parallelism in letter from birmingham jail

In the letter "Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. writes to the Clergyman to express his idea on the racial discrimination and injustice going on in Birmingham Alabama. Choose one type of reason and cite an example from these lines. As the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s unfolded, Martin Luther King Jr. had, perhaps, the most encompassing and personal rhetorical situation to face in American history. To get a high-quality original essay, click here. While in jail, King received a letter from eight Alabama clergyman explaining their concern and opposition to King and his non-violent actions. Laws should build up society to be better so that a law is not need to be enforced and people will still follow it. The continuous mistreatment of African Americans for over a century was, at last, deeply questioned and challenged nationwide with the growing popularity of the Civil Rights movement, and the topic of equality for all had divided the country. With his respectful nature, humility, compassion, optimism, and determination, King responded to a group of white Alabama clergymen who had condemned the civil rights protests as extreme in their open letter, A Call for Unity. Although his letter was directed towards a small group of eight men, his words eventually reached the minds and hearts of the entire country. Since Kings arrest he had time to think deeply about the situation; therefore, he decides to reply back to the Alabama clergymen. 1, no. He opens with an explanation to his response, stating, Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideasBut since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms(King 1). Specifically he targeted the clergymen who made laws at that time. African Americans have been waiting to have there civil rights of freedom, but the social courts has requested them not protest on the street but to take it to court. Thus, these essays are of lower quality than ones written by experts. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and, Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader in the Civil Rights movement, the son and grandson of a minister, and one heck of a letter writer. 262). Both their speeches, I Have a Dream and The Ballot or the Bullet may have shared some common traits, but at the same time, differed greatly in various aspects. His audience ranged between those who his message empowered, a radical positive force, and those who disagreed, made up of southern states, extremist groups, and the majority of American citizens stuck in their racial prejudices. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. King responds with complete confidence that he is in the right place at the right time, and that his actions are necessary. King wants to bring to the readers realization the fact that laws are only to be followed when they are rightfully just and correct. The Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses many problems, including the slow action occuring to stop racial discrimination. As the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s unfolded, Martin Luther King Jr. had, perhaps, the most encompassing and personal rhetorical situation to face in American history. In A Letter From A Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr defends his use of nonviolent protest in order to accomplish racial equality. The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written by the African American hero Dr. Martin Luther King in Birmingham back in 1963, addressing the issues that the African Americans faced back in that time. Consequently, Birmingham became the core of the Civil Rights movement, pumping the life-blood of social change into the rest of the country. " Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." While in solitary confinement for nearly 8 days, reverend and social justice activist, Martin Luther King Jr., wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail in response to the criticism he received for his non-violent protests. "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," written by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, describes a protest against his arrest for non-violent resistance to racism. His writing is respectful and educated, if not naturally, to invalidate the use of his race against him by the largely prejudiced audience. Letter From Birmingham Jail and use of Parallel Structure and Anaphora Kirtan Patel Chapter 25 Chapter 24 Parallel Structure- repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This helps King focus on the differences between them. Despite his support, Martin Luthers audience is one of the largest constraints in his rhetorical situation. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character. Dr. King uses his own words to describe what he wants the nation to look like in the future. Martin Luther King then goes on to make an analogy to the Bible, portraying Apostle Pauls proliferation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in parallel to his own efforts, stating, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown (1). In parallel structure, a writer repeats the same pattern of words or/and pattern of grammatical structure. After reading "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", ask your students to do a scavenger hunt using the storyboard creator. He is placing hope among the Negro community and assuring the white superiority that one day, they will share the same rights as their nation distinctively promised a hundred years earlier. Original: Apr 16, 2013. Parallelism is a figure of speech in which two or more elements of a sentence (or series of sentences) have the same grammatical structure. Introduction. Martin Luther Kings Letter From Birmingham Jail is undeniably effective at responding to the rhetorical situation at hand. He seeks to make them see the logic behind their protesting and make them feel ashamed