Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Analyzing the Rhetoric of Justice
During the past two days, we've analyzed King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" for signs of ethos, logos, pathos, and direct references to his oppositions' arguments. As we've concluded, King initially relies heavily on logos and some ethos with short bursts -- and one extended explosion -- of pathos for several reasons. With that said, consider the rest of King's speech. What elements of rhetoric does he rely on? Does he primarily use logos again or does be begin to increasingly use pathos? Why does he take the rhetorical path that he does? Please write at least 7-10 sentences and use at least three examples from the text of the speech (you can find it online easily if you left it at school) to prove your point. Thank you and excited to read.
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Martin Luther King continues to use some powerful logos with some less prominent ethos and pathos behind it. Without directly accusing "the white moderate," King is able to write of the awful occurrences that are happening in his community and at the same time state his disappointment in certain other communities. This tactic he is using against "the white moderate" would be likely to make them come to the conclusion that what they are doing is wrong. For example when Martin Luther King writes, "...the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Counciler or the Klu Klux Klan, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than justice..." He is able to make the people feel the subconscious connection to their actions and this leaves them more vulnerable to feel emotions, that they previously would not have had, toward the black community. His logic has emotions and a what is morally correct within it. For example, when he writes, "...there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate for just laws," he is using logos backed up by ethos. He is using a syllogism as well that says, There are unjust and just laws, I believe in just laws and we have contrasting beliefs, therefore you are practicing unjust laws. This makes his fellow clergymen, who he is addressing, feel a sense of moral wrongness as well as embarrassment at the fact that they are being logically and morally proved wrong. When MLK compares condemning the black people because they precipitate violence among others to "...condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery..." he is using the same tactic. He is discrediting and humiliating the clergymen by pointing out the faults in their actions and therefore raising his credibility in general. This is a tactic that is not only immensely effective, but also necessary because MLK is writing from jail, a place that doesn't give its prisoners the best credibility.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly to the previous half of a "Letter From Birmingham Jail," Dr. King is strong with his use of logos, and continues to use pieces of Ethos and Pathos here and there. However he does change the application of his logos when he begins to talk about laws being "Just and Unjust." When speaking of right and wrong like King does in "A Letter From Birmingham jail," he must have previously obtained a few things, the first being credibility: With out credibility, his moral principals mean nothing to those reading his letter. The second thing Dr. King needs is a strong ethical back-up, or, in other words, ethos. Dr. King, in his letter describes how a "just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law." although these are presented as facts, they are also facts that are partially based in religion, so Dr. King must use Ethos in order to prove the morality of the facts her presents. "For instance," he writes, "I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Now there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade. Bit such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First- Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest." This use of rhetoric, backed by moral scenarios in which a person can discern the proper and "just" course of action is, in my opinion, a very effective way to argue for a very effective case.
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Throughout the rest of “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” King relies on ethos, backed by logos, vice versa, and interjects with small bits of pathos. He especially uses ethos backed by logos when referring to great historical figures such as Jesus Christ, Socrates, or Thomas Jefferson, and especially while bringing up Christian morals. When comparing the people on his side’s work to such respected figures as those listed above, he is implying that himself and others of the cause are making history, and since they are very similar and comparable to these figures, they are credible and are doing the right thing. Same, as well, for Christian morals. He gives an underlying message that segregationists such as the clergyman should be helping their cause, because they are of the Christian faith and have these strong, righteous morals, but since they are almost ignoring Christian values and beliefs, they are seen as wrong and are discredited. The tactic of using Christian morals was a brilliant tactic of King’s because this appeals so directly to the clergymen, and if the rest of the letter had still left the clergymen feeling a bit detached, this section will certainly not have. Especially when King writes, “But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.” King also uses bits of pathos, but mostly this logos backed by ethos, and ethos backed by logos, is what occurs in the rest of his letter.
