A Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter

As a strong leader, it was expected of Martin Luther King to show courage and strength. This was especially needed when segregation was at its worst. He not only managed to show his strength and courage, but he also helped create the more unified nation that the United States is today. He did so through nonviolent protests, speeches and letters. King obeyed the law when told to go to jail for being active in a protest. During his time in Birmingham jail, he wrote a response to a letter from eight clergymen. While writing to the clergymen, Martin Luther King combines ethos, pathos, and logos to give his letter more dimension.
Throughout the entire letter, King is able to put different forms of credibility into almost every word that he wrote. …show more content…
This occurs when King informs the clergymen why it is okay that he is an extremist. His explanation includes other famous extremists from history. He does this in response to the clergymen calling him an extremist as if it were a bad thing. King managed to turn that around. Considering the clergymen did not add support, King was able to put a twist to what the clergymen intended to mean by extremist. A few examples of what King used include, “Was not Jesus an extremist for love: ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and prosecute you.’ Was not Amos an extremist for justice… Was not Paul an extremist… Was not Martin Luther… Thomas Jefferson…” (King par. 31). With this quote, Martin Luther King is able to go through ethos, pathos, and logos. He allows the audience to learn that he too is an extremist. He turns around the mood of the word extremist from how the clergymen used it to one of more honor. By showing famous extremists of the past, King is able to show that he does not have to be ashamed of willing his life to the cause of putting an end to segregation once and for all. This shows that he is willing to go through all risks to get the nation out of the segregation that it is filled of. This quote is also an example of logos, because King is talking about various leaders throughout history. These …show more content…
He again is responding to the clergymen, but this time it has to do with what they said about the police, “I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys, if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refusing to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together” (King par. 45). This quote explains why the police are not as good as the clergymen made them out to be. The clergymen felt it appropriate to say that the police were doing a good job keeping the town safe. King explains to the clergymen why it is not the case. He gives them examples of things that he saw. This shows logos, because it shows events that happened. Although King does not give every detail about what happened, by saying “on two occasions” shows that this occurred multiple times near him, yet alone all the times that he did not see. This quote shows the facts of what the police officers did to individuals because they had a different skin color. This quote also plays with ones emotions. Through using pathos, the letter allows more individuals to relate. By keeping the situations broad, it is easy to envision the harm that the police officers did to the people. This quote also plays with