Martin Luther King Junior was the most inspirational orator, preacher and thinker America has ever had. All of his writings have been analyzed to study the potential of rhetoric. His rhetoric in the two writings suit the audience in several ways. The tone of King’s writings inspired numerous activists to come together and severely criticize racism and prejudice in America. This paper looks at the comparisons and contrasts between two of Martin Luther’s most outstanding pieces of writing, namely Letter from Birmingham Jail and the I Have a Dream Speech.
The author wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail while he was in detention, to eight of his friends who were clergymen that condemned his actions in Birmingham City (Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1). He later delivered I Have a Dream speech in Washington DC in 1963 to inspire nations to see further than their eyes can look and at the same, demand the end of racial discrimination in a non-violent manner (I Have a Dream, 1).
Similarities
Request for similar civil rights by the government. While comparing the two pieces of writing in regard to demand for civil rights, we see that in both, Martin Luther King called on the authorities to respect the rights of all Americans without favor. King lamented that African Americans were being treated unjustly and that “there have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in this nation” (Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1). In addition to this, the author mentioned that Birmingham was the most racially segregated city in America. King stated that there would never be peace in America until the rights of African Americans are granted (I Have a Dream, 2).
However, the letter suggests that African Americans should have civil rights that are indistinguishable from those of Americans and objects their subordinate position in America. Alternatively, I Have a Dream inspires African Americans to become aware and bring them together in the fight against discrimination based on civil rights. Also, the speech emphasized equality of all Americans regardless of their race, in a convincing way.
Gender Inclusive. Both the letter and speech are not opposed to white people, but rather oppose all people who withhold and reject the privileges of African Americans. Despite experiencing discrimination from white people, Martin Luther King still esteemed the racist state. This was probably because he came to learn that not all whites are racist.
Rhetorical appeal. Both pieces of writing have a similarity in repetition, ethos, logos and pathos. In I Have a Dream, the pathos that stood out was that one day the children of African Americans would be judged not on the basis of their skin color, but “by the content of their character” (I Have a Dream, 5). The quote is emotional since it compels the audience to ensure that their children do not experience racism. King envisions a time when children from diverse racial backgrounds would hold hands together.
Unity. Both pieces of writing call all humans to demand social justice, demand for the defense of the civil liberties of each American and they also explain how to push the government to recognize those rights. These rights include religious freedom, improving the criminal justice system and discrimination based on other issues such as religion or gender. In his speech, King longed for a day when “sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners” would be seated together at one table of brotherhood (Letter from Birmingham Jail, 4). In his letter, King showed the relationship between all humanity.
In the speech, the author says that “…all men are created equal” (I Have a Dream, 4). This encouraged his audience to look past the difficulties they were experiencing at the moment, since according to King, one-day equality would prevail in America. King envisioned a day when oppression and injustice would be replaced with justice and freedom.
Differences
Tone appeals. A letter from Birmingham Jail has a defensive logic and is inspirational in appeal. The author makes appeals towards logos since he is speaking to his colleagues, who are clergymen. Other than that, the
Birmingham letter has more logos, logical appeals, metaphors, parallel construction, allusions and extended metaphors than the I have a dream speech. He talked about the four basic steps of a non-violent campaign (Letter from Birmingham, 1).
Stylistic Devices. The speech I have a Dream has more anaphora, allusions, metaphors and similes than the letter. It also appeals to pathos and ethos, but has less logos compared to the letter. The author tries to convince eight churchmen about his position regarding the movement on civil rights.
The
Letter from Birmingham Jail has a different structure compared to the speech. Martin Luther explains his reasoning well and brings his point straight. In addition to this, the speech’s structure is structured in a way that entertains the audience. The use of figurative language pulls the concentration of the listener to listen to his points. “…We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny” (Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1). Here, the author compared America and its citizens to a ‘garment’ through his idea of ‘interrelatedness’ to portray that irrespective of color all Americans are dependent on each other.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both pieces of writing are quite similar in a lot of aspects and at the same time quite different. Both the speech and the letter consist of a need for similar civil rights to be recognized by the government. In his letter, King takes up a straight forward tone. In the speech I Have a Dream however, his tone is benevolent and persuasive. The Letter from Birmingham Jail is a response to the forcible detention of non-violent protesters. The speech is a realistic answer to the shared cause of equality and freedom.
Works Cited
King, Martin Luther. I Have a Dream: A Speech. Thee Hellbox Press, 1985.
King, Martin Luther, and C. T. Vivian. "Letter from Birmingham jail." (1963).