ReplyDeleteAs the letter progresses, King starts using more ethos, with logos being used less frequently. He makes a transition from logos to ethos that is visible when he mentions Socrates. At first, he mentioned Socrates took part in "civil disobedience", which is clearly logos, but a few paragraphs later he describes Socrates as a man with an "unswerving commitment to truth", who was killed by "the misguided populace", which definitely appeals to one's ethical sense and possibly emotions. Additionally, King mentioned topics that related to Christianity more often in the second part of the essay, which pertained to ethos and sometimes pathos, often to counter statements that his opponents had made. When he mentioned being called an extremist, he defended himself by saying, "Was not Paul an extremist for gospel?" and, "Jesus Christ was an extremist for love, truth, and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of extremists." He most likely mentioned the Church because his intended audience, clergymen, held Christian related matters close to their heart. In the beginning, I believe Martin Luther King Jr. used mostly logos so he would be thought of as a serious and credible source, and no one could argue with what he was saying. Then he moved on to calculated ethos and pathos, because sympathy and emotion is nessesary to win an argument, though he kept his ethos and pathos controlled by mostly relating them to the church after his large outburst of pathos.
ReplyDeleteIn Martin Luther King Jr's letter, he beings with logos, and with some ethos, but as the letter goes on, he begins to use more pathos and logos, and barely some ethos. The reason I think this is because during the second half of the letter, King speaks about the horrible things that he has witnessed or the right and wrongs in society. "Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong." In this line, MLK is basically explaining why the 1954 decision is morally incorrect. Also, during the second half of the letter, an example of ethos, "Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered. Can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically structured?" I believe that King is trying to imply that even though we live in a "democracy" there are still unjust laws which prevent a certain group of people from voting, and that is morally wrong. A great example of pathos in this part of the letter is when Martin Luther King wished that the police would commend all the courageous people who suffered and even died because of their beliefs. In my opinion, this is an example of pathos because it made me feel disappointed. Some would argue that this section of King's letter could also be ethos, and I agree because it is wrong to commend racist, ignorant police men and not commending all the martyrs. In conclusion, I believe that King's great, inspirational letter is written in such way because King wanted to appeal to all; ethos, logos, and pathos in order to display the pain and the injustice that he and his people were put through.
ReplyDeleteIn “A Letter From Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King JR. starts off with a lot of appeals to logos and ethos. This was a necessary component for the letter because he is trying to convince people who do not agree with him that he is a credible source. If the beginning had started at the part where he said, “For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied." It would not have been as strong because they do not necessarily have the same morals and ethics as Dr. King. Latter on in the middle of the speech, he begins to incorporate more appeals to pathos and ethos. A reader could see this part when he begins the paragraph that starts with, “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and god given rights,” it is clear that the document is moving toward a more morals based argument. But what is really interesting is after he uses his initial logos appeal; he always comes back to it later. It is in a way to make sure that he always returns to it so that the Clergymen cannot think that he is not credible because throughout the letter he brings back logos appeals. An example of his return to logos is after his long streak of pathos appeals he comes back with a logos. “Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance that requires a permit for a parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest.” This is one of the best pieces of writing because of the way Martin Luther King Jr. knew how to only understand his audience but to control them.
ReplyDeleteI think that he continues to use logos and ethos throughout the rest of the letter. The clear reason for this is because of the universal power of logic and that his letter is mostly about the immorality of segregation. The logos can be considered to be carrying the ethos. Pathos could also apply because of the strong element of religion as he writes about how he has "been disappointed with the white church and its leadership." and about the church in general. Though, religion mostly concerns ethics, and King doesn't waste time using religion for pathos and uses religion's strong point, ethos, to make his argument stronger. The pathos is mostly exhibited with the rhetorical questions he builds up to, for example, when he writes about extremism, "Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice, or will we be extremists for the cause of justice?" The reason why he continues to use logic is because pathos is subjective and is easier to defy and say that the conclusions it draws are wrong. In this essay, logos is careful logic that guides you through clear thought processes and leads the readers to an undeniable conclusion. There is no way to combat it except to discredit the entire letter, which would be difficult. I do not believe that the presence of ethos is limited to small pieces, it is worked all over into the framework of logos and is only clearly visible in the small outbursts. The small pieces of pathos are used, I believe, to keep the reader interested, an overuse of pathos would tire the reader. And with his last line, "I beg God to forgive me." he ends on a burst of pathos that makes it memorable.
