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Jessica Corona

Professor Fernandez

English IT

24 February 2017

Making a Change

Adolf Hitler once said the broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal

of rhetoric than to any other force. (Hysell, Patricia) Hitler by anyones standards, is considered

to be one of the most cruel and evil man that has walked on this earth. So what can Hitler

possibly have in common with a man like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Well, they were both two

of the most influential and persuasive speakers in history. Dr. King, who was one of the most

influential leaders of the American civil rights movement, fought to overturn Jim Crow

segregation laws and eliminate social and economic differences between blacks and whites. And

Hitler, the founder of the Nazis party and totalitarian dictator, killed 6 million Jewish people

during the Holocaust because he believed that Jews were an inferior race, an alien threat to

German racial purity and community. Both Dr. King and Hitler were masters of rhetoric, defined

as the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech

and other compositional techniques. Whether used for good, or evil, rhetoric is what moves the

masses to either side.

In Martin Luther King Jr. Letter From Birmingham Jail, he uses rhetorical devices to

persuade people to fight for basic human rights. During the fight for civil rights, Dr. King was

arrested for the precipitation of violence for fighting for basic constitutional rights, and while he
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was arrested he wrote a response letter to a group of Clergymen. In this letter Dr. King used

several persuasive rhetorical devices such as repetition, biblical and historical allusions, imagery,

and metaphors in hopes that he could reach out to everyone but especially the moderates. The

white moderate as Dr. King describes are the people who are dedicated to order instead of

justice. These people have shallow understanding, and are more disappointing than those people

who have an absolute ill understanding of the world because they have the potential of making a

difference but choose not to by remaining silent. In his letter Dr. King emphasizes the damage

that the moderates cause with their silence, for he believes that abstaining from the vote against

injustice, is a vote for it. These people, according to Dr. King, understand what needs to be done

for change but ignore it, thus causing a great impact and effect on segregation. Although most of

the rhetorical devices he uses are similar they all are meant to cause a different effect on every

reader. Repetition stands alone and is the device he uses the most to convey a powerful

connection with the reader. Dr. King also chooses to use historical and biblical allusion in order

to solidify his argument and give examples of reverential men of the bible who spoke of or did

work in the same manner as himself. These examples justify his actions as well as credibility that

is based upon the bible, a holy and infallible standard. Lastly his letter has a highly creative use

of imagery, and metaphorical language making an abstract concept into a concrete perspective,

helping the readers connection with the text.

In fact, Dr. King uses repetition of particular words or terms to persuade the reader and

produce a positive effect. Throughout the whole letter Dr. King mentions the words just and

unjust. He first provides the reader with a detailed definition of what a just and an unjust law

is. This rhetorical device is used for the reader to make an emotional connection with the text in
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other words Dr. King uses pathos to persuade the reader. A perfect example of how Dr. King

uses pathos is described in the following quote where he uses repetition to describe just and

unjust laws causing the reader to feel pity and sadness. Now, what is the difference between

the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code

that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony

with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law

that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just.

Any law that degrades human personality is unjust (Pg. 5). This quote caused me to feel sorrow

and compassion by the suffering and misfortunes of those like Dr. King who were discriminated

for being people of color. In this quote not only does Dr. King use repetition, but also references

God which is another persuasive rhetorical move he uses in his letter.

Additionally, Dr. King references biblical passages and biblical figures as support for his

proposal to the moderates to make a change by simply standing up in what they believe in. By

using biblical passages he connects with the audience on another level. I myself am a perfect

example of these audience. Growing up in a Christian home where my values and morals were

based on the bible, I relate and can feel Dr. Kings letter because it hits close to home and

touches my heart. He states, Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil

disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to

obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. It was

practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the

excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman

Empire (Pg. 6). By using biblical passages he establishes a relationship with the reader through
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their faith. As a Christian I believe that everything in life is tied to God. I believe that everything

happens for a reason, and I blindly live my life following the words of God. As I read Letters

from Birmingham Jail I found that Dr. King uses ethos to help the reader connect with him via

the spirit of religion. This quote gave me a better understanding of Dr. Kings views and believes

of standing up for what he believe in and deserve regardless of the consequences; for advocating

for justice and basic human rights was a punishable offence. During the Civil Rights Movement

a great majority of the population believed they were inferior and undeserving of respect because

they were made to believe that, yet Dr. King didnt he never stopped believing in the possibilities

of making a change by keeping his faith strong. Just like the quote Dr. King prefered to be

prosecuted unjustly than to allow someone to seize what he believe in, which was justice and

equal rights.

