All throughout history famous people have been trying to answer the question: What is oppression? But the real question is: Who of these people best convey their point of view? Toni Morrison, author of “Sweetness”, Martin Luther King, writer of “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, and Kendrick Lamar all state their views on oppression. But who of these people best conveys their views on oppression in today’s society? That is what this essay will try to answer. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. best conveys his views on oppression by using logos and ethos to further his claim by comparing his movement and himself to many famous leaders and movements in the past to show what he believes is erroneous with oppression.
One of the reasons Martin Luther King …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr. best expresses his views on oppression is through his use of logos throughout his letter. Martin Luther King continuously uses logos to show how racism has existed ever since America was founded, and it has not gotten much better. In the text, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King says, “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights” (King 1963). King is saying that ever since the U.S was founded, inequity and racism has existed, and the U.S is supposed to be a technologically and morally advanced society, yet history has shown the exact opposite about America. He is saying that America has continually shown that people in power have the ability to bend the rules of the constitution and that people how are in power rarely give that power up willingly, so these injustices continue to go on. Kendrick Lamar, on the other hand, also uses logos in a few parts of his song to advance his claim. In his song, “Alright” he says, “What you want, you a house you a car 40 acres and a mule” (Lamar 2015). In this line of his song he is referencing slavery and how everyone got 40 acres and a mule after slavery was abolished, and he is using this fact to show that even today racism is present but many people deny it. Although Kendrick Lamar uses facts to back up his ideas, Martin Luther King uses facts better because King uses frequent and detailed facts throughout his whole letter, instead of just one segment, like …show more content…
Martin Luther King was a political activist during the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation, and he worked with people every day in order to end segregation and laws like the Jim Crow Laws. Kendrick Lamar was born in 1987, so when he grew old enough to understand about segregation and racism, almost all of it was gone by then. However, even today racism still exists, so that gives Kendrick Lamar some first hand experience in the issue, but not nearly as much as Martin Luther King. A great piece of text evidence to show this is when Martin Luther King writes, “The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter” (King 1963). Martin Luther King writes this to contrast our nation and our rate of accomplishing things to that of a third world country that is moving faster than use. He does this to show how advanced we are in some places but totally in the dark ages in others. This piece of evidence exemplifies that King has first hand experience in the issue because King knows more about the current laws at the time and has first hand experience with the protests and harsh treatment of the time. A quote from Kendrick Lamar’s song, “Alright” states, “I can see
One of the reasons Martin Luther King …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr. best expresses his views on oppression is through his use of logos throughout his letter. Martin Luther King continuously uses logos to show how racism has existed ever since America was founded, and it has not gotten much better. In the text, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King says, “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights” (King 1963). King is saying that ever since the U.S was founded, inequity and racism has existed, and the U.S is supposed to be a technologically and morally advanced society, yet history has shown the exact opposite about America. He is saying that America has continually shown that people in power have the ability to bend the rules of the constitution and that people how are in power rarely give that power up willingly, so these injustices continue to go on. Kendrick Lamar, on the other hand, also uses logos in a few parts of his song to advance his claim. In his song, “Alright” he says, “What you want, you a house you a car 40 acres and a mule” (Lamar 2015). In this line of his song he is referencing slavery and how everyone got 40 acres and a mule after slavery was abolished, and he is using this fact to show that even today racism is present but many people deny it. Although Kendrick Lamar uses facts to back up his ideas, Martin Luther King uses facts better because King uses frequent and detailed facts throughout his whole letter, instead of just one segment, like …show more content…
Martin Luther King was a political activist during the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation, and he worked with people every day in order to end segregation and laws like the Jim Crow Laws. Kendrick Lamar was born in 1987, so when he grew old enough to understand about segregation and racism, almost all of it was gone by then. However, even today racism still exists, so that gives Kendrick Lamar some first hand experience in the issue, but not nearly as much as Martin Luther King. A great piece of text evidence to show this is when Martin Luther King writes, “The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter” (King 1963). Martin Luther King writes this to contrast our nation and our rate of accomplishing things to that of a third world country that is moving faster than use. He does this to show how advanced we are in some places but totally in the dark ages in others. This piece of evidence exemplifies that King has first hand experience in the issue because King knows more about the current laws at the time and has first hand experience with the protests and harsh treatment of the time. A quote from Kendrick Lamar’s song, “Alright” states, “I can see