Critical Analysis of Martin Luther King JR.s Letter from the Birmingham Jail wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail" at the height of the nonviolent protest movement in the United States. The letter captures King's ability to lead through the use of language. throughout the latter half of the 1950s and most of the 60s, King demonstrated his ability to employ classic rhetorical strategies in his speeches and writings. While King uses a variety of these tactics in his Birmingham letter, his ethos and ethical views anchor his uncertain readers, enabling them to take a stand against unfounded persecution.Ethos is exceedingly effective when writings reflect that the author is a person of sound sense, high moral character and benevolence. When an authors writings reflect these three things, the reader develops an intimate trust and respect for him/her. Within the first three paragraphs of Kings letter, he establishes these things about himself. In paragraph three King says, More basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. This statement is powerful in a ethical sense and it affects the reader dramatically. Most importantly, this statement establishes that King is an ethical person of the highest caliber willing to sacrifice his own personal freedoms in the defense of justice and liberty. King further demonstrates his sound sense, high moral character and benevolence when he stresses that time and time again, he and his constituents have readily consented to compromises and common logic. King uses this fact and a variety of other tactics to establish ethical credibility. John Henry Newman says that, [A skilled writer has] the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion. King has a strategic method for using ethics and credibility to persuade his readers at every point in his letter. At times King rationalizes and supports his own opinions with the statements of famous heroes. In paragraph si...
