In light of his predicament in being thrown in jail, rather than submit to his situation, Dr. Martin Luther King decides to write a letter to the clergy of Birmingham. In his letter, he addresses many issues and his purpose in being in Birmingham. In the beginning of the letter Dr. King address the clergy by bringing up what was said in opposition of the actions of him and his followers being “ unwise and untimely.” He later discusses his purpose of being in Birmingham, that in fact, he was invited, and not “ an outsider coming in”, the oppressive segregation that is engulfing the community of Birmingham, as well as his non-violent campaign and its processes. Furthermore, throughout his letter Dr. King uses many examples of historical and religious leaders who have implemented a system of direction action such as Gandhi. What does this do for the reader, does it offer a sense of validity to his argument? Does it hurt his argument? Tone of the letter? Any literary techniques that stick out at you?
Thursday, February 13, 2014
MLK- Birmingham Letter
In light of his predicament in being thrown in jail, rather than submit to his situation, Dr. Martin Luther King decides to write a letter to the clergy of Birmingham. In his letter, he addresses many issues and his purpose in being in Birmingham. In the beginning of the letter Dr. King address the clergy by bringing up what was said in opposition of the actions of him and his followers being “ unwise and untimely.” He later discusses his purpose of being in Birmingham, that in fact, he was invited, and not “ an outsider coming in”, the oppressive segregation that is engulfing the community of Birmingham, as well as his non-violent campaign and its processes. Furthermore, throughout his letter Dr. King uses many examples of historical and religious leaders who have implemented a system of direction action such as Gandhi. What does this do for the reader, does it offer a sense of validity to his argument? Does it hurt his argument? Tone of the letter? Any literary techniques that stick out at you?
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In Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail," King presents his motives and reasoning behind his motives in a very well mannered way. King's approach is neither mean or aggressive. He chooses to not attack anyone in his letter which makes his approach to the clergymen more effective. Also, the use of realistic examples fuel his argument. My favorite part of the letter is when King compares a law that is just to a law that is unjust. In my opinion, the comparison of the two and the examples that are used give his argument both power and strength.
ReplyDeleteMLK- Birmingham letter is letter about Martin Luther kings time in jail and him writing a letter to the clergymen. I agree with maria that king's letter showed no sign of violence but did show his opinion and his response to being called a extremist. Kings response was that this was an call for unity and also it was his god given right to fight injustice in this country. My 8th grade teacher made me recite his speech for a class project so i am very familiar with Kings works. I think was was so effective about martin luther king and his contribution to America was whether it was a march or a speech king did and advocated all his events in a NON-Violent manner. In the letter from the Birmingham Jail king does not show any signs of anger. Some techniques he used was comparison as in the letter he compares himself to the apostle Paul and how "he must carry the gospel of freedom beyond his own home."
ReplyDeleteIn Birmingham letter I feel like MLK verified his argument by quoting other historical people. Also I think that he went about it in a very good way: by being aggressive, but not trying to put them down or make himself sound any better. He is just trying to explain why he did certain things. I like how he did this because they can't come back and say that he threatened them or that he said anything bad to them. This was a very smart way of getting his point across.
ReplyDeleteMLK's "Birmingham letter" is a true example of how a letter should be written. When Dr.King brought up the historical and religious leaders it just made the letter even better. bringing them up does not hurt his argument because Dr.King was trying to show how their methods worked in the past and can work now. The tone of letter is pretty calm because of Dr.King ways of non violence.
ReplyDeleteMLK use of direct action in response to his incarceration was in my opinion his best option. Instead of acting out violently, he wrote a well thought out letter to the clergy men of Birmingham. All he does is try to personally reason with law enforcement. His reference to historical people and events only build his case as to how this method can be successful.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King uses quotes from past leaders to support his arguments. I believe that this makes his argument stronger rather than weaker. By quoting these past leaders he shows that his arguments are agreed upon throughout history. He argues that laws need to be just in order to be true. He references St. Augustine by saying " An unjust law is no law at all". He also references that what Hitler did in Germany was technically legal but does that make it right? Giving arguments like this helped support and strengthen his cause.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Dr. Martin Luther King's "Birmingham Letter", I thought his actions were further validated through his implementation of examples of historical and religious leaders. The tone of the letter is both informative and apprehensive. Dr. King repeatedly states that his intentions for going to Birmingham were not violent and continues to inform the reader exactly what he does and what his travels were for. The most prominent literary technique to me was his use of first person. It was as if I could see him talking through a cell to me. When he says that the letter would have been shorter had he not had so much free time in jail, it again made me feel as though he was speaking to me, the reader.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King's tone is not a harsh tone, instead it is an informative tone and is firmly spoken. He is explaining the situation and the reasons for going to Birmingham. His use of quotes strengthens his argument and to explain the difference between just and unjust. The use of second person makes it seem like hes talking to you directly.
