In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he uses several persuasive appeals. He appeals to logic throughout the whole letter. One example of this is when he discusses the four steps of a nonviolent campaign. He goes through each step and describes the ways in which he has led the black people through these logical steps. He also appeals to logic when he discusses the difference between just and unjust laws. These are just a few of the times when he uses an appeal to logos. King uses the appeal to emotion, or pathos, when he uses direct and persuasive diction to stir certain emotions. Even within the very first paragraph you begin to feel compassion for this kind man. Another example is on page 198 when he discusses how they have been told over and over, for more than 340 years, to “Wait!” He then continues on to describe the pain and suffering they have been through. This is a very direct appeal to emotion, because it immediately makes the reader connect and feel sorrow for the writer. The final persuasive tool that Martin Luther King Jr. uses in this address is the appeal to ethos. King shows his credibility within the first paragraph as he informs the reader who he is and why he is writing the following letter. He explains that he is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and then continues to describe his role and authority there. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” the reader can identify many specific and direct persuasive tools, ethos, pathos, and logos in particular.
He defiantly does uses logic most of the time but he does it so well. I used that exact some quote about how the black population had been told time and time again to wait when really it meant that there time of freedom would never come. My favorite part was how he used logic but there was always an underlying tone that time and time again would appeal more and more to your emotions. He uses words really really well to convince you of his side. Bu it think it was really easy for him to do this because he had such passion behind his work and he was right about the lot of it.
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