In his letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, leader in the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., powerfully replies to criticisms regarding his cause and his actions. King’s purpose is to prove to his criticizers that his cause is right and just. He adopts a condemnatory tone in order to convey his disapproval with the clergymen’s criticisms and excuses. It’s Dr. King’s strong use of diction that has the greatest impact on making this piece so powerful and effective.
Diction
Dr. King’s strong use of diction in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is the core reason that the letter is so effective. To the clergymen of Birmingham, he is an outsider, therefor he must prove himself not only to be one of them, but he must also prove that he is a man who has a justified reason to be there and organize protests. For example (King, 1963):
I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" …show more content…
King writes that it will open the door to negotiation he is reiterating to the clergymen that the doors were closed from the start. This in away puts some of the blame of the situation onto shoulders of those in power and justifies Dr. Kings use of demonstrations in Birmingham. The last part of the quotation tries to explain to the clergymen that African-Americans want to negotiate and talk to the white leaders rather than just having a battle of whose voice can be louder. Dr. King specifically tells the leaders that he completely agrees that there should be some negotiations going on instead of protests, it’s just that these leaders refuse to come to the table with the African-American community. Dr. King not only has to prove that he’s not an outsider, he also has to appeal to the clergymen’s emotion by explaining to them just how frustrating and painful segregation is to the African-American community. His word choice here is what truly epitomizes that
Diction
Dr. King’s strong use of diction in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is the core reason that the letter is so effective. To the clergymen of Birmingham, he is an outsider, therefor he must prove himself not only to be one of them, but he must also prove that he is a man who has a justified reason to be there and organize protests. For example (King, 1963):
I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" …show more content…
King writes that it will open the door to negotiation he is reiterating to the clergymen that the doors were closed from the start. This in away puts some of the blame of the situation onto shoulders of those in power and justifies Dr. Kings use of demonstrations in Birmingham. The last part of the quotation tries to explain to the clergymen that African-Americans want to negotiate and talk to the white leaders rather than just having a battle of whose voice can be louder. Dr. King specifically tells the leaders that he completely agrees that there should be some negotiations going on instead of protests, it’s just that these leaders refuse to come to the table with the African-American community. Dr. King not only has to prove that he’s not an outsider, he also has to appeal to the clergymen’s emotion by explaining to them just how frustrating and painful segregation is to the African-American community. His word choice here is what truly epitomizes that