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

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 …show more content…
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