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 towards 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. To
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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, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering […]”. That statement is an anaphora due to the repetition of “when you have seen”. By using an anaphora, King is able to link these phrases together to compare these events in which blacks were treated badly. Thoreau also uses this technique. For example “I know this well, that if one thousand, if one hundred, if ten men whom I could name,—if ten honest men only,—aye, if one honest man, in this State of Massachusetts, ceasing to hold slaves, were actually to withdraw from this copartnership, and be locked up in the county jail therefore, it would be the abolition of slavery in America.” Anaphora is represented in that statement due to the repetition of the phrase “if one” and simply “if” and adds effect to his statement. Even though both used anaphora in their pieces, King used anaphora better to create his piece. Overall, both King and Thoreau used anaphora to develop their
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, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering […]”. That statement is an anaphora due to the repetition of “when you have seen”. By using an anaphora, King is able to link these phrases together to compare these events in which blacks were treated badly. Thoreau also uses this technique. For example “I know this well, that if one thousand, if one hundred, if ten men whom I could name,—if ten honest men only,—aye, if one honest man, in this State of Massachusetts, ceasing to hold slaves, were actually to withdraw from this copartnership, and be locked up in the county jail therefore, it would be the abolition of slavery in America.” Anaphora is represented in that statement due to the repetition of the phrase “if one” and simply “if” and adds effect to his statement. Even though both used anaphora in their pieces, King used anaphora better to create his piece. Overall, both King and Thoreau used anaphora to develop their