LfBJ Notes

Scott Pero
AP English Language
October 7, 2009
Letter from Birmingham Jail Notes

--King starts off with ethos in the beginning of his letter to establish himself and why he is writing the letter: “My dear Fellow Clergymen” (King, 738). Here, he makes it know that he is an equal to those he is writing to; he is a clergyman just like they are. Also, in that first introductory paragraph, he addresses why he is writing it: “Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas” (738).

--King uses Pathos and Logos interchangeably throughout his letter, using an even mixture of the two, and sometimes even a combination of the two, to deliver his point. A perfect example of his use of emotion is the paragraph on page 742, “I guess it is easy for those…our legitimate and unavoidable impatience” (742). He uses fifteen examples of pure pathos to move the reader, culminating when he speaks of segregation and such topics affecting his own children. The reader is exhausted after reading it, a parallel of the exhaustion he feels over the struggles of blacks. This also works as an establishment of his character, since he refers to other blacks in the universal sense of brother and sister.

--King’s paragraph at the bottom of page 739 about both nonviolent campaign and Birmingham show his use of Logos effectively, along with his word choice adding Pathos to it: “In any nonviolent campaign…the hard, brutal, and unbelievable facts” (739). He begins with his logic, saying that he and all other blacks have gone through all four steps of nonviolent campaign in Birmingham, and that “Racial injustice engulfs [Birmingham]” (739). The word choice he uses to accentuate this logic only drives the point he is making even further, using such descriptions as ugly, unjust, notorious, etc.

--Diction: King’s diction is aggressive and relentless
Metaphor’s are fully flesh out, for example: “they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress” (745). Rather than stopping at ‘structured dams’, King continues with the use of the word flow, painting an image and completing his metaphor.

--Syntax: Uses various literary devices to excellent effect.

--Parallelism: “I don’t believe you would…praise for the police department” (751). King uses the parallels in the use of the words ‘I don’t believe’, ‘if you would’, and so on.

--Juxtaposition: “We have waited for more…coffee at a lunch counter” (742). King compares our country to less progressive nations, but uses them as an example of how far behind the country is in terms of equality.

--Periodic vs. Cumulative: King utilizes both periodic sentences, or listing things to build to a conclusion at the end of the sentence, and cumulative sentences, or strengthening a point at the beginning of the sentence. An example of Periodic: paragraph on 742. Cumulative: “I say it as a minister…cord of life shall lengthen” (748).

--Inversion: “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will” (745). He uses inversions for emphasis, using the antithesis of the first statement to complete the sentence.

--Rhetorical Questioning: King answers his own questions, questions that would be brought up against him. He quickly shuts down the opposition, only making his argument stronger: “One may well ask. ‘How can you advocate’…‘An unjust law is no law at all’” (742-743).