Monday, November 12, 2007

letter from birmingham jail

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses the three rhetorical techniques: ethos, pathos, and logos; with great ability in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Here is a list and several examples of his uses in only the first three pages of an eleven page letter written on scraps of paper.

  • In the first paragraph there is pathos in the last sentence or 2.
  • There is pathos in paragraph about Paul and the apostles.
  • "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" pathos and ethos
  • "tied in a single garment of destiny" pathos.
  • "whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly" pathos, logos
  • "anyone who lives inside the United States...an outsider anywhere within its borders" ethos, logos.
  • third sentence and last sentence of the second paragraph on page two. first is pathos, second is logos.
  • the entire third paragraph is logos.
  • the fourth paragraph uses ethos and logos. Store owners said they would remove racial signs. Many didn't and those who did put them back up.
  • the fifth paragraph uses logos and pathos. There was no alternative to their course of action.
  • sixth paragraph shows logos as he explains the their actions. also uses pathos in saying that they did not want to interfere with the election.
  • 1st paragraph of the third page has a lot of logos. He uses Socrates as pathos.
  • the next paragraph has lots of pathos. He agrees with the call for negotiations. He then refers to the 'beloved Southland' and how it has been bogged down by monologue.
  • in the third paragraph King defends their actions despite a new mayor. He uses logos to logically explain the reasoning that they should push forward and not wait for changes. He also uses pathos in referring to Reinhold Niebuhr.
  • the next two paragraphs go into great depths of pathos and ethos. King refers to God-given rights and tells explicitly how colored people have been treated.
These are just a few briefly described instances of a very famous and persuasive letter. It has brought many to tears and caused great changes in this nation.