Freshman Composition II: Analyzing King's Letter from Birmingham Jail

This essay provides a rhetorical analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Letter from Birmingham Jail,' examining the use of logos, pathos, and ethos. The student explores how King Jr. employs these rhetorical devices to effectively convey his arguments and persuade his audience. The essay discusses King's justifications for his presence in Birmingham, his nonviolent approach, and his appeals to both logic and emotion. The analysis also covers King's discussion of just and unjust laws and his overall tone and message. Furthermore, the essay references key concepts such as racial injustice and the impact of spiritual knowledge, offering a comprehensive understanding of the letter's significance. The student has provided references to support their claims.

Running head: ENGLISH COMPOSITION
English Composition
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author Note

1ENGLISH COMPOSITION
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ is one of the most convincing examples of literature for
the followers of King Jr. It was written in 1963. The rhetoric elements of the paper will be
analyzed in this paper.
The use of logos, pathos and ethos can be seen in this letter by Martin Luther King Jr. In
the letter, King Jr. has used the element of pathos where he backed up his ideas of the pacifist
approach that he wanted to show (Loritts: 26). He showed all the possible reactions that might
come about if the South came out and behaved in the violent manner. In his letter, he also
showed the ways how his organization used several nonviolent ways so he could convince the
people about his motives. Lastly he has used the elements of logos, he has given some logical
considerations to justify the nonviolent strategies of his organization (Apsel: 10).
In the letter, King has put all his feelings and emotions for the readers to understand. He
has produced his concerns in the letter where his feelings and emotions about the outsiders can
be found properly. He was very clear and concise in his tone about addressing the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (Loritts: 26). The tone of outrage is very clear when he saw the
racial injustice within the city. So, he set up his crew with a number of African Americans. So he
could begin his campaign to begin his struggle against this injustice. On another occasion, The
use of the spiritual knowledge has been used by King Jr. because he wanted to convince people
about the racial injustice. He also his tone was changed.
Here in this letter, King Jr. addressed all the issues of ‘just’ and ‘unjust’ in the letter. His
letter dealt with legal considerations that were also unjustified. He showed through his letter that
it was always justified to break the law once when it is a threat to people (Loritts: 26). Due to the
racial injustice in USA, African American people were threatened to be thrown out of the

2ENGLISH COMPOSITION
country. This was the law but it was not justified at all. Therefore, one must break this law
(Apsel: 10).
In the conclusion part it could be said that letter by King Jr. proved to be a great
inspiration for all who spoke against the injustice. This was meant to be an eye opening call for
everyone.

3ENGLISH COMPOSITION
References
Apsel, Joyce. "Martin Luther King, Jr.,“Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and Nonviolent Social
Transformation." Great Books Written in Prison: Essays on Classic Works from Plato to
Martin Luther King, Jr. (2015): 230.
Loritts, Bryan C., ed. Letters to a Birmingham Jail: A Response to the Words and Dreams of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Moody Publishers, 2014.