Rhetorical Analysis: Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail

This essay delves into an analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," examining its tone, rhetoric, and persona to understand King's perspective on civil disobedience. The analysis highlights King's determination for re-establishing democracy and social justice, his protest against racial discrimination, and his use of ornamentation and metaphors to evoke a sense of urgency and protest. The essay explores how King used religious references and sarcastic statements to critique social injustice and inspire action, even from within the confines of a jail cell, ultimately portraying his unwavering dedication to equality and justice in American society. Desklib provides access to similar essays and study resources for students.

Running Head: ANALYSIS OF THE “LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL”
ANALYSIS OF THE “LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL”
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Author Note

1ANALYSIS OF THE “LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL”
Martin Luther King Jr. was popular for his active participation in the civil rights
movement from 1954. "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" was written by him when he was
inside the bars in the year 1963.This study analyses the civil disobedience that is reflected in
the tone, rhetoric style, persona of the language, of the letters written by him in response to a
letter published in the newspaper (King, Martin Luther and Vivian 254-264).
The tone of the language used revealed his understanding of the civil disobedience.
The tone in the phrase “The sacred values of Judaeo-christians” indicated his determination
for the reestablishment of democracy, moral values, social justice back in America (King,
Martin Luther and Vivian 254-264). Again, the tone in the phrase- “..the dark cloud of racial
prejudice will soon pass away” reflected his protest against the racial discrimination by the
servants of the government. Again, “I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham
police department” was also an evidence of his hatred for the civil servants (King, Martin
Luther and Vivian 254-264).
The ornamentation in his writing style reflected in the phrases-“Fear- drenched
communities” (King, Martin Luther and Vivian 254-264). Again, the phrase “alone in a
narrow jail” indicated that he was alone in his struggle to bring the democracy back in
America. The phrase-“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily
given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed ” (King, Martin Luther and
Vivian 254-264) was another evidence of the style of ornamentation. These phrases also
indicated that he wanted to evoke a fire of protest in the minds of the oppressed people (King,
Martin Luther and Vivian 254-264).
One of the examples of persona reflects in the phrase-“Its dogs sinking their teeth into
unarmed non-violent Negroes” (King, Martin Luther and Vivian 254-264). This can also be
considered as an example of the use of metaphor. Here the use of the word “dogs” signifies

2ANALYSIS OF THE “LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL”
author’s grudge to the civil servants. Another example of the use of persona as well as
metaphor reflected in the phrase-“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied
in a single garment of destiny” (King, Martin Luther and Vivian 254-264).
There are some statements contains rhetorical effects. One such statement phrase “the
prophets of the eighth century B.C.” (ll. 34-35) and “the Apostle Paul” (l.37) was indicative
of the concept that Christians committed to establish justice when there is injustice in the
society (King, Martin Luther and Vivian 254-264). This was not only an evidence of the
citation of a religious reference but also bore the rhetoric tone indicating his nonviolent
movement to ensure civil rights to all the sections of American society. Another phrase-“But
more basically, I am in Birmingham, because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the
Eighth century B.C. left their village and carried their “thus saith the lord” (King, Martin
Luther and Vivian 254-264) far beyond the boundaries of their home towns” (King, Martin
Luther and Vivian 254-264) also consist of a rhetoric tone signifying Martin’s determination
to join the civil rights movement and carry on a non-violent protest just like the prophets of
the Eighth century.
A part analysis revealed that in the first part of the letter he stated his purpose of
writing- how the issues of social injustice and racial discrimination influenced him to join the
movement. Next he dreamt of bringing democracy back in America and expressed his
determination to bring the sacred values of Christianity back. Later parts of the letter he
justified his civil disobedience through statements, which were again ornamented with
metaphors and similes. Such a poignant writing style casted upon an impact on the mind of
the oppressed or victims of social injustice. His call to join him in the non-violent revolt
continued in the next parts. In the next parts of his letter he made sarcastic statements to point
out people who are ignorant of the existing social injustice in America. This is evident in the
phrase-“You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement…

3ANALYSIS OF THE “LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL”
fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations”-
(King, Martin Luther and Vivian 254-264). The next parts in the letter described the distress
and discriminations that faced by the people of his community with the help of literary
instruments. His writings also revealed that the dark people are unable to raise their voices
against the government, the knowledgeable people were indulged into corruption, all these
instigated him to carry on the movement (King, Martin Luther and Vivian 254-264). Finally,
he apologised for writing a long letter and blamed his loneliness inside the jail for it.
Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be stated that Martin Luther was a true
activist who did not stop his revolt even after being imprisoned. He wanted to find out a way
to carry on his movement against discriminations, social injustice and corruption by the
government when he was inside the bar and continued protesting through his pen. Hence,
the"Letter from Birmingham City Jail" was also suggestive of his rigid and determined nature
and his dedication for establishing equality in the society.

4ANALYSIS OF THE “LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL”
References
(King, Martin Luther, and C. T. Vivian. "Letter from Birmingham jail." Arguing about
law (2013): 254-264.)
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