Question

Before writing your response to the prompt below, you might participate in a collaborative conversation to gather ideas. During this conversation, practice the skill of building consensus. Consensus means "general agreement." During your conversation, you and your peers may disagree. In such cases, explore one another’s ideas and opinions and provide evidence and reasoning in support of each claim. The group should listen fairly to all positions and try to come to a general agreement. After your conversation, take note of any disagreements and explain how the group built consensus.
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS: One reason that "Letter from Birmingham Jail" remains one of the best-known texts of the civil rights era is because of the powerful rhetoric that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses to advocate for nonviolent resistance to racism. Write a response in which you analyze how King uses characteristics of argumentative texts, such as rhetorical appeals and a convincing con

Answer 1

This question refers to a famous text published by Martin Luther King, which is known as the "Letter From Birmingham Jail." This letter was written in 1963 while King was jailed in Birmingham, Alabama after leading a march of black protesters without a permit.

In this letter, King talks about the role of the civil rights movement, and about what should be expected from it. In order to do so, he employs many types of argumentative appeals and literary devices.

An example of such a rhetorical appeal appears in the following quote:

"I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny (34)."

In this quote, King argues that the destiny of the United States is necessarily connected with the destiny of black people. He also talks about the place of freedom in America. These references establish pathos, as they make an emotional appeal meant to convince people of the righteousness of his fight.

Another example occurs in the following quote:

"A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected?"

In this passage, King argues that, as black people did not have the vote, they could not have participated in creating the laws of Alabama. Therefore, they should not be expected to follow them. He employs logos, as he makes a logical argument based on sound premises and evidence.