Rhetorical Strategies In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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African-American minister and human rights activist, Malcolm x, wrote, “The American Negro never can be blamed for his racial animosities-he is only reacting to 400 years of the conscious racism of the American whites.” “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written by Martin Luther King JR. is a concise letter that addresses the overall situation and challenges that black community faced during the segregation period. Even if Dr. King writes the letter to address the need of his nonviolent action to the people who are deprived of justice, his primary audiences are the “eight local clergymen, who questioned his method” of ending segregation (800). In his letter of response to the eight clergymen, Dr. King emphasizes the consequences of injustice for the justice system that presents anywhere (800). Dr. King informs the clergymen about the cruel treatment and the injustice structure that have been practiced in the black community. In addition to informing, Dr. King reflects that his nonviolent protest to end segregation is wise and timely by pointing out how much black people suffered from the racial injustice. Although the clergymen are informed of the injustice system that treats black people as outsiders, they are hostile and apathetic to his messages about the need to end segregation. Dr. …show more content…
King uses pathos to make his audiences feel guilty and regret of their words. This use of rhetorical strategy contributes to the achievement of king’s purpose by making his audiences feel emotional and by letting them picture all the hardships that colored people have been facing during the segregation period. In most of the paragraphs of the letter, Dr. King gives a vivid description of the situations in which black people went through and the urgent need of getting the freedom that everyone has the right to practice. The use of effective pathos is an advantageous technique to persuade and inform the opposite side of one’s
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