Letter from Birmingham Jail Free Essays

The main argument of Dr. King adapts to a notion that the experiences of the Negroes are relatively unnecessary for a country which projects itself as the cradle of peace and justice. He presented the relative injustices to the â€Å"colored† people which the social structure of the nation has been thoroughly implementing without any basis. We will write a custom essay sample on Letter from Birmingham Jail or any similar topic only for you Order Now He argued that keeping the kind of society in which another sector is being oppressed will never achieve any forms of stability and peace for the oppressed will always seek freedom; that freedom is going to worth blood and disgust in order to maintain. The efficiency of his arguments was presented with astounding levels. He didn’t only capture the sentiments of the Negroes but was able to inject the feelings to any person who are or was a victim of injustice, oppression and discrimination. The arguments may be literally addressed to the whites and blacks of America but their very essence can be applied to any forms of discriminatory dilemma considering that he presented a large scope of effects. There are several reasons why Dr. King’s argument presentation was effective. First, he started a clarification about his previous actions which have lead to the specific events of him being imprisoned. He used this narration effect to prepare the reader how he came about with such a dilemma which will generally provide a sympathy effect. Next, he allowed the presentation of what has been happening with all of the Negro population in the US during that time and vividly explained the literal segregation of the remaining groups of the society towards colored people. He even used the figures of religious leaders and notable icons to contrast how they were useless characters in creating justifiable actions. Lastly, he presented the widest scope of effects to the entire nation if colored people will be treated in ways oppressive to them. In general, King was able to project a logical reasoning why he was not really bothered with his situation but what will happen to his remaining ‘brothers’. According to Maggie Escalas et al, providing logic in an argument can increase the magnitude effects of a dispute, and Dr. King was able to achieve it. Works Cited Escalas, Maggie. â€Å"Logical Fallacies. † Literacy Education Online 1998 1. 20 01 2008 http://leo. stcloudstate. edu/acadwrite/logic. html. How to cite Letter from Birmingham Jail, Papers Letter from Birmingham Jail Free Essays â€Å"Dr. King’s Call to Action† In Dr. King’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail,† he shows that nonviolence is the way to get the positive attention that his plight deserved. We will write a custom essay sample on Letter from Birmingham Jail or any similar topic only for you Order Now He believed that to use violence was negative on a couple of points. First, violence always gets negative attention. Second, violence was the way the Klu Klux Klan went about their business. He wanted to expose unjust laws and do it in a fashion that conveyed his beliefs without causing other problems. In Dr. King’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail,† he is trying to convince his â€Å"fellow clergymen† (566) that his fight for the civil liberties is a just one, and that the march was a nonviolent one and one that was surely needed. Dr. King stated, â€Å"we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny† (566). King is saying that it’s something that can no longer be ignored, that he can no longer sit on the sideline and be an idle observer. The black man has to take it to the streets. In this letter, Dr. King showed that nonviolence, direct action, and the ability to stand by one’s convictions are the right path. In his quest for racial equality, Martin Luther King came to the conclusion that nonviolent resistance was the only way to achieve this goal. It was his belief that social justice could be achieved only by changing the hearts and minds of the oppressors. Violence would only distract from the main goal, cause bitterness between the opposing groups and shut down any possibility of reconciliation. His theory of nonviolent resistance meant that a protester could be as passionate as a violent one, but in rejecting physical aggression, the nonviolent protester leaves open the possibility of a transformation. The absence of violence lets the other person see issues from a clearer perspective, one that isn’t clouded by the aftermath of a violent confrontation. Nonviolent resistance was the first step. Dr. King also stressed that direct action was needed for racial equality to exist. Dr. King and his followers would have no alternative but to â€Å"present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and national community† (567). Dr. King felt that direct action â€Å"is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation† (568). King felt that direct action was the only course to take because his hand had been forced this way by the unwillingness of southern society to take any action at all. Finally, Dr. King said that before anyone takes direct action, the protester first needs to â€Å"purify† (567) their soul so that he or she will have no regrets going forward. Taking direct action is the right path but, it needs to be understood that there will be consequences for those actions. Taking a stand has never been easy and can be extremely difficult, but for the future progress of the African American, it was necessary. The protester needed to possess a firm moral conviction that their