Furthermore, Dr. Kings letter uses historical allusions by referencing historical and

literary figures, events, and objects to create resonance in his strategy of nonviolent resistance

towards racism which improved his persuasion. It also showed his knowledge and improved his

ethos by citing many important historical events, this showed that he was well-versed in human

history. For example he compared the Civil Rights Movement with historical events that showed

the importance of fighting for change. He states that people have a moral responsibility to break

unjust laws and to take direct action rather than to wait potentially forever for justice to come

through the courts. Dr. King states This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently

urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public

schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. (Pg. 5)

If people like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X didnt fight for change people of
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color, wouldnt have the rights I have today. Dr. Kings historic allusion reminds people like

myself how fortunate I am to be growing up in this era where equal rights are enforced although,

not always followed. Dr. Kings historic moments are recorded in his letter to connect with the

reader as well as the use of language and imagery to paint a picture of his words.

Similarly, Dr. King uses language that paints an image or mental picture of a particular

scene or experience which he uses throughout his letter for example through logos which

provides an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason the anxiety over

the willingness to break laws. According to Dr. King sometimes in order to do the right thing one

has to break a law like Anne Frank did during the Holocaust. Like I stated earlier in this essay

Dr. King also said, We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was

"legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was

"illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in

Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a

Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would

openly advocate disobeying that country's antireligious laws (Pg.6). This quote sets an image of

the injustice people lived during the Civil War and Holocaust era which proves with logic how

segregation and discrimination was allowed, and those who fought for justice where

reprimanded. I couldnt help but imagine what life was like for people of color which made me

realize that I need to stand up and fight for my rights now, especially now that the United States

has elected Donald Trump as president. Donald Trump is a perfect metaphor of the Civil Rights

Movement and how terrifying it feels to be looked down upon for being of color.
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Consequently, Dr. King uses metaphors which is a figure of speech that identifies

something as being the same as some unrelated thing for rhetorical effect, thus highlighting the

similarities between the two. Dr. King wrote Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is

covered up but must be opened with an its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light,

injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human

conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured (Pg. 7). The importance of

metaphoric writing is the connection the reader makes by comparing what Dr. King is saying

with similar situations to help the reader better understand what he is saying. In this quote Dr.

King compares a boil to injustice; the same injustice that the people of color are living now in the

21st century with the President of the United States. What blows my mind is that people in

particular the moderates have been hiding injustice and racism under the rug pretending as if our

country has changed, yet all it took was a racist president to be living under terror again.

Therefore, decades later people of color continue to live in a world where discrimination is

permitted and segregation is allowed. Like Martin Luther King asked the moderates in 1963, Im

asking everyone to stand up and fight for equality because no vote is a vote for the opponent.

The use or rhetoric in writing and public speaking is powerful, because it allows the

speaker to appeal to a wider range of audience. This is because the various forms of rhetoric

allow the speaker to make credible, personal, and memorable connections with their audience. In

this letter, Dr. King appeals to the masses with his use of various rhetorical devices such as:

repetition, biblical historical allusions, imagery, and metaphors. This appeal that is generated

allows the listener/reader to be more receptive of the information that is being presented. This

then leads to action on the part of the listener/reader. Problems with this, is if the speaker's
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intentions are not morally just, then this connection that is established between the audience and

the speaker can be used to persuade the audience into performing injust actions. A modern

example of this is many of President Donald Trumps speeches or communications to the nation.

President Trump uses repetition in many of his addresses to the press or the nation to reinforce

this belief that former President Barack Obamas administration was corrupt. President Trump

continues to repeat things until he speaks things into existence and people begin to question

themselves and believe him. Because of people like Trump Its important to follow Martin

Luther King Jr.s lead and reach out to the moderates and persuade them to stand up and fight for

equality and basic human rights because together we can make a change.
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Works Cited

Hysell, Patricia. Little Bits of History. March 19, 2017.

<https://patriciahysell.wordpress.com/tag/mein-kampf/>

King, Martin Luther Jr. "Letter from the Birmingham jail." In Why We Can't Wait, ed. Martin

Luther King, Jr., 77-100, 1963.