Dr. Martin Luther King's Literary Devices

Dr. King's Literary Devices
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is revered by many as the greatest leader for the Civil Rights Movement.   His undying passion for the abomination of segregation made him a human rights icon that will be remembered throughout history.   King spent countless hours fighting for equal rights and was known for his calm but steadfast demeanor.   In the heat of the Civil Rights Movement, King traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to organize one of his patented peaceful protests.   King was called upon by leaders of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights to lead Birmingham citizens in a peaceful march for equality but, was arrested during the protest.   While in a Birmingham jail, King was able to write a letter to his fellow clergymen, fittingly titled “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.”   In this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. uses a strong ethos in order to convince his fellow clergymen to act alongside him for the progression of the Civil Rights Movement.
The letter begins with King explaining that he is writing to the clergymen from within the walls of the Birmingham prison.   King begins with this admission in order to immediately create a sense of sympathy for himself in the other audience minds.   Obviously as clergymen, much of King's audience had probably never been in jail before.   This would effectively strike an interest with his audience for this reason.   Thus, King has all ready established a strong ethos only one or two sentences into his letter.
The next way in which King uses the appeal to emotion when speaking with his fellow clergymen is when he speaks of the wicked racism occurring in Birmingham. King says, “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham.” The clergymen that King is addressing in his letter...