In “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. uses pathos and antithesis to persuade his audience and to prove his point on civil rights. First of all, King uses pathos to further prove his point on civil rights. For example, the text reads, “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed…,” (Pg. 7). This excerpt provokes an emotional feeling due to the word choice, including: “painful” and “freedom”. With the idea of an emotional struggle in place, King has grabbed not only the attention, but the hearts of the audience. King’s use of pathos persuades the audience to support his main point on the injustice of civil rights. In addtion to pathos, King