ReplyDeleteAs King’s letter continues, he begins to increase his use of pathos and ethos and he uses less logos. This is because he gained much credibility at the beginning, so now that he has his reader beginning to believe in his abilities and ideas, he can target their emotions and continue to bring up their sense of ethics. The logos at the beginning of his letter backs up his use of pathos towards the end which creates a well informed and phenomenally written letter. I believe King’s strategy here is quite clever and incredibly effective. King’s use of ethos continues with pathos as well when he writes, “I had hoped that the white moderate would see this need. Perhaps I was too optimistic; perhaps I expected too much. I suppose I should have realized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent, and determined action” (p. 590). This is an exquisite bit of language that must have lead many to question themselves. King also uses pathos when he writes, “In spite of my shattered dreams, I came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership of this community would see the channel through which our just grievances could reach the power structure” (p. 591). When king writes, “In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love,” it becomes clear that pathos is particularly powerful for this argument (p. 592). King uses a lot of pathos when talking about his disappointments with the church. I believe he did this because he was writing especially to the clergymen and he knew how he could use emotion to get to them. I believe that he thought that the only way to get to them while talking about the church would be to appeal to their emotions and try to get them to really understand. It was necessary for King to bring up more arguments using emotion when talking about what was dearest to them. King used pathos in a beautiful way that really enforced his overall ideas. This letter uses words in ways that are exceptionally beautiful. Every line was crafted in such a way that conveys its meaning flawlessly. The language of this piece adds to its effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteI think MLK continues to use logos up until a certain point, then ends with mainly pathos
ReplyDeletebased arguments. He also continues to reference the opposing argument with phrases
like "In your statement," and "You speak..." I think he uses logos in criticizing their
argument that protesting was bad because it precipitated violence. He cites examples of
how their argument wouldn't work in other cases, like ones involving Socrates and
Jesus. The transition from logos to pathos comes around/after he is speaking of
extremists. I think he uses both logos and pathos in that part, and again cites examples
of other people in the same situation as he is. Then, pathos comes back in full force as
he describes his disappointment with the white church, using words like "shattered
dreams" and "blatant injustices" and "I have wept," all designed to make you feel
something. He ends still using pathos and praising the courage of the people that were
part of the effort to end segregation.
In “The Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King continues to mention all ethos, pathos, and logos as the story progresses. But the ethos that he gives struct me as the most powerful, and most affective. For example he quotes, “I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls ... as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department.” I think he mixes up both ethos, and logos to show that he is logical, and to show what is bad and what is good. After doing that he shows what the white people are doing to the colored people and tells that that is a bad thing. “Perhaps I was too optimistic; perhaps I expected too much.” as he notes. It shows him in a logical state. Another example of ethos, “I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers,” he says as he continues on to make the point personal and powerful.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King cleverly counterattacks the “white moderate” and they’re arguments by having calm and collected responses. He accomplishes this with sentences such as, “I wish you had commended the Negro sit inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. One day the South will recognize its real heroes”, in response to the commending of the Birmingham police. Since MLK is addressing the clergymen in this letter, he added in something that was a common ground topic, in this case religion. A good example is when he says “I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate.” Continuing in the letter, it seems that more ethos and logos are used however, it seems like there is some underlining pathos mixed in. Sometimes it’s hard to discern what a sentence is such as the following regarding Christianity: “Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.” The clergymen might agree that the church is the body of Christ but, the end of that sentence pushes through some barriers that might make the clergymen mad. Though difficult to analyze, the switches between ethos, pathos and logos are very effective to readers and hopefuly to the clergymen as well.
ReplyDeleteI think that he begins to include more pathos and ethos as the letter continues. For example, he talks about his disappointment with the church. This is an example of ethos because a person feels morally inclined not to disappoint someone. An example of pathos is, when talking about his disappointment with the church, talks about how he wishes the church had commended the protestors. He mentions how great these people were and how they stood up for freedom, which evokes feelings of admiration and sadness because of all of the unfairness they have had to deal with. I think the way he slowly increases the amount of pathos and ethos is a way of pulling the reader in even more. He has gained his credibility by explaining things with logos, and now he can pull at their heart strings with pathos and ethos. This means that the that clergymen have seen logical and moral reasons to agree with him. I think this was a wonderful way to capture their attention.
