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Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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In Martin Luther King Jr’s. Letter from Birmingham jail, Dr. King responds to the eight clergymen who asked him to end his protests and rely on alternative solutions such as negotiations in the court. Martin Luther King Jr. effectively persuaded his audience that the persecution against the black race is unethical using strong techniques of logos, ethos, and pathos. First, Dr. King utilizes logos to convince to the clergymen of his right to be in Birmingham like any other human being. Second, he applies ethos when explaining how there are two different laws: just laws and unjust laws. And lastly, he uses pathos when describing how they have waited over 350 years for their “God-given rights”, freedom. King uses logic and reasoning when proving to the clergyman that he is not an “outcast” causing or looking for trouble. In the first paragraph, Dr. King writes, “So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was …show more content…
King goes into detail how he feels about the just laws and unjust laws to prove his credibility and character. King believes that the just laws that are set into place are to be obeyed and supported by. However, when it comes to unjust laws, he feels he has the moral right to go against them for that they are “degrading to human beings” (pg. 572). King goes into detail of when there are unjust laws towards segregation it not only affects the people mentally but it also shatters their personality. In this section, King compares the laws of what is currently taking place in America to what happened during the mid 30’s in Germany. King states that what Hitler did in Germany was considered to be “legal”, yet, comforting the Jewish people was considered to be “illegal” and punishable. Not only does he feel that that law is an “unjust” law and announcing that he would go against that as a moral responsibility. therefore, advocating to the audience to disobey the segregation laws and going with your conscious and

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