Good Argumentative Essay About Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is an unfortunate document King sent to white religious leaders upon their request for information about his recent protests in the area. Leaders were curious, or perhaps offended, about why the group chose to protest at all, and what they had hoped to achieve. King obliged them by writing a letter from his cell, in an effort to help them understand the reason behind the protest. It appeared clear by King’s quotation of the religious leaders they viewed the protests as pointless or an insincere push for dramatics. King was determined, however, to show them otherwise by employing the three common rhetorical techniques of logos, pathos, and ethos. He showed there was adequate and just cause and reason for the actions taken in Birmingham, despite outside opinion.
Martin Luther King Jr. uses the rhetorical triangle, or appeal to ethos, pathos, and logos, in order to establish the validity of the actions taken in Birmingham, and the reason for his time spent in jail. Moreover, he uses the triangle to justify the actions of the Civil Rights Movement as a whole, stating they are actions taken for all people, not just “outsiders,” as those who have written to him state. In an effort to appeal to ethos, or to establish credibility, King remains respectful of his attackers, even though they are members of a white religious movement. The letter was also to all of his followers, but was written specifically to address the concerns of the religious movement. In the letter, he calmly explains the logical process in which the Southern Christian Leadership Conference decided to come to Birmingham, and which events led to the protest. He quotes the religious movement in appropriate place, in an effort to explain the legitimacy, as well as the logic behind the movement’s actions. He appears trustworthy, especially as he explains the movement gave Birmingham officials months to remove defacing signs from store windows before even considering a protest, and even delayed the protest in hopes of turning an election and helping the community. This shows the protest was not merely to cause a dramatic scene, but to make a sincere change, allowing readers to understand King and the movement want only the best for country. Throughout the letter, he appears to handle most of his audience with respect, while explaining the plan to the religious group as he might to a child who has trouble grasping the concept of why dirt tastes bad. Perhaps in the most flagrant demonstration of logic, he asks the opposing part how they can assert that King’s actions lead to violence, when he and the Cristian Leaders are demonstrating peacefully and it is the law enforcement that resort to violence, insinuating the blame should be, obviously, on white law enforcement.
King also establishes an appeal to pathos, though not in what would be considered the traditional way. Many ask for sympathy or empathy, while King uses his signature inspiring tone in an effort to allow the reader to imbibe his emotions and become swollen with the cause. He comments specifically on the religious movement’s accusations toward King about waiting to protest. King responds with the word, “wait,” and how it carries a heavier connotation depending on one’s race. African Americans have heard it since the day they were forcibly removed from Africa, and taken to America as slaves. King, himself, as heard it his entire life, having been forced into waiting for things that should never have been denied him, such as basic human rights like freedom. He states that “wait” typically means “never” when an African American hears it, and this has grown too disheartening for the community to bear; they no longer wait because the word is merely a tool to subjugate them. He states plainly that “wait” has been used to force African Americas into the minority; though they are not slaves, they are still impoverished. Waiting means never and it has kept them living in squalor and filth, waiting for the same table as Caucasians, waiting for the same education, waiting for the same line at the drinking fountain, waiting to not be beaten to death simply for being black. The word means more than just wait, it even means more than never. It means you are worse than everybody else is, and you will not rise above. King’s aim, though secondary in nature to the rest of the letter, is to state their were also emotional reasons why the protest took place when it did, and how it did. It was necessary in order to allow the community to move forward with its plan, and gain a foothold in Birmingham.
Of course, King does not rely only on his appeal to the audience or on emotions in an effort to make his case on the Birmingham protest. As always, he relies on fact to allow the other side to view his actions, letting them decide for themselves whether his intentions were justified or not. To begin with, he addresses a profound paradox in the group’s actions, outlining why they are attempting to change laws by breaking laws. King states that he agrees with St. Augustine, who says, “An unjust law is no law at all.” In doing so, he acknowledges the group is breaking laws, but explains they are doing so for a just cause, i.e. black children should be allowed to attend the same school as white children. He goes on to give many examples of unjust and just laws in an attempt to clarify the group’s actions, as well as why they act in the way they do. King states, however, that just because many of the things he and the community are doing are illegal, it does not immediately mean they are morally bankrupt, reminding the reader many of the atrocities committed by Hitler in the time of World War II were legal, including the incarceration and incineration of multitudes of individuals based on religion and intelligence. He states simply that oppressed individuals will not remain so forever, as they will eventually crave freedom. This is logical, and tells the oppressors there will be more protests, and more moves toward freedom. King of course, also included all of the crucial planning points leading up to the protest that affected the event, which also affected the logic of argument in a positive manner. These facts also rely on logic, as King makes a case for just and unjust laws, as well as the idea that every man and woman will eventually try to be free.
In sum, King adopts the typical rhetorical triangle format in an effort to reply to the religious leaders. He uses logos, pathos, and ethos to show the validity of the actions taken in Birmingham. Logic is used as he explains the reason for the protest, as well as the systematic steps leading up to the protest. Most importantly, King picks apart the religious leaders’ own logic, asking them to reexamine who was truly responsible for the violence that took place in Birmingham, landing King in jail. King appeals to pathos, or the emotions of the reader, but not as one typically would. He inspires the reader, sharing the plight of the African American, and stating they will not stand for it anymore, which is one of the primary reasons the protest in Birmingham and future protests were made necessary. Finally, King uses ethos, or an appeal to facts to back up his argument. He acknowledges the paradox in the group’s actions, speaking about just and unjust laws. He goes on to acknowledge that not all illegal acts are unjust, however, and states the religious leaders should expect more actions of this nature, as they cannot subjugate one group of people forever. The argument is effective, as it allows the reader to understand the protests were necessary for the goal King and his group tried to work toward, and shows he was attempting to maintain respect for his oppressors while still keeping a firm distance between them. Lines of communication were open, and King appeared willing to share information, but it was not without biting logic and facts. He showed the insensitivity and logical fallacies of the opposing side in one fell swoop, letting any reader see the actions taken by the peaceful protestors were not only warranted, but also needed, and he should not have been writing the letter from a jail cell.