cause was a righteous and just cause. By combining nonviolent resistance, direct action, and a firm conviction of their cause, King was confident that the oppressors would come to join him in the quest for equality. All other issues would fade away and the only thing left to see would be the true issue, a â€Å"good versus evil† perspective. The Letter from Birmingham Jail† was written at a time when America had little room for blacks and their customs. It was a white man’s country, and the white man wanted it to stay that way. If not for the courage of King’s convictions it might have remained that way. Dr. King should be seen as an American hero that had the where-with-all to follow through with what he saw as a total injustice. He accomplished this by adopting a plan of action that consisted of nonviolence, direct action, and the convictions of his beliefs. How to cite Letter from Birmingham Jail, Papers Letter from Birmingham Jail Free Essays In the â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†, written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the first three paragraphs tell the reader a lot about what is important to the author of the letter and what kind of purpose he had for writing this letter. We will write a custom essay sample on Letter from Birmingham Jail or any similar topic only for you Order Now In these paragraphs the most important aspects of what Dr. King was trying to convey can be easily identified and understood, giving us insight into a time and place that has become so important to American history for many reasons. In the introduction of the letter King describes his purpose for writing the letter, and what led him to feel that he had to write it in answer to the criticism of other clergymen who were judgmental about the actions that put him behind bars in the first place. In this paragraph we can clearly see that King is wishing to set the record straight about his actions and what his motivations were. He writes â€Å"If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day†, proving that while he is aware that people are judging him and criticizing him, he chooses not to listen to it usually because he feels that his time is better used for working towards his goals. The second paragraph is important to the rest of the letter because it establishes King’s place within Alabama and his affiliations to various organizations, all of which brought him to Alabama in the first place. He feels that his fellow clergymen were questioning his motivations for going to Alabama, as well as his purpose in being there. He wanted the clergymen to know that he had a reason to be there, saying â€Å"We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise.† Here, we see the intended audience of King’s letter, as well as the purpose and subject of his letter. All of these things are more clear because of this paragraph. The next paragraph is, in essence, is the thesis for this letter because it gives the readers a clear picture of what the rest of the letter is about. Here is where he puts, into simple terms, why he is in Alabama and why he feels compelled to do his peaceful protesting. King spells it out when he says, â€Å"Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their â€Å"thus saith the Lord† far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I. compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town†. He feels that this is a labor of love, something that is his duty, and for this reason he feels that to convey his passion about civil rights through this letter is imperative to his gaining the respect of others. The rest of the letter is set up in these three paragraphs.          How to cite Letter from Birmingham Jail, Essay examples Letter from Birmingham Jail Free Essays Martin Luther King, Jr. penned â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† in 1963 after being arrested for his participation in a non-violent demonstration against segregation. In his letter, King discusses the current societal problems of segregation and how best to demand change. We will write a custom essay sample on Letter from Birmingham Jail or any similar topic only for you Order Now King firmly believes that the best way to go about trying to enact change with regard to racial barriers is through non-violent means. Violence only breeds more violence, whereas non-violent protests and demonstrations allow for a peaceful protest that will force more change. Using a non-violent approach was the most effective way for the African American community to voice their opinions and reap the changes that they so earnestly sought. Non-violent action allows for the community to stand up and demand action through sit-ins, and other peaceful demonstrations in order to make governmental leaders and officials take note of the problem and attempt to address it. King notes, â€Å"Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue†. When a community at large believes that they are being treated in an unjust manner and demonstrates their opinions through marches or sit-ins, rather than riots or other violent means, it has a much better chance of forcing negotiations with governmental leaders than a violent approach. When a responsible citizen or a group of citizens act responsibly to force change, it is much more likely that they will be taken seriously. If a group of African Americans were rioting and using other violent means to take a stand against racial injustice, they would only be labeled as part of the problem rather than a part of the solution. Non-violent demonstrations allow for a community to let their frustration and discontent