Legalization_of_Marijuana

Castillo 1 Mousseau English 3 08 March 2012 Analysis of Martin Luther King’s letter While martin Luther king was in jail for the protest against segregation, eight clergymen wrote a letter and published it in the newspaper telling king that they wanted him to leave and not to interfere will the way they handle injustice in their town. King responded with a letter in hopes to bring justice to the desperate need for nonviolent direct action, the immorality of unjust laws and as well as the increasing probability of the “Negro” resorting to extreme disorder and bloodshed. His main frustration came from disappointment with the Church who, in his opinion, had not lived up to their responsibilities as people of God. King goes in validating why he and several others members of his staff are there and makes it clear that he was invited there and because of his organizational ties. King shows a generous attitude towards the white clergymen whom he calls “men of genuine goodwill”. This helped him gather the support of those people who otherwise would not have supported King. This soft tone seems to have appealed to many white audiences. King was very intelligent to use his letter to get his voice to the public. The letter uses various techniques to appeal to different audiences. Most of the people were highly influenced by religion at that time. So, in many parts of the letter, he uses the name of God to appeal to the people. King uses logic, ethics, and emotion to convince these clergymen and also the "white Castillo 2 moderate" why civil rights should be granted to African Americans. King compares himself to Apostle Paul and other prophets that wanted to bring freedom elsewhere. King wanted to bring freedom to other cities and that's why he promised to help the Alabama group with the segregation issue. King uses logic when he points out that these clergymen are being bias and only looking at the situations from one side. King states "Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever." By putting his argument on the same scholarly and religious level as these eight clergymen, he made it hard for the men to prove him wrong. He says that some of the preachers of god have understood the need for justice, but some preachers have suppressed the blacks. He believes that the preachers have to break the traditional, unjustified rules of the society to allow for the freedom of the children of God. The true meaning of the Bible lies in justice and co-existence. He wants moral justice to overcome the traditional norms which were unjust in nature. In using pathos in king’s letter he discusses historical people and events and because something is legal, it doesn't make it right, like segregation. He emphasizes that although everything Hitler did, murdering millions of Jews, cruel scientific experiments, was legal, but it wasn't just. "It was illegal to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Since most people believe what Hitler did was inhumane and unjust, this discussion leads the reader to feel that segregation is unjust as well. King is not just concerned about his race, but the human race. King doesn't care about the person's nationality; he wants to help anyone who is treated unfairly. Castillo 3 Martin Luther King Jr. makes his point that injustice should not be tolerated in America by using all aspects of pathos to bring out the emotions of the audience. His letter brought insights into the African-American plight. King reaches out to the reader and ensures that the civil rights movement and the African-Americans are just in their causes. Throughout the letter King repeats many basic arguments to arouse the emotions. His argument was that racial injustice was not tolerable. King presents the real scenario of the life of the Negro people to arouse sympathy towards the blacks.