ReplyDeleteI think Martin Luther King did a good job in explaining his reasoning behind his actions. This letter really showed off his intelligence. He was able to show why he had to make strategic movements happen in a certain time frame, and why he purposely had to cause a crisis within his community. His ability to show examples of historical figures continues to strengthen his argument.
ReplyDeleteIn mlk letter he addresses the reasons why we did what he . He uses religious leaders as examples and quotes to back up what he is saying. His tone is more informational. I think by using such looked up to leaders he helped validate his reasoning.
ReplyDeleteI love how MLK is quick to the establish that he wasn't interested in responding to criticism of his work. That can be (and usually is) the fatal flaw in influential people. But this one demonstration, it shows that he is interested in dispelling rumors or assumptions that can hurt his efforts. But he never really named names, he never threatened people- in fact, he basically used this as an opportunity to educate (four steps to non violent protest). By the end, he has a humorous note in regards to how long the work was. Well done, and aspects of this can relate to anyone.
ReplyDeleteActually, I read this article when I took philosophy course last semester. I was so inspired by how MLK claimed for black people's authority. He stood for objecting violence by supporting to use direct actions which he mentioned in the middle of the article. In his word, negative peace is a kind of surface which is seemed as a justice by most people, but the truth of this peace is actual injustice. His spirit and courage deeply moved me when I was reading those sentences. The writing skills I should learn from MLK is the logical steps. He used several aspects to illustrate his argument which make the whole article complete and persuasive.
ReplyDeleteDr. King never used violence as a tactic to get his point across and to fight for equal rights. The use of non violence made his approach to the clergymen more effective. Dr. Kings use of using former leaders does give his argument some support and validates it. The tone of his letter is informative but yet docile as well. Dr. King's comparison technique validates his argument.
ReplyDeleteHis realistic examples helped bring validity to his argument. It made the propositions he was making for relatable. His tone was much like his tone when he spoke. He was a preacher, so he gives off that vibe. WhenI read the letter, I can almost hear him addressing the crowd. his tone is effective in persuading people to his cause.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King's decision to write a letter to the clergy was a smart choice. Even though he was in jail, he did not allow his followers to act violently. He addressed the situation in a peaceful and calm manner. The tone is determined but calm allowing the clergy to find it less defensive than it really is. They probably did not think he would cause any direct harm, by using that tone of voice in his letter. The fact that Martin Luther King addressed so many different historical figures strengthened his arugement. in regards to Gandhi and non-violence he proves the point that it worked for Gandhi, why would it not work for him? Also the way he talks in this letter makes the reader feel as if he was talking to them. It makes the reader feel as if he or she is present at the moment.
ReplyDeleteHis Letter was an explanation through others examples, he was thorough in what he had to say. he didn't leave the reader wondering what if. I really enjoyed how the read was so easy as if he was reading it
ReplyDeleteMLK's choice to write this letter i believe was a good one. Even though he had to spend nights in jail, and for sure he had anger full in him, he made sure his people and helpers never used violent tactics to get over anything. In this letter you see how he stays calm even though he knew he was in trouble, but at the same time you see how he is motivated and determined to move on from all of this.
ReplyDeleteDr. King addresses a lot of things in this letter ranging from civil rights to actual philosophical and religious beliefs, which kind of go hand in hand. My favorite few things that he addressed were the white moderates importance of order > justice, the creating a tension through non-violence, and the idea of a negative vs. positive peace. Firstly, the most interesting thing to me was how MLK painted the picture of why making order a greater priority than justice was in effect so wrong in itself. This was especially the case with anything dealing into civil rights because so much of what was done was an injustice and seen as ungodly on so many levels. I think the religious part was especially important because he was trying to target religious leaders as well. Now creating the tension and gaining acknowledgement of it was was an extremely important part of this time. I think this was so effective because by leading a non-violent campaign, what had happened was there was an increased amount of sentiment for blacks now that people had been able see how they reacted in a way different than they would believe. In doing this, King and everyone who took part added an extra element of humanity that could then lead to negotiations due to a public change of heart. Lastly, if you were to compare an any means necessary approach, a pacifist approach, and a non-violent approach, you would see different results of each. I would argue that you would see retaliation, anger, and violence which do not warrant positive peace, you would see a continuation of the issues and even more waiting because as King orders, time is not a cure-all, and then with non-violence one would hope to find positive piece through negotiation and through changing the hearts and minds of the people.
ReplyDeleteMLK's Birmingham Letter conformed and enforced the validity to his argument as he expressed strongly his belief of racial segregation. Using other prominent figures to support his cause of achieving civil rights, and fighting civil disobedience against unjust laws was a way to spread awareness and reinforce his argument and to impose change.
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