ReplyDeleteIn the first half of "Letter From Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. uses Logos and some Ethos predominantly with the exception of his burst of Pathos when describing waiting. I believe that in the second half of Dr. King's letter he, as in the first half of the letter, relies on logos and ethos arguments while using rare tidbits of pathos. For example, at the start of he second half, he continues on with logos arguments like when he says, "oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro." He also uses a logos argument when he tells about how the 'white moderate' has let him down when he says, "I felt that the white ministers, priest, and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows." Then however, Dr. King does use a pathos argument when he tells about the horrible things the police have done to blacks and how they shouldn't be getting commended when he says, "You warmly commended the Birmingham police for keeping 'order' and 'preventing violence.' I doubt you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negros. I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negros here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department." Dr. King does a fantastic job of mixing pathos, ethos, and logos into the letter and as a result has created one of the best pieces of persuasive writing ever
ReplyDeleteIn the first part of "Letter to Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King relies heavily on logos for the various reasons we discussed in class. As the story progresses, he gives a clear application of pathos when he is discussing the word wait and then when he ties in family to his explanation. Further in, he ventures into ethos when he is discussing just and unjust laws. He writes, "One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws" (p. 585). This is a direct reference to a persons morals, which is ethos. I think that during the following parts of this letter, he relies still a little on logos, because this the main base for this particular letter, but more so ethos and pathos. When MLK starts to discuss extremists, I think that he appeals a lot to ethos. He appeals to logos, in the sense that he's stating things that are facts, but he is also saying that extremists aren't horrible as long as what they're fighting for is just. He starts to question the morals when he says, " Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice" (p. 590). He begins with pathos when he starts talking about his "major disappointment" with the white church and its leadership. He starts to say things like, "I felt a lot more in the following pages and things like "I had hoped that each of you would understand. But again I have been disappointed" (p. 591). I think it was important that Martin Luther King did start off with logos to kind of prove that he is extremely intelligent and truly is a leader to people. At the same time, I think him beginning with this tactic made the ending, more pathos/ethos filled, even more compelling and striking.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King finishes his letter up with a lot of logos and bits and pieces of pathos woven in. Like we have talked about in class, he doesn't want to look like an angry black man, what they think he is like, he wants to appeal to them by using smart and logical thinking. He refers them to the roman empire and how people were willing to face hungry lions to rebel against the lions, this is showing that he is a martyr and he will suffer a lot for his cause or even die. Martin Luther King starts to use pathos on page 587, "I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose...." Martin Luther King had to show the Clergymen that he was a civilized person, so they would actually listen to what he was trying to say. "You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was rather..." This is a lot of logos, but he is clever about how he uses it. He is almost taunting the Clergymen and making himself look like he's the one in charge, even thought he is far from in charge.
ReplyDeleteTyler
ReplyDeleteI think that MLK increasingly uses more and more pathos while using less and less logos. Pretty much the first part of this speech is entirely logos with only a few tidbits of pathos here and there. Then he has big outburst of pathos with lines like "when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?" But right after that outburst he switches right back to logos with quotes like, "An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself." But throughout the rest of the speech more and more points are using a pathos strategy. I think he did this because he knew that pure pathos wouldn't get his points across because he knew that the white clergymen didn't share his morals. I also think he used logos a lot because he wanted deteriorate the stereotype that African American aren't very smart.
I think that King begins to include more pathos as well as ethos as further into the letter. From where we left off in class, he starts talking about how he is disappointed in the white moderate. He explains that the clergymen condemned the white moderate for keeping peace, but King counterattacks this by saying that they black people of the south should be condemned for fighting for their freedom of segregation in any way that is non-violent. I think this is an example of pathos. The next section switches to ethos. This is because here King talks about how the clergymen stated in their letter that,"the Negroes actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence." King questioned this, and in response, he stated that this was similar to condemning God or Socrates. "Isn't this like condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock? Isn't this like condemning Jesus because his unique God consciousness and never ceasing devotion to God's will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion?" I think that this was Kings way of connecting to his fellow clergymen because he knew that they would react to Christian beliefs. Throughout the rest of the letter, i think that he maintains the point of view using mainly pathos and ethos and wonderfully maintains the focus of the reader by connecting to them differently in the perfect situation.
