Essay --

The United States civil rights movement was a constant battle for the rights and freedom of African Americans. Martin Luther king Jr., the leader of the civil right movement, was hosting a non-violent protest in Birmingham city. However, the protest did not go as planned and King was arrested for agitating the public. Many fellow white clergymen were angered and upset over the â€Å"Ungodly† act. As a result,the Clergymen wrote a statement that claimed Martin Luther King Jr. to be an extremist. Martin Luther King Jr. responds to the clergymen’s statement while residing in Birmingham jail by writing a letter using the ethical, emotional, and logical appeals to defend his actions. Martin Luther King Jr. uses the emotional appeal most often than any other appeal and using it to his advantage, he makes it extremely effective in persuading the reader. He uses emotional appeal in many ways throughout his â€Å"letter from Birmingham Jail.† In one of the ways, he uses strong words as one of the most effective ways to relate to the reader and make them feel connected to him. He mentions in his letter that â€Å"When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters.† Words such as vicious lynch, drown, hate-filled, curse, kick, and kill are all strong words that persuade a negative picture in the readers mind. Such examples he uses to define the evil acts of segregation appeals to the reader as unjust and unfair. King uses most of his emotional appeals from midway through the letter and keeps us ing it until the end. King relates himself to the audience, the clergymen, and shows the similarities ... ...my own hometown, like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid† to show how they both were compelled to carry out a message one being the gospel of Jesus Christ and the latter being human equality (p.61). By comparing himself to historical figures he makes numbers of ethical appeals and he builds up the author’s character. His use of great leaders can have a great influence in the reader and have an effect on the emotions of the reader. Martin Luther King Jr. makes excellent use of all three of Aristotle’s appeals to respond to the clergymen’s accusations. However, he took most advantage of the emotional appeal in order to move the reader and to be able to capture the attention of his audience. Dr. King was one of the greatest speakers in history. He was able to move millions of people with his powerful speeches. Once again, he is successful.