“Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written by Martin Luther King, was documented in 1963 during the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans were fighting a constant battle for equality between blacks and whites. The document stands as a true example of the period of growth America experienced, as we see the word “Negro” appear throughout the works, but must notice this word is no longer used today. King also plainly tried to show the growing pains America experienced through the purpose of his letter, which is that King desires freedom. He wants freedom for the African Americans. In an attempt to persuade the clergymen to join his cause for freedom, he uses the powers of persuasion. King employs Pathos, Ethos, and Logos several times throughout the letter to appeal to the clergymen and their sensibilities in an attempt to get them to agree with him.
Pathos, as described in, “Reading Rhetorically,” is a statement, quality, action, or appeal that can evoke sadness in the recipient; the tactic is often used to persuade an individual . King is guilty of using pathos in several areas of his letter. For instance, when King states, “For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never.’” this is a classic use of pathos. It mentions “Negros,” but is a general enough statement to refer to the entire African American community, allowing them all to feel the sadness and heaviness of the word “wait” and what it has really meant for them concerning equality. If he did not specify the African American community, any person would be able to hear this passage and feel the sadness due to its generality because nearly everybody has been in this situation. This sadness evokes a sympathy that inspires a desire to join the cause. Anybody with a conscience reading King’s letter would feel badly about the issue and see King, as well as his people, as the victims. Pathos makes choosing sides easy, and King employed the technique well.
Christine M. Tardy’s, “Genre Analysis,” describes Logos as persuasion through the use of basic or logical reason . In his letter, King uses Logos, to defend some of his actions to the clergymen. He has heard of their criticisms and opens the letter by stating, “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, and I would have no time for constructive work.” It is a logical statement to make; King was a man that was often in the public eye, doing many things that were upsetting many people. To assume that he was receiving criticisms every day would be logical. Further assuming that if King took the time to address each criticism he would have no time left for his work with the Movement would also be logical. King uses other examples of logos known as “logical fallacies .” In one passage, he makes an appeal to authority by writing, “Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal (etc.).” King appeals to Jefferson’s famous words and it is considered Logos because many people respect Jefferson and this speech in particular. The average individual’s logic would tell them if one person was quoting these words, they were most likely trustworthy and should be respected . King entertains that he agrees with Jefferson and his words, thereby insinuating that he must be like Jefferson, and must be echoing Jefferson’s famous speech. While it is a logical fallacy, King also uses several other examples of Logos to help convey his point throughout the letter that are valid.
Ethos is the third persuasion technique King uses throughout his letter. “Iconology: Image, Text, Ideology,” define Ethos as the speaker or writer’s character, or credibility; Ethos can also be defined by character appeal, insinuating Ethos can be faked . Fortunately, King does not use character appeal, but rather just character throughout his letter. He was a moral, reasonable, and intelligent man. For instance, he demonstrates his moral character by reminding the reader, “never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was ‘illegal.’" King is often seen as an outsider, or as an immoral man because of the freedom and equality he desires for his people. The statement about Hitler and the Hungarians helps put his actions, as well as the actions of others into perspective while aligning his own morality in the eyes of those who may see him as an outlaw. He shows moral character again, simply by saying, “my Christian and Jewish brothers” During a time when everybody seemed divided by country, skin color, religion, etc. King saw none of these dividing lines. He acknowledges their differences, referring to them by their religious preferences, but they are both is brothers. Morally, nothing will stop him from claiming a good man as his brother, therefore, King successfully employs the use of Ethos to show his morality and persuade others to his side of the movement: peace for all.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter demonstrates how effective pathos, logos, and ethos can be when attempting to persuade an individual or a group into thinking differently. He used each device perfectly, not only to support his cause of peace, but also to support his character while it was under assassination. It helped that he had a clearly defined audience within the clergy, and they were likely persuaded because of his excellent writing. Though he is gone, we will forever have this document to remind us of the struggle America had, as well as the personal struggle of Martin Luther King, during the fight for equality between blacks and whites.
References
Bean, John C., Virgina A. Chappell and Alice m. Gillam. Reading Rhetorically. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Book.
Mitchell, W. J. T. Iconology: Image, Text, Ideology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013. Book.
Tardy, Christine M. "Genre Analysis." Hyland, Keith and Brian Paltridge. Bloomsbury Companion to Discourse Analysis. Chicago: A&C Black, 2011. 54-69. Book.
