heAfter the Birmingham, Alabama newspaper published “The Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen” calling Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s activities “unwise and untimely,” King wrote a response back from jail arguing each point the clergymen had made in their “Public Statement. ” In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King points out that he is not an outsider since the people of Birmingham invited him and that since they are all within the United States, nobody should be even considered an outsider. Being a fighter of injustice, King says, he sought to negotiate with the white community of Birmingham, but they refused to comply.
Then, he illustrates to them that the tension amongst the groups is many times good because it leads to action and negotiation. He further explains that calling the actions of Negroes “unwise and untimely” is denying them justice, which they have been waiting for too long. Moreover, King explains that laws can be just and unjust, and that he will only obey just laws that agree with the moral code and disobey laws that do not unlike the white churches, which permit prejudice and hate even though they should preach brotherhood and love. Lastly, King points out that Negroes will win their freedom in the end because it is their right and God’s will.
To argue his points in the “Letter” King uses each of the three rhetorical appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. In this essay, I will try to prove that one appeal is more effective than the rest, but first in order to help one understand what these appeals mean, I will use Arthur Quinn’s definitions of what the three appeals entail. The first appeal, the ethos, tries to persuade an audience to agree with an argument by using the reputation and character of the speaker or writer. For instance, a well-liked political leader might hold a strong ethos in the eyes of his constituents, and therefore his opinions on issues might convince his constituents to hold the same opinions whether or not they know anything about the issue. In contrast, the pathos appeal attempts to persuade an audience by targeting their emotions in attempt to gain their sympathy for the argument. An example of this appeal can be seen in TV commercials fundraising money for impoverished children.
The final appeal, the logos, attempts to persuade an audience using logic and good reasoning. The logos appeal argues its point by using a common ground that both the audience and the arguer can agree on. From these three appeals, I felt that King uses the logos appeal most effectively in his “Letter From Birmingham Jail” because it is used most frequently by King, because the logic and evidence behind the arguments makes it more persuasive, and because it directly criticizes the points the clergymen made in their “Public Statement. “First, I feel the logos appeal is used most effectively because King uses it most frequently in the “Letter.
” Most of the arguments King makes use an intellectual understanding to prove them, which is the logos appeal. The logos appeals appear in most of the main points of the “Letter” such as: the idea of obeying just laws and unjust laws (15), why the Negroes had to demonstrate (6), how the “untimely” charge is invalid (26), and the disappointments in the white moderate and in the white church (23). This evidence shows that the logos appeals appear in almost every argument King makes unlike the pathos or ethos appeal which are only used in a few. King proves most of his points using the logos appeals, so accordingly the logos appeal has the most effect on me. This is one reason why I am compelled to say that the logos appeal is used more strongly than the other appeals. In addition, I feel the evidence and logic behind the logos appeals are more persuasive than the other appeals.
When King discusses the obeying of just laws and the disobeying unjust laws, he does so logically with evidence that both King and the clergymen can agree on. “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of .
