Question

Collections Grade 10 Guiding Questions

Answer 1

Lines 2-12. King is addressing clergymen, an important group especially to him because he has so many other ties and does a lot of work for other religious organizations trying to help people. One of their complaints is that what he is doing is "unwise and untimely".

Lines 17-43: King is in Birmingham because of moral reasons, as he supports with this statement: "I am in Birmingham because injustice is here." He believes injustice is happening and that he can help fix it, which relates to his morality. 

Lines 17-43: King uses religious allusions because he is sending this letter to clergymen, who are religious people. This is his direct appeal to his specific audience. And example of religious appeal is when he says "Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns...so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town." This is a specific example from the Bible that he is comparing himself to.