Rhetorical Devices In Letter From Birmingham Jail

Letter from Birmingham Jail Dr. King was arrested in 1963 in the struggle for civil rights for African-Americans. â€Å"The Letter from Birmingham Jail†, written a few days after King’s arrest, defended Dr. King’s argument about the civil rights movement. He uses the pathos, ethos, and logos modes of persuasion and uses several rhetorical strategies such as metaphors, citing authority, parallelism, Rogerian strategy, and anaphora to defend his argument against racism and segregation. Dr. King uses the pathos mode of persuasion by using metaphor, anaphora, and parallelism. He uses metaphor at several places in the letter to make comparison between two things that are unrelated but share common characteristics. He writes, â€Å"I guess it is easy for†¦show more content†¦King starts each sentence in this paragraph with the word â€Å"when† and uses it to describe the types of situation his people suffer day in and day out because of segregation. The use of the word â€Å"when† has the effect of transporting the reader into that time-period and into that situation. Moreover, the reader gets the feeling that there must be many more scenarios than what Dr. King describes in the letter. Being a pastor, it is easy for Dr. King to allude to the Bible and draw parallelism between his situation of being in Birmingham to support the non-violent demonstration. He rejects the allegation that he is an outsider. â€Å"†¦and just as Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Greco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown. I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.† Since Dr. King was writing this letter to the clergymen, the reference to events in the Bible would be very convincing toShow MoreRelatedEssay about Use of Rhetorical Devices in Letter from Birmingham Jail1105 Words   |  5 PagesLetter From Birmingham Jail In Kings essay, Letter From Birmingham Jail, King brilliantly employs the use of several rhetorical strategies that are pivotal in successfully influencing critics of his philosophical views on civil disobedience. Kings eloquent appeal to the logical, emotional, and most notably, moral and spiritual side of his audience, serves to make Letter From Birmingham Jail one of the most moving and persuasive literary pieces of the 20th century. In BirminghamRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.976 Words   |  4 PagesIn all of the speeches, one way or another, Dr. King used several different rhetorical devices in order to defend his own actions. 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