It is certain that every writer will need motivation to come up with a luminous literary piece, and this inspiration may be either concrete or subtle. The motivation may come in the form of passionate love while others can appeal as unfairness. Appeal is an imperative aspect to writing, and this is especially when a person’s goal is to inform and persuade the audience in a certain area. Martin Luther King Junior wrote, “Letter from Birmingham jail” to respond to “A call for unity” by some eight white clergymen. The inspiration behind his writing of the letter was the unjust proposals the clergymen had suggested, and; therefore, the letter allowed Martin Luther to present his confutation. Martin Luther started to write his letter by constructing his counterargument first by addressing his addressees directly, the clergymen and then using logos, pathos, and ethos to disagree with the clergymen’s proposals and present his own standpoint.
Martin Luther King makes an effective use of ethos throughout his letter to make it adequately appealing to his audience. Ethos is a word of Greek origin meaning character, and it refers to the integrity of the author, which means that it deals with the writer as a person (Lutzke & Henggeler, 2007). Martin establishes this use of ethos right from the beginning of his argument. This is when he sets the tone of the letter, and this is evident when apart from the salutations “My dear fellow clergymen” he also says that he wants to answer the criticisms of his works and ideas (Ali-Dinar, 2007). At this instant, Martin Luther lets the readers understand him in his role as a religious leader, a leader known to be dependable, sincere, and believable for that matter. The point here is that Martin Luther used the ethos to remind the reader of his role of a religious leader, thus setting grounds for credibility of what people would read. It is notable that Martin Luther wrote the letter while in Jail, and this could not be appealing to anyone reading it given the fact there is an association of jails with evil. However, he takes care of this, first, by addressing the religious leaders as fellow clergymen, and this enabled his audience look at him as a person equal in status and stature as the clergymen. Secondly, there is a manifestation of ethos in how he introduces himself “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference”, and this establishes his credibility throughout the letter (Ali-Dinar, 2007).
Martin Luther also conveys a high sense of pathos to enable the readers identify with his assertions. Pathos is a Greek word, which means affliction or experience and Lutzke and Henggeler (2007) asserts that it appeals to the readers’ emotions, and this is to mean it touches the heart rather than the mind. For instance, pathos is evident when Martin talks of a child’s reaction to a closed down public amusement park to colored children. This is evident in the statement “… When you suddenly find your tongue twisted, and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cannot go to the public amusement park…” because of its closure to colored children (Ali-Dinar, 2007). It is evident that this wording shifts the attention of readers from the page to the real world making the words real such that it touches the humanness of the reader. Pathos is different from logos because while logos help the readers understand that it is unfortunate when a person harms a million people, pathos reminds the reader that harming a person causes just as much pain (Lutzke and Henggeler, 2007).
Finally, a part from using direct address, pathos and ethos, Martin Luther also uses logos to appeal to the reader. Logos is a Greek name referring to using logic and reasoning, and these are the words a writer uses and the precision of the message he is communicating (Lutzke & Henggeler, 2007). Logos also present in the form of the credibility of a writer’s arguments and the supporting evidence of the arguments. This is evident in Martin Luther’s letter when he elucidates all the reasons for his arguments and goes ahead to support them. A compelling example is when he says “Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their ‘thus saith the Lord’ far beyond the boundaries of their home towns … so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom far beyond my own home town” (Ali-Dinar, 2007). In this statement, it is evident that he uses a reasoned argument that holds weight with his original target audience, clergy members. This works so effectively because logos are logical reasoned arguments for the audience a writer is addressing, and this enables Martin Luther to communicate well to his audience. Another instant is when Martin Luther responds to the clergymen’s assertion that the demonstrations were unwise and untimely. This is because he starts to say that the Negro community had no alternative, but to prepare for direct action. He then goes ahead to support his answer by trying to show how they had earlier on sought to negotiate in good faith, but they did not succeed. He reinforces his claim by bringing in another incident when despite the negro leaders getting a chance to talk to the leaders Birmingham, whatever they had agreed on did not materialize, which led them to plan for a direct action due to the fear of their hopes going down to the drain once again.
Martin Luther’s use of rhetorical strategies, pathos, ethos, and logos enabled him to refute the clergymen’s argument in an effective manner. His success can also be attributable to his direct address to the audience, the clergymen, which enabled him to base his argument. This provides a solid foundation from which he starts shattering his opponents’ claims, and this enabled him present his confutation with utmost authority and conviction. In the end, he succeeded justifying his reasons for nonviolent demonstrations against segregation in which he had participated causing his confinement. The use of logos was quite strong and most effective appeal form Martin Luther’s letter, and this is because it was extremely persuasive, thus, pulling everything together.
References
Ali-Dinar, A. B. (2007). “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]” ed. African Studies Center.
University of Pennsylvania.
Lutzke, J. and Henggeler, M. (2009). The rhetorical triangle: Understanding and using Logos,
ethos and pathos. Retrieved from
< http://www.iupui.edu/~uwc/pdf/Rhetorical%20Triangle.pdf >
