Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From A Birmingham Jail

There have been calls for change in American society since before it was even a country. Today these calls for change are even more present and accessible to the public with the use of the internet. Nick Hanauer, a successful entrepreneur, makes a call for change in the economic inequality that is rampant in the United States today. This call for change shares some aspects with the call for change made by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. The two works both outline an injustice that the authors see in society, and call for change from government and the public using rhetorical strategies, historical evidence, and style of delivery to create compelling piece that has the power to motivate their audiences. The rhetorical strategies used by Dr. King Jr. and Hanauer both help to convey their message, but differ in execution. Hanauer’s TED Talk, “Beware, fellow plutocrats, the pitchforks are coming” heavily relies on logic and statistics to support his movement, for example when discussing the wage gap he cites “In 1980, the top one percent of Americans shared about eight percent of national [income],while the bottom 50 percent of Americans shared 18 percent. Thirty years later, today, the top one percent shares …show more content…
King Jr. and Nick Hanauer both create a strong and compelling call for change against injustice in their society. Each of them engages and relates to their audience in an effort to better the society they live in and to diminish the injustices they see. Dr. King’s call for change proved very effective as he spearheaded the movement for equality between races and made great strides in the the advancement of society’s views. Hanauer’s call for change is much more recent so the effects of it are not yet clear, but according to him, it is a change that everyone will need to face for the continuation of American