out through a creative outlet that does cause a setback in their goals. King compares his passion for equality between races to the same passion that Jesus had for love, or that Paul had a passion for the gospel. Comparatively speaking, both Jesus and Paul had profound effects on the society that they existed within, though peaceful and passionate means. King says of the oppressed black man, â€Å"If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not a threat, but a fact of history†. By acting with passion, but without violence, the African American community is able to further their cause through showing that they only want to be treated justly. The non-violent approach that King and his followers demonstrated in their fight for social equality was the most effective forum for them to voice their opinions. Through sit-ins, marches, and other non-violent demonstrations, the African American community was able to come together and demand change without causing violence that would only hinder their cause. Had violent means been used in an attempt to gain equality, the African American community would have been labeled as part of the problem, rather than being taken seriously. A non-violent approach to the injustices faced by the African American community showed the governmental leaders that these oppressed peoples were responsible citizens, deserving of the basic rights they were being denied. However, violent demonstrations would have setback the attempts to gain equality.    How to cite Letter from Birmingham Jail, Essay examples Letter from Birmingham Jail Free Essays The struggle for civil rights and civil liberty by African American in the United States of America brought about some of the darkest days in American history. Till this day, majority of Americans regardless of race or color look back at that period with regret. Dr Martin Luther King, a prominent leader in the civil rights movement was persecuted by his oppressors but he persevered relentlessly in the fight for equal rights for African Americans mainly because we were fighting for a just cause. We will write a custom essay sample on Letter from Birmingham Jail or any similar topic only for you Order Now The letter from Birmingham Jail is a response by Dr King to statements by eight Alabama Clergymen denouncing the use of street protests by Dr King’s organization in the fight for civil liberty. Critics of Dr King’s philosophy on civil disobedience argue that the actions of his organization are well against civil law but in his letter, Dr. King tries to persuade the opposition about the relevance of street protests or civil disobedience in the fight for equality for all people. He expresses his opposition to segregation from a moral perspective, logical perspective as well as an emotional plea to sway an audience into action in a quest to achieve civil liberty and equal rights for Black people. Although the letter was a direct reply to the clergymen’s statements, it served a broader purpose by also reaching out to the large middle class which was composed mainly of moderate white Americans. In his response, Dr King uses a subtle and persuasive approach in an attempt to sway critics of his philosophical views on civil disobedience. By writing the letter, Dr Kings intent was to sway individuals who held opposing views from his, bringing all together to share an understanding. Knowing that the middle class comprises mainly of moderate Americans who are opposed to extreme views and actions and very much inline with religious beliefs and values, Dr Kings utilized this avenue to challenge the conscience of the group. Evidence of this is shown in the letter where he writes: â€Å"Must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to â€Å"order† than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: â€Å"I agree with ou in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action†; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a â€Å"more convenient season. † Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. †(M. L. K, 1963, April 16) This shows that he is in touch with the views of his audience giving him the ability to make a great impact on the reader. The opposition held the view that civil disobedience and street protest were unjust, simply because it was against the law. Laws are principles and regulations that are established in a community by some authority and is applicable it people. I believe that argument posed by Dr King’s opposition is that there is no justification to breaking a law. However, in my opinion there could be moral justifications in breaking a law depending on the nature of the situation. Hence, I concur with Dr King’s philosophical view on civil disobedience. â€Å"To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. †(M. L. K, 1963, April 16) The African American civil rights movement used civil disobedience as a means of getting their voice heard by the masses and opposition. Those protests are justifiable from a moral standpoint in that African Americans unjustifiably had their rights denied by their oppressors and used civil disobedience as a means to acquire their God-given rights. According to my beliefs, it is immoral to go against the rule of law without legitimate necessity but it is morally justifiable to do so in due cause such as the case of Dr King and the African American Civil Rights movement. Accordingly, there is also a logical perspective to civil disobedience which Dr King also uses eloquently in his letter. He addressed the statements made by the clergymen which called his actions â€Å"unwise and untimely†. How to cite Letter from