Effective Argument

He addresses Clergyman who question his reasons for being in Birmingham and disobeying the law.
He writes the letter from inside the Birmingham jail in an effort to explain his actions and thoughts behind them.
I feel the letter starts out respectively and in moderate tone and begins to get more emotional and loud as he writes. He finishes the same way he starts.

In his letter he starts out with an explanation of his purpose for his actions and reasons for being in Birmingham. His thoughts are calm as he writes about the opportunity to talk with Birmingham's economic leaders. A step to him, in the right direction. This is his logos (appeal to logic). He states that they have tried to keep their views and beliefs peaceful but have had too many broken promises. He clearly uses every appeal in this letter. Just a few examples he uses pathos when he tries to explain to his 6 year old why colored people aren't allowed in certain places and why whites are so mean to coloreds. And certainly my favorite in his letter is just one example of ethos, "A law is unjust if inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected?" There are so many in his letter to even mention. He uses slippery slope on page 164 stating that if their nonviolent direct action is not supported, millions of Negroes will out of frustration and despair seek security in black-nationalist ideologies causing a racial nightmare. His letter is excellent and full of logic, emotion and ethics. I've read this letter before and can honestly say I liked it better the second time around. I believe things would surely have been different had his life not been taken so abruptly, as I feel about JFK. Enjoyed this very much and very effective.

Bobbi Irwin