Brookhim 1

Saman Brookhim
Professor Fox
Writing 102
23 April 2012
Reasoning with the Unreasonable: Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King
President of the Southern Christian Leadership, Martin Luther King Jr., in his letter,
Letter from Birmingham Jail asserted that justice was not going to be given to those that did
not have it if they patiently waited for those who had the power to take action. Mr. Kings
purpose was to support his actions to the religious leaders of the South and more importantly the
white moderate, and cite similarities with other groups that fought for justice. He employs a
respectful attitude and logical reasoning in order to persuade people from the white moderate and
other religious officials to realize that it was time to fight for justice and that direct action was
the best method to obtain justice.
Mr. King opens his letter with a lot of flattering phrases in order to emphasize the amount
of respect he has for the men that wrote him the letter. He begins his letter by stating that he
rarely answers criticism, but since the men that wrote the letter are of good will and their
criticisms are sincerely set forth that he would take the time to do so (1896). In turn, this
establishes ethos to the audience in order to further persuade his audience to take his side on the
side of equality and justice. Similarly, he uses the words brother and sister as a sign of
respect. When he addresses his audience with phrases such as my Christian and Jewish
brothers he is establishing a respect where all men are on the same level (1901). This has the
opposite affect of when, as Mr. King describes it, your first name becomes nigger and your
middle name becomes boy (however old you are) (1899). These were acceptable terms to use

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when referring to any person of African American decent and used to degrade and humiliate
blacks because they were seen as inferior. Mr. King takes the complete opposite stance and
makes clear that he wants everybody to be treated equally, no matter what ethnicity or religion
they are. Even when Mr. King assesses the cooperation of the religious leaders and white
moderate he does not take an accusatory tone or scold them in any way. Instead he uses phrases
like gravely disappointed and I wish you had so that he would not be portrayed in a negative
way by what he says. He concludes his letter by apologizing for its length and if I have said
anything in this letter that is an understatement of the truth (1907). This further establishes a
respectful relationship between Mr. King and the audience in order to make evident that his
argument is not based on emotion but on logical reasoning and what every other suppressed
group sought out to achieve when they were being dealt with unjustly.
Mr. King shifts his focus from appealing to ethos towards his main goal of persuading the
religious leaders that wrote him the letter he is addressing and especially the white moderate that
direct action was the logical next step. He describes that before he promotes the use of direct
action there are requirements that have to be met. Mr. King affirms, In any nonviolent campaign
there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive,
negotiation, self-purification, and direct action (1897). He illustrated that the racial injustice in
Birmingham is extremely evident and that there was no doubt that any person could see its
effects. Mr. King provided an example of negotiations that were made with shop owners but then
describes how the attempt was met with lies, As the weeks and months unfolded, we realized
that we were the victims of a broken promise. The signs remained (1897). Mr. King addressed
how he has gone through each step and it has proven ineffective at bringing about justice but
instead was just met with broken promises. He has drawn out for his audience that he does not

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use direct action without going through a series of more peaceful methods and by doing so he
gives his argument, that direct action is the only alternative action, more credibility.
He further proves that direct action will be the best method by comparing the current
status of African Americans to how historically other groups with similar injustices won their
fight for justice. Many whites accepted that African Americans should fight for justice but could
not condone his extremist methods (1902).
Was not Jesus an extremist in love? Love your enemies, bless them that curse you,
pray for them that despitefully use you. Was not Amos an extremist for justice? Let
justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. Was not Thomas
Jefferson an extremist? We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal" (1902)
He provides many examples of how even prophets and presidents are considered extremists
and implies that because they were extremists on the side of justice that they were praised. These
examples make his argument more credible to his audience because they are examples based in
the religion what most white moderates at this time believe and American history, which relates
to any person living in the United States. These examples further prove to his audience that direct
action has always been used and that African Americans are just in using this tool to obtain their
inalienable rights as human beings.
He further establishes the necessity of obtaining justice by appealing to the emotions of
the white moderate and the religious leaders. He describes the frustration and agony that every
African American realizes when they are told to wait because the term has become
synonymous with never and the hardships they face on a day to day basis does not support the
notion that they should wait any longer.

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when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro,
living constantly at tiptoe stance, never knowing what to expect next, and plagued with
inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of
nobodyness -- then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait (1899)
Mr. King lists the adversity that African Americans face every day and implies that blacks have
developed a sense of nobodyness which causes them to strive for equality. He also asserts that
because whites do not share this feeling that it is difficult for them to understand the urgency of
African Americans to obtain justice in equality. These examples appeal to the pathos of readers
because they allow them to get a glimpse of what hardships blacks are facing and maybe come to
realize that if the roles were reversed they would desire to achieve the same result. Mr. King
successfully appeals to the emotions of the reader in an effort to persuade them to agreeing that
action is necessary in order to achieve justice in equality.
Martin Luther King implements a respectful and logic to convince religious leaders and
the white moderate that direct action is necessary to obtain justice. He describes the people he is
addressing in this letter as brother and sister because he feels that they are equal instead of
humiliating and ridiculing them with words like boy. He establishes a logical process by which
he determines when and if direct action should be taken and qualifies his actions with examples
from religious rhetoric and American history. The reader becomes emotionally aware of the
hardships that African Americans face and hopes to capture a negative reaction from the
audience to the suffering. Mr. King successfully proves that his actions to take direct action in
Birmingham, Alabama were appropriate and inhibits the white moderate from describing them as
agitators or rabble-rousers.