ReplyDeleteAs we discussed in class, King begins his argument primarily using logos then quickly interjects with a section using pathos. He slowly begins to use ethos and some pathos in addition to logos, as we also discussed. As the letter continues, King uses a lot of ethos, such as in the paragraph beginning, "In your statement you assert that our actions..." in using questions that make the reader question their own ethics and morals, which proves to be very effective. He does, however, continue to intersperse logos throughout to maintain his intelligent identity that he is trying to convey, such as with the line, "It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up across the nation..." and uses quite a bit of logos in the paragraph in which he says, "Some - such as Ralph McGill...". He also continues to intersperse a bit of pathos throughout with visual details and things like that. However, I'd say that the main driving force for the rest of the essay is that of ethos. The essay challenges the reader to bring into question their own morals and ethics.
ReplyDeleteIn the latter parts of Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail Cell", I found that he talks about his problems with the Moderate Whites and the church, he uses ethos in responding with their familiar ethics of the church, and pathos in talking about such people as Socrates and the so called "extremists" of his time. On page 588, Dr. King responds to the comment "The teachings of Christ take time to come to earth" by saying "Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time, from the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills." He then talks about the most effective use of time is by those with ill will in mind. I believe this notion relies more on ethos, and that Dr. King is trying to disprove the belifs of these people. On page 591, I think that Dr. King relies more on Ethos when describing how out of place the Southern churchas are with the bible's teachings they claimed to follow. He writes, "And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely outwarly religion which makes a strange, un-Biblical distinction between body and soul,..."
ReplyDeletelater on on the next page, Dr. King switches to Pathos, and appeals to the readers feelings on how the church reacted to hatred perpetrated by the government and law at the time. He writes, "'Where were their voices of support when bruised and weary Negro men and women decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creative protest?'" These words also ask of the readers to feal how the laws and hatred affected the black people of the time, and whether or not these actions were ethicly right; this could be seen as another appeal to ethos.
As we concluded in class, Martin Luther King, Jr. begins "A Letter From Birmingham Jail" with repeated logos method, taking his readers through his case like a lawyer would. He did this so that the white clergymen this essay was intended for would be able to relate to the rationality of his position, and so that he wouldn't come across as "another angry black man" who cannot relate to white men. After King made himself credible, he incorporated ethos and pathos. Throughout his essay, he created a strong sense of unity between himself and the readers. "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds." In this, King means that not one race is above or below the others, and that all people are connected. Something that affects one affects all. He repeatedly uses "we" and "us" so that, again, he holds his credibility and makes the reader a part of the situation. As the essay goes on, he incorporates more and more of ethos, and in particular, pathos, after gaining the white clergymen's respect. He uses pathos to the extreme degree when he explains what black people go through on a daily basis. One of the most powerful parts of King's essay for me was when he described the torture of telling his daughter that she couldn't go to the amusement park because she wasn't white. "…when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people…". This section particularly stuck out to me because, while reading this, I concluded that King's daughter will never be able to forget that. I believe that King is trying to get the point that by enforcing these laws, the United States is upholding this false peace with underlying hatred and resentment. After creating this very powerful image, he begins to use ethos by talking about just and unjust laws. "Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." Instead of writing that the white clergymen are racist and without a moral compass, he lays out what is just and what is unjust, and leaves it up to the reader to decide if what is in place is just or unjust. After using the example of his daughter and son, King uses the morality of the laws to justify that this deep animosity between races will continue until it is directly addressed. In my opinion, his method of writing was extremely effective because he proved to the white clergymen that he had distanced himself from his emotions through self-purification. With this self-purification, he was able to explain the logic behind his arguments, and did so by directing the reader personally. This did not objectively the reader, but more created a bond between the reader and King himself.
