King's letter was written to address the clergymen. This is made firm at the letter's beginning. He wrote, my dear fellow clergymen. However, he had other audiences in mind. These audiences included religious leaders and followers, political leaders, white moderates, and African Americans. King addressed each audience in a sincere and customary fashion.
The clergymen denounced Kings efforts to fight for freedom and equality. They called his actions "unwise and untimely." King did not make it a habit of responding to such criticisms. He clearly stated, "If I sought to answer all the criticisms that crossed my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work." It is apparent that king had a larger audience in mind by that statement alone. He used the clergymen's adverse comments as grounds to write the letter, and get his point across.
King addressed the religious leaders as if he were delivering a sermon. Biblical examples were given throughout the letter. He spoke of the early Christians who were ready to face hungry lions and the severe pain of chopping blocks rather than accept unjust laws of the Roman Empire. His actions were also called extreme. At first, King was in disagreement. After careful consideration he accepted the label "extremist." He responded, "Was not Jesus and extremist for love: Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Yes, King was an extremist. He was a righteous extremist.
Following the religious leaders, there were the political and intellectual leaders. He wanted them to understand that men nor women can remain oppressed. Something needed to be done. The Negro cannot remain frustrated. He stated, "The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations,and he must release them. So let him march, let him make pilgrimages to the city hall, let him go on freedom rides, and try to understand why he must do so." King's desire for peace was equivalent to his desire for freedom and equality. You cannot have one without the other. The self-purification process was put into action in order to guarantee nonviolent actions. This process included nonviolence workshops. At these workshops they would ask themselves if they could accept physical violence without returning it,and if they were able to patiently tolerate being jailed as a consequence......to be continued
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Thesis Statement
King's letter was written to address the clergymen. This is made firm at the letter's beginning. He wrote, my dear fellow clergymen. However, he had other audiences in mind. These audiences included religious leaders and followers, political leaders, white moderates, and African Americans. King addressed each audience in a sincere and customary fashion.
MLA Citation
Berry, Edward. "Doing Time: King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail"." Rhetoric and Public Affairs 8.1 (2005): 109-132. Web. 18 Feb 2010.
King, Martin L. "Letter From Birmingham Jail." The Martin Luther King, Jr Research and Education Institute . 2010. Stanford University, Web. 25 Feb 2010.
Leff, Michael, and Ebony Utley. "Instrumental and Constitutive Rhetoric in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "A letter from Birmingham Jail"." Rhetoric and Public Affairs 7.1 (2004): 37-52. Web. 18 Feb 2010.
Patton, J.H. “A Transforming Response: Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’.” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 7.1 (2004): 53-66. Web. 19 Feb. 2010.
Sharman, Nick. “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution’: The Rhetorical Strategies of Martin Luther King Jr.” Social Semiotics, 9.1 (1999): 85-105. Web. 19 Feb. 2010.
Snow, Malinda. "Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" as Pauline Epistle." Quarterly Journal of Speech. 71 (1985): 318-334. Print.
Watson, Martha. "The Issue is Justice: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Response to the Birmingham Clergy." Rhetoric & Public Affairs 7.1 (2004): 1-22. Web. 16 Feb 2010.
King, Martin L. "Letter From Birmingham Jail." The Martin Luther King, Jr Research and Education Institute . 2010. Stanford University, Web. 25 Feb 2010.
Leff, Michael, and Ebony Utley. "Instrumental and Constitutive Rhetoric in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "A letter from Birmingham Jail"." Rhetoric and Public Affairs 7.1 (2004): 37-52. Web. 18 Feb 2010.
Patton, J.H. “A Transforming Response: Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’.” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 7.1 (2004): 53-66. Web. 19 Feb. 2010.
Sharman, Nick. “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution’: The Rhetorical Strategies of Martin Luther King Jr.” Social Semiotics, 9.1 (1999): 85-105. Web. 19 Feb. 2010.
Snow, Malinda. "Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" as Pauline Epistle." Quarterly Journal of Speech. 71 (1985): 318-334. Print.
Watson, Martha. "The Issue is Justice: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Response to the Birmingham Clergy." Rhetoric & Public Affairs 7.1 (2004): 1-22. Web. 16 Feb 2010.
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