Birmingham Jail, Papers Letter from Birmingham Jail Free Essays Increasing Importance From Birmingham â€Å"A Letter From A Birmingham Jail† written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is an amazing piece of writing that Dr. We will write a custom essay sample on Letter from Birmingham Jail or any similar topic only for you Order Now King wrote in response to a statement made by eight white Alabama clergymen. The letter conceded that social injustices were taking place but expressed the belief that the battle against racial segregation should be fought solely in the courts and not taken onto the streets. Dr. King was writing the letter to explain his reasoning on being in Birmingham and why it was not against the law that him and his people were protesting. Dr. King uses vivid imagery, aggressive diction, and repetition throughout his letter to powerfully build to the climax. Climax is a scheme that aids Kings argument in the letter by painting a picture for the reader, allowing the reader to feel the emotions of Dr. King though language, and also allowing the reader to pick up on the important issues throughout the entirety of the letter. Throughout the whole body of the letter lots of vivid imagery is used by King to build climax. This whole letter is an escalation until the final paragraphs when it is summed up and beings to take a calmer tone. The reason being for the use of imagery is to paint a picture for the reader. An example of imagery in the letter would be when King says, â€Å"They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment†. In this statement, they, is referring to the people who are standing up to the whites and fighting for the equal rights for blacks. These people continue to find hope where it seems impossible to find. They keep trying to obtain equal rights even with constant oppression and criticism from the mountain of disappointment. Again, this draws attention to this sentence by using strong imagery of two unalike things. By King painting a vivid picture for the reader and allowing them to see through his eyes and from his point of view, it makes his argument that much strong. King picks and chooses what to vividly describe in his letter and by only painting out what he wants you to see makes his argument that much stronger. By painting a picture, King can continue to build it into a climax point where the readers of this letter are seeing and feeling what King is trying to express. Aggressive diction is used flawlessly in the entirety of this paper to aid King in his argument. The diction that is carefully chosen is used to progress sentences. We can see that at the beginning of the letter, sentences are short and not as wordy. But, as King starts to become heated, we see sentences prolonged, starting to accelerate a strong rhythm, and become longer in key emotional passages. An example is â€Å"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was â€Å"well timed† in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. † We see more aggressive diction is used in these emotional passages because the use of the aggressive diction not only lets us know how King is feeling, but when the diction becomes stronger it aids the development towards the climax King is trying to reach. All of this emotional, aggressive language King uses to express his feelings to the clergymen leads to a climax. In each heated point, in the letter, King becomes more emotional with his language to try explain his point of view. In the example above, King is referring to how nothing King and his fellow believers do is okay in the eyes of the clergymen. Everything King does simply cannot be justified unless it is justified as illegal and violent. However, King and his people still have hope. They create whatever hope they can out of the â€Å"mountain of disappointment† of constantly being shot down. His sentences become longer and more aggressive as he builds the climax to get his point across to the clergymen. Repetition is another writing element used by Dr. King in his letter to further progress his argument. Repetition is used to enhance the climax of the paper because as certain points become more important you start to see the idea repeated again and again. Eventually as the climax of the issue is reached, we see the idea that was being repeated start to subside. The repetition becomes almost like a foreshadowing method of the main point Dr. King wants you to realize. He is repeating certain ideas to make sure you retain them and become very familiar with them. For example, â€Å"†¦ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. † In this quote we see the word â€Å"Negro† repeated even where it may not be needed. This is to emphasize the point Dr. King is trying to make in his statement. Each time the word is placed into the sentences, describing the noun, it puts that much more emphasis on the word. It allows the word to stand out from the rest. It also gives the language a sense of tension and emotion. It lends a hand in creating a climatic point each time the word is repeated again and again. The whole reason Dr. King is writing this letter is to convince the clergymen to hear his plead for equality and justice for all people alike. He is unjustly sitting in a jail because he was participating in nonviolent protesting. The reason he even has to be protesting at all is because no one will hear to cries of Dr. King and his fellow believers. They just want equality but no one would give them the time of day to explain themselves as equals. So instead, Dr. King and others were arrested and forced to try and make their cries heard