ReplyDeleteIn King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", he begins with a significant amount of logos with some scattered ethos and pathos here and there to build up his credibility and to appeal to the logic of society. Then he has this huge powerful pathos section to draw out the clergymen's emotions when he says "... to explain your six year-old daughter why she cant go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children." This really made me feel the pain African americans were feeling through Dr. king's perspective. He continues by using ethos to describe just and unjust in one of my favorite lines "an unjust law is no law at all." He uses this to show he has control over his emotions toward his cause and restraint to maintain as a credible personality. He continues to use logos to state the facts to appeal to the clergy's reason for their actions and request. Without too much pathos but more ethos he continues to appeal to the moral reasoning and ethical standards of the men by calling them "fellow clergymen and a christina brother." This makes his point that they are not separate species but instead one greater group unified together.
ReplyDeleteDr. King has a particular gift when it comes to rhetoric. While ultimately, he appears to be using logos, his word choices, sentences, and basic ideas are coated with ethos and pathos, subtly so that one does not notice, but enough so that it still has an effect. It is true that he has some outbursts which consist mostly of the latter two, but overall he does an excellent job of appealing to the first, which is necessary when trying to demonstrate credibility.
ReplyDelete"But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust."
This passage appears to be an outright appeal to logos. Dr. King is stating facts, and doing so clearly and concisely. He makes it a bit personal, but continues to make statements. However, at the same time he uses words like "disappointment" and "disgust." These appeal more to pathos, although not as obviously. And of course, the church's purpose is not to disappoint. The slight jab appeals to ethos. It is this strong subtlety that makes the letter so effective.
Majority of Dr. King's letter was written using logos, but he made effective use of pathos and ethos in specific areas. Pathos appeared to be the most powerful method of conveying his ideas; the extended list of segregation in the 12th paragraph (I don't know which page) displayed the oppression of the African American population. However, I believe that Dr. King effectively organized his use of pathos, logos, and ethos. If he had started with pathos or ethos, the readers of his letter might view him as "begging" for sympathy from the white population. By starting his letter with logos, he established that he wanted respect, not sympathy. Instead, he used pathos and ethos sparingly. One of the most effective examples is in Par. 25, where Dr. King described the ignorance of the whites: "I suppose I should have realized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action." Powerful statements of pathos are surrounded by knowledgeable examples of logos. By using this rhetorical technique, Dr. King conveyed his message without sounding too weak or demanding sympathy.
ReplyDeleteLike nearly everyone above me, I think that after the portion of the essay in which he writes nearly a full page of pathos arguments, he goes back to primarily ethos and logos statements, with some ethos mixed in. An argument he makes that has both ethos and logos in it is when he explains the difference between just and unjust laws and why he isn't afraid to break unjust ones. "We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany," King writes. Soon afterward, he makes another while explaining why people can't be oppressed forever, "he has been caught up by the Zeitgeist, and with his black brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice." He shows how less advanced nations have been taking steps toward justice, while America is struggling to.
ReplyDeleteThe elements of rhetoric that Dr. King relies on are primarily ethos up until the last 3 pages. Though I can't definitely say why Dr.King takes the rhetorical path he does by using the text I infer he does so the readers have no excuse for not being on his side. In chronological order Dr. King tells a) why direction action and equality is necessary b) the struggles of being African American c) the difference between wrong and right D) how to achieve equality. By writing in this order, Dr. King subtly conveys the message that if you support segregation you have hopped on the bandwagon of immortality, sin , and apathy. This also strengths his argument because he is talking to clergymen, people who want to rid themselves of sin and relieve people of their sins and temptations. Every word that Dr. King wrote in “Letter from Birmingham” are tailored to his audience, this is why he chooses the rhetorical elements that he uses. For example on page 595 the last sentence of the text ,“ Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities , and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.” Is an example of pathos. This appeals to the readers' emotions because he talks about sentimental things :unity , clarity , hope , and sorrow.An example of ethos tailored to the clergymen is the fourth paragraph on page 591.This is a example of ethos because it causes the clergymen to question their stances on segregation. Though the application of logos aren't as prevalent as the beginning of the text , on page 589 when Dr.King talks of the conscious of the "American Negro" it is an example of logos because he uses social and political uprisings to explain how it influenced the Civil Rights Movement.
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