Rhetorical Techniques Of Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

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While confined in a jail in Birmingham, Martin Luther King, wrote a letter to eight clergymen. In the letter, King approached the topic of racism, unfair treatment, and unjust events that had been occurring. As a punishment for his actions of a nonviolent campaign, King was thrown into jail along with several others. To get the idea of racism, unfair treatment, and unjust events, across to the clergymen and later readers, King used many rhetorical devices. Three of the most effective devices he used were Biblical allusions, metaphors, and appeals to pathos. King used Biblical allusions because he knew that the preachers would identify what he was saying and then would be able to relate it to the racism and affairs that were taking place during this time, this would help King get the clergymen onto his side, King used metaphors to give a more vivid picture of what was surrounding the nation. He did this in a way that was heart breaking enough to penetrate the average person to make them feel guilt and sorrow. King then used appeal to pathos by putting the ball in the clergyman's court and letting them imagine what the African Americans go through on a daily basis.
Every African Americans in this time was experiencing hardship and racism, but what most had in common was faith in God. Many African Americans came together and began to rally with Mr. King as their representative. King organized events so that the community would be able to see exactly how the African Americans were living and were being treated. From this, he hoped people in the community would stand up to make a difference. Throughout King’s letter, he used Biblical allusions to get people to understand what he needed without exactly stating it. King stated, “Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid” (King 3). This Biblical allusion is King’s way of also asking for help as Paul did in the Bible. King used Biblical references and allusion because he knew the clergymen wanted to abide by the Bible. He needed help not only in protesting, but also in organizing. In the quote, Martin Luther King Jr. is Paul and racism is Macedonian. King wanted the clergymen to understand that what God said in the bible could be used in today’s situations, thus they should help aid him in fixing racism, for God wanted it. Using Biblical allusions, King was able to get the preachers to realize that God wanted them to support him, therefore they should. King tried to make all events he was a part of civil and nonviolent, for God was watching always. King wanted nothing more than equality for all races. Racism was only an understatement to him, and he expressed that with metaphors.
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King used Biblical allusions, metaphors, and appeals to pathos to get the clergymen to understand that all of the racism needed to be stopped. He uses these strategies over and over again to attempt to make the clergymen feel guilty and ready to act. King wanted the clergymen to understand that African Americans were not the only people for whom racism caused problems. Racism was bad for the whole nation, and everyone needed to work together to fix the problem, before it turned into something that could never be

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