once more, this time from a jail cell. This letter appeals to many things that the clergymen can relate to and also displays King as an educated individual. The clergymen have no other choice other than to address the letter. Dr. King is very sophisocated in the way he designs this letter. Each part of this letter is chosen carefully to aid Dr. King in his plea to the clergymen that they will recognize blacks as equals. Many different elements of writing are expressed throughout the letter to aid Dr. King in his argument. But among the many elements, vivid imagery, aggressive diction, and repetition helped him build up the climax of certain points in the letter. The climax helped him in his argument by creating emotion in the paper that not only the clergymen could relate to, but others who read the letter as well. The climax paint pictures for the reader, allows the reader to feel the emotions of Dr. King though language, and also allows the reader to pick up on the important issues throughout the entirety of the letter. How to cite Letter from Birmingham Jail, Essay examples Letter from Birmingham Jail Free Essays In 1963 eight clergymen advised Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that his street protests to end racial segregation was â€Å"unwise and untimely. We will write a custom essay sample on Letter from Birmingham Jail or any similar topic only for you Order Now † Racial injustice, they agreed did exist, however thought it would be better to handle the issue with patience and through the judicial system. King responded to the criticism in his Letters from the Birmingham Jail. The first criticism that he addresses is being called an â€Å"outsider. † Dr. King answers in many ways to support why he is in Birmingham to begin with. He tells the clergymen that he is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was invited by affiliates of the organization. Moreover, King did not consider himself as an outsider because he believed that as long as he was living within the bounds of the United States, he couldn’t be labeled an outsider. He tells them that to be more specific he is there because injustice is there. And that he feels he is relationship with all communities and states he will not sit idly in Atlanta and ignore what was going in Birmingham. He compares himself to the prophet Apostle Paul to show the importance of spreading the gospel of freedom. Secondly, he dealt with the demonstrations being called â€Å"untimely. † Martin responds with several reasons as to why it was indeed a befitting time for direct action. The most passionate reason is that Birmingham was the most segregated city in the United States. It was overrun with racial injustice. Black people had experienced discrimination in the courts and had their homes and churches bombed. Even with dealing with these disparities, black leaders tried to negotiate but the city fathers refused. Another reason was because Birmingham’s merchants did not respond to initial negotiations to remove humiliating racial signs. He says that though they did remove a few signs, they soon after returned. He decided to move during the Easter Holiday because this would be the second largest shopping season besides Christmas and would put much needed pressure on the Merchants. Protestors, King explained, had postponed the demonstration because of elections and they felt that they delayed action long enough. He goes on to state that it’s without a doubt that they did not give the new administration time to act. He makes it clear that the new mayor Mr. Albert Boutwell is a segregationist just like his predecessor Mr. Conner. He says that â€Å"Justice too long delayed is justice denied,† and that they had waited â€Å"340 years our constitutional and God-given rights. † King moves on to answer the charge of breaking the law. King was willing and urged people to obey the 1954 Supreme Court decision that outlawed segregation in public schools. But then he also stated that people had a moral responsibility to disobey laws that were unjust. He went on to give definitions to distinguish between the two. He says† A just law is man-made that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code out of harmony with the moral law. † He agrees with St. Augustine that â€Å"An unjust law is no law at all. † He points out different scenarios in which he would break the law by comparing the acts of Adolf Hitler to those of Hungarian freedom fighters. It was legal for Hitler to torture Jewish people and illegal for someone to help them. Martin says that had he lived during that time he would have helped his Jewish brothers in which he would have been supporting disobeying antireligious laws. He was willing to accept punishment for breaking the unjust law to alert the community. He viewed this as an individual’s way of expressing his respect for law. On the accusation that he was an extremist he answers by saying â€Å" Was not Jesus an extremist for love: Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. He was proud to be an extremist thought fought for love, truth and goodness Just as Jesus did. He believed that this is what the world needed to end segregation and for the fair treatment of black people. Martin Luther King Jr. and W. E. B Dubois had very similar ideologies concerning racial injustices. Like King, Dubois didn’t believe the Blacks should sit idle and wait for the oppressor to give God given rights. They both knew that being angry simply was not enough. They both formed groups and pushed for immediate rights to vote, to education and equality. How to cite Letter from Birmingham Jail, Essay examples