http://www.uscrossier.org/pullias/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/king.pdf
King's letter is a response to the letter issued to King by a group of Alabama clergymen in 1963. Here is the link to that letter as well:
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/letter-to-martin-luther-king/
In my English class, we have been talking about what makes these influential speeches and letters so powerful and famous. What is it about the way in which people like King convey their ideas that has such a profound affect on both the audience at the time, and people like us today? In Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, his explicit focus on the audience is a crucial aspect of his writing. Because his principal audience is the Alabama clergymen, King makes many biblical references to prove that although they read the same text, their interpretations are very different. For example, in the beginning, King relates his being in Birmingham because of injustice to the prophets of the eighth century B.C., who “left their villages and carried their ‘thus saith the Lord’ far beyond the boundaries of their home towns”. He goes as far as to even compare himself to the apostle Paul. Like Paul, King “must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid”. While Paul saw that the gospel of Jesus needed to be spread “to the far corners of the Greco Roman world” and did so, King, like Paul, was compelled to “carry the gospel of freedom” beyond his home in Atlanta. With this example, King is justifying his actions of nonviolent protest through the use of the same text, the Bible, that the clergymen, who disapprove of his actions so much, also cherish and live by. This is an intelligent move on King’s part, for he knows that it will be hard for the clergymen to disagree with his justifications since they are based on the teachings of the Bible that both parties hold with the utmost respect. King also takes his audience into account with his focus on portraying his credibility and intelligence. King is cognizant of the fact that the clergymen, who are all white, look down on King through prejudiced eyes as just another lesser African American man. In order for them to take his letter seriously, King makes sure to establish his intelligence. Right off the bat, King shows his credibility and intelligence by stating some of his achievements, such as his position as the “president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state”. With this, the clergymen are essentially forced to see King as a man deserving of the same respect as any white Christian, or at least more respect than they initially had for him. In this combination of displaying his credibility and referencing the Bible, King justifies his arguments in a respectful and effective manner that is in accordance with his peaceful and nonviolent approach to the Civil Rights movement.
I remember reading this speech as well Chelsea!
ReplyDeleteI personally always felt like the key reason his speech was so effective and so persuasive was because it systemically refuted every key point from the letter. He blew every justification out of the water with the use of various emotional or logical appeals. MLK was nothing if not bold and persuasive. You would be hard pressed to have very much to say at all to support the continuity of prejudice or to criticize King's methods towards ending it.
Just imagine receiving a letter like this from a man in jail! I think part of the reason it is so effective, along with what you both states, is just because it is written so well and from a position of seemingly great authority. Not only is the language eloquent beyond words, King makes direct quotes all sorts of sources, showing how educated and informed he is about the topic of his writing. Only a person who truly believes in something at core of his soul would be able to write so profoundly regarding a topic. Most anybody would be astonished to receive a letter of this caliber from anybody with a bounty of resources, not to mention a jailed man with nothing but a pen and paper.
ReplyDeleteSource: Letter From Birmingham Jail