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Cheich Biteye
Connie Douglas
26 April 2015
UWRT 1102
Letter from a Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis
Martin Luther King Jr. was at this time the most prolific black figure in America and his agenda
is the most forward thing about him which is equality for those of color. With that being said he
wrote this letter with his stature in mind and the realization that his word means so much too so
many. The eight white religious leaders he wrote the letter to all have high vocabularies. Thus
rhetorically speaking king uses the full gamut of his vocabulary to express an appearing well
thought out letter. He knows his audience is racist and disagrees with his tactics for equality. To
gain a positive standing with them he makes the tone very non-aggressive. He attempts to come
off as companionate and understanding which is a response that the religious leaders were not
expecting to illicit.
The team of white leaders felt that king was an outsider so immediately he establishes the
reasoning for his presence in the second paragraph. King definitely supports his purpose directly
by making a pleading case based on his quest for equality. He makes plenty of ethos connections
by talking the struggle and plight of the modern African American. King perfectly balances the
use of ethos and logos by using the eight mens religious background to talk about equality. He
prefaces the bible and because they are religious men they have to abide by its wording. Then he
uses logos when referencing the inequality of separate but equal. His overarching idea with this
letter was a huge call to action he basically insisted that all people have moral responsibility to

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break unjust laws. The unjust laws of racial segregation were thus a problem for all people and
you could not be a responsible member of society if you didnt speak up and fight against
injustice when you see it. He didnt seek to appease the religious leaders he actually sought to
give them understanding of his cause and struggle. In the end he actually forgives in their
ignorance and invites them to participate in the actual festivities. The time period of 1963 was at
the height of the civil rights movement with the voting rights act the next year. Situationally this
piece was written perfectly for king and America at the time.