Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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Martin Luther King Jr. was famous for being a civil rights activist. This led him to write his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King’s letter responded to an article published by white clergymen who criticized King’s actions toward gaining equal rights for blacks. King’s letter presented his message through pathos and anaphora. Henry Thoreau, another great writer, does not speak towards civil rights, but on the topic of the government. Henry Thoreau, author of the lecture “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” discusses "That government is best which governs least"(Thoreau). That means that the best government is one that is barely involved or not at all. Thoreau brings forth his message with rhetorical questions and anaphora. Overall, both authors do a great job of developing their pieces and presenting their methods conveyed within their pieces; however, Martin Luther King Jr.’s piece was more effective. King’s piece was more effective because he developed his methods more thoroughly to leave an impact on the audience. To begin, Martin Luther King Jr. …show more content…
develops his piece with pathos. Pathos trigger emotions from the reader to persuade them. An example of pathos in King’s works would be, “when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park […] and see tears welling up in her eyes...” (King). Due to King’s work of pathos the audience is triggered into creating feelings of sorrow towards King’s daughter who is excluded due to her ethnicity. Another example of pathos, “If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail.” (King). In that excerpt, King states that the troubles they endured while being slaves could not stop them from earning their freedom; therefore, the troubles they are facing now cannot stop them from earning their rights. This statement shows King’s dedication towards gaining civil rights. All in all, King uses pathos to draw the audience’s emotion to deliver his message. On the other hand, Thoreau uses rhetorical questions instead of pathos. Rhetorical questions make the audience decide for themselves their stance on the issue presented, whereas pathos influence the audience by playing on their emotions. Corresponding to, “Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?”(Thoreau). In this statement, Thoreau asks the audience if they should allow unjust laws, or if they should try and fix them or abolish them. Thoreau does not tell the audience that they should work to abolish or amend unjust laws, he makes them come to that decision on their own. Of both strategies used, King’s usage of pathos was stronger and worked more effectively for the audience. Martin Luther King Jr. and Thoreau, similarily, developed their piece with anaphora. Anaphora is the usage of repetition of a word or words at the beginnings of successive clauses or phrases. King used anaphora to connect his ideas “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers […] when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, […] when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro

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