Ethos Pathos Logos In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Letter from Birmingham Jail In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “ Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr.King uses an array of rhetorical devices. He uses metaphors, analogies and anaphoras, but what stuck out the most to me was his use of pathos. Dr.King uses pathos to pull at the heartstrings of his readers. He knows exactly what to say when he wants the reader to feel the emotions he’s feeling. Dr.King starts his letter with “ My Dear Fellow Clergymen (85)” I believe King meant to start off his letter in a respectful tone. Starting off his letter like this plays a major role in how the readers perceive him. This respectful tone helps start off his pathos because it makes the reader like Dr.King. A couple of paragraphs into the letter Kings says “ Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly (86)”, he wants the reader to feel somewhat responsible for the injustices going on in Birmingham. King mentions this because there are people who don’t think the injustices in Birmingham affect them when in reality it affects everyone. This is meant to …show more content…
when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television…(90).” King uses pathos here by making the reader feel for the African American community because their children will not have a happy childhood. Not being able to go to amusement parks because of the color of their skin will make these innocent kids not only hate their skin but also hate the people who are oppressing them. King warns his readers that having these kids grow up like this will only cause turmoil. The kids will grow up wanting to rebel, make changes and they will do whatever it takes. Dr.King states “ There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair (90).” King builds his pathos here