and embarrassed by the way that they have been treating the African Americans. Correspondingly, King urges the clergy to reconsider the horse-and-buggy pace of their methods of action through his logos. King concludes with optimism about the future of the relationship between the currently segregated blacks and whites. This special lyrical and parallel structure helped get his main points across and allows a large audience to understand simple but powerful words (Layfield) . This protest, his subsequent arrest, and the clergymens public statement ostensibly make up the rhetorical exigence, but it truly stems from a much larger and dangerous situation at hand: the overwhelming state of anti-black prejudice spread socially, systematically, and legislatively in America since the countrys implementation of slavery in Jamestown, 1619. King spins the constraining pressure to properly represent the movement on its head, using his rhetoric to uplift the underprivileged and leave no room in his language for criticism, proven by the continuous adoption of his messages by the public. In the Letter from Birmingham Jail written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., King addressed the concerns of the white clergy and gave support to the direct action committed by African Americans. King organized various non-violent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama that resulted in his arrest. On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a famous speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, this speech was called I have a dream. This speech was focused on ending racism and equal rights for African Americans during the civil rights movement. In this way, King asserts that African-Americans must act with jet-like speed to gain their independence. 808 certified writers . The clergymen along with others are addressed in an assertive tone allowing them to fully understand why his actions are justified. Parallelism In Letters From Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. uses pathos and parallelism frequently throughout Letters from Birmingham Jail, to persuade the clergyman to support his actions in the civil rights movement. Yes he does criticize the white clergymen but basically he is trying to tell them that they should stop this segregation and that the black are not to be mistreated. The concept of parallelism in letters from birmingham jail by martin luther king jr.. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/the-concept-of-parallelism-in-letters-from-birmingham-jail-by-martin-luther-king-jr-Q1aX8ugT Be sure to capitalize proper nouns (e.g. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" "United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Kings arguments induce an emotional response in his readers. They fought for what they believed in but in vastly different ways. He shows logos by giving a sense of hope to the people that better things will come in time. King intended for the entire nation to read it and react to it. , 29 May 2019, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail. In Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter From Birmingham Jail and I Have a Dream speech he uses many different rhetorical devices. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were both two African American civil rights activists who were very prominent throughout history. Martin Luther found himself arrested on the twelfth of April 1963 after leading a peaceful protest throughout Birmingham, Alabama after he defied a state courts injunction and led a march of black protesters without a permit, urging an Easter boycott of white-owned stores (Jr., Martin Luther King). Both lincolns Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech are similar in that they both express the concept of freedom to achieve their purpose. He uses a large number of rhetorical devices in his letter to reach his goal, including point of view, imagery, and rhetorical questions. Similarly, King uses pathos to trigger the emotional . In his tear-jerking, mind-opening letter, King manages to completely discredit every claim made by the clergymen while keeping a polite and formal tone. While pathos elicits an emotional response from the audience to make them more accepting of Kings ideas, repetition structures the speech and emphasizes key ideas for the audience to take away from listening. Explain why the examples fit your chosen reason. The biases of the audience go hand in hand with the rhetorical exigence of this letter, another large constraint in the effectiveness of his message. It was important for King to address this audience as their support would ultimately make the largest difference in the movement. He was able to further interact with the audience; they were able to hear his voice, listen to the intended tone behind his words, see his face, and study his demeanor in the face of adversary. Mistreatment of this kind is labeled as racial discrimination. King defends his primary thesis all throughout the length of his letter, and the arguments that he has made to prove that his thesis is true and valid will be the focus of this rhetorical analysis. Although the letter was addressed to the eight clergymen, the Letter from Birmingham Jail speaks to a national audience. As campaigning, King uses it in his speech in order to express all his points. In his letter King effectively manipulates language and tone to strengthen his argument against the complaints of the clergyman and successfully address the white people. This use of parallelism draws on the emotions of personal experiences to persuade that segregation is a problem in a myriad of ways. What are some examples of parallelism in letter from Birmingham jail? The letter goes on to explain his choice to act directly and nonviolently, stating, For years now I have heard the word wait. It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity.

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