional appeal being a great contribution to his piece, King also uses logic to keep himself from getting carried away with his emotions. As an established intellect, King logically and efficiently states his reasons behind the letter. His philosophical references not only demonstrate his intelligence but also illustrates his ability to support his argument with reasoning: “Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths … we must see the need of having non-violent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depth of prejudice and racism” (741). King is able to appeal emotionally and logically through his intentional word choice.

King’s use of diction is rather compelling; not only does is captivate the audience emotionally but it also exemplifies his aggressive and impassioned personality. He uses emotional appeal on page 740 when he explains, “we were the victims of a broken promise … with blasted hopes, and the dark shadow of the deep disappointment settled upon us”. His use of the word victim allows the audience to share in that common feeling of being greatly disappointed. King also excels in his attempts to persuade his audience by using an assertive word choice: “[I hope] that he [Mr. Boutwell] will be reasonable enough to see the futility of massive resistance to desegregation” (741). He purposely chooses to use these aggressive descriptions to emphasize his disagreement with segregation. As aforementioned, King has established himself as an insightful individual. Therefore, King is able to use words like “do-nothing-ism” that still have the compelling effect of the words before or after it. To further enhance his letter, King captivates his audience with his unique style of word arrangement.

The deliberate arrangement of King’s words is used in a specific fashion to emphasize his major points. His use of juxtaposition on page 742 describes the nations of Asia and Africa moving at “jet-like speed” as ironically more progressive than America who “creeps at horse and buggy pace”. Usually, the nation of America is depicted as the most progressive country in the world. However, King uses juxtaposition to invert a commonly used example of something that is usually better and much more advanced. To show versatility, King utilizes two different ways to present his major points. One of these methods, called the periodic sentence is exemplified on page 742. King uses this method to continue and elongate his thought process building up to his major point, or conclusion. Contrary to the periodic sentence, King also uses another method known as the cumulative sentence. Rather than building up to the conclusion, in the example of a cumulative sentence, the major point is stated at the beginning: “I have been disappointed with the Church … I say it as a minister of the gospel, who loves the Church” (748). We immediately are aware of King’s intent just by reading the first sentence. King excels in his persuasion tactics because of his ability to anticipate his counterpart’s arguments. With that, King asks rhetorical questions throughout his letter: “Some have asked, ‘Why didn’t you give the new administration time to act?’ The only answer that I can give to this inquiry is that the new administration must be prodded about as much as the outgoing one before it acts” (741). His response to this rhetorical question is King’s attempt to point out the possible arguments that may be used against him and attacking them.

Using the three appeals, King creates an efficient argument with supporting facts. Establishing his character as an intelligent and assertive man, King would immediately get the attention of his audience. After gaining his audience’s attention, King presents his case while considering his audience’s emotions. He is able to appeal to his audience’s emotions effortlessly simply by stating observations and experiences that he’s endured. With his use of emotional appeal, he is also able to establish logic within his letter. The logical appeal served as the reasoning behind all his beliefs. To top it off, King’s use of syntax and diction demonstrate his intelligence, his mastery of the language, and his organization. With all these skills, King is sure to convince his audience of anything.