The Letter from Birmingham Jail Outline

Letter from Birmingham Jail Outline

I. Logos (Logic)
a. MLK uses careful reasoning and logic in support of every point he makes, especially when he is refuting a point made by the white clergymen.
b. He uses more than one example and supports each statement he says with appropriate use of his own knowledge.
c. Ex. On pg. 743, MLK includes many historical figures and other examples to justify the difference between a just and unjust law.
II. Pathos (Emotion)
a. MLK uses pathos throughout his letter as he explains his logic and reasoning for the points he makes.
b. He uses descriptive wording, painting a picture in the minds of his readers, and putting us in the situation he speaks of.
c. Ex. On pg. 742, MLK talks about how painful it is seeing his daughter cry because he told her that the amusement park she wanted to go to was closed to blacks.
III. Ethos (Character)
a. MLK does an amazing job keeping his composure throughout the letter.
b. He expresses his position and view of a difficult situation being faced, while also including appropriate logic.
c. Ex. On pg. 751, MLK expresses how he has no fear or despair of the future even though he may currently be in jail. He also uses ethos in explain the character of the demonstrators on pg. 740.
IV. Diction
a. MLK uses well organized and descriptive wordings when describing something important/meaningful, whether he is using logos or pathos.
b. He uses aggressive diction, but very assertive, and slowly calms down into pathos maintaining his composure (ethos).
c. Ex. On pg. 753, MLK uses the phrases “the deep fog of misunderstanding”, “fear-drenched”, “radiant stars”, and “scintillating beauty” to explain how he hopes for good to come out of the bad occurring. He uses an extended metaphor that starts with deep fog and improves to scintillating beauty.
V. Syntax
a. Rhetorical Questioning: MLK anticipates the argument of the other person and shuts it up before the other person can find any invalidation of him and call him a hypocrite.
i. Ex. “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches, etc? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” (740).
b. Juxtaposition: MLK compares differences among society. In other words, what is our situation next to what would be considered less progressive.
i. Ex. On pg. 742, MLK compares Asia and Africa gaining political independence to how slow we are getting a cup of coffee.
c. Periodic Sentence: MLK arranged his punctuation (commas and semicolons) in a way that we will feel just what he felt saying the same thing. It also gives the last sentence the authority it deserves.
i. Ex. On pg. 742, MLK expresses pathos in an extended paragraph, and then finally ends with a pause, and a last statement. This demonstrates his exhaustion, and how important that last sentence is through our own mouths as we read the same paragraph ending in exhaustion, and giving the last sentence a great emphasis.
d. Inversion: MLK forces one to stop and think to consider a common belief from a new prospective. In other words, altering somebody’s expectations.
i. Ex. “One has not only a legal but moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” (743).
e. Flushed Metaphor: MLK uses numerous metaphors to get his point across with much more emotion (pathos) than simply stating his opinion.
i. Ex. “from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity” (746).
f. Parallelism: MLK uses the same phrase in the beginning of a series of sentences to put emphasis on what the point is.
i. Ex. “We must” (746). “I don’t believe you would” & “old Negro women, and young Negro girls […] old Negro men, and young Negro boys” (751).
g. Cumulative Sentence: MLK uses more information in the beginning of his sentence to make his argument stronger, the opposite of a Periodic Sentence.
i. Ex. “I say it as a minister […] life shall be lengthened” (748).