M. Moore
English 111
2 March 2015
1. According to King’s letter, the four basic steps for a nonviolent campaign are a collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist, negotiation, selfpurification, and direct action. 2. One rhetorical strategy from “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is the use of a rhetorical question.
King asks “Will we be extremists for hate or for love”, which has the effect of making the audience feel more involved in the essay.
The use of imagery in saying "the stinging darts of segregation" shows the reader the effects of segregation. King uses allusion to Rosa Parks ("a seventy two year old woman in Montgomery, Alabama") to show the reader that he is not alone in his fight against segregation, and that, in fact, there are many who have done so.
The metaphor "ominous clouds of inferiority" shows the reader, again, the effect of inherent racism and what it can lead to (more segregation).
Finally, King uses humor and sarcasm in the opening paragraph, stating "If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day." This shows us that King does not take those who are against him seriously. 3. King is writing this letter to his fellow clergymen who have spoken against King’s means of protest against racism in southern America. 4. King discusses two different types of laws. Just laws are laws that one has a moral obligation
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