Developing your ideas

Instructions: Copy and paste the following text into a document or create a document that contains the same information.

Writing Prompt

What stylistic elements does King use to influence his readers? After reading and analyzing “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” write an essay in which you answer the question and analyze structure and language in his text, providing 3 or more examples to illustrate and clarify your analysis. What conclusion can you draw about the power of this text?

 

1. Copy and paste the introduction of your essay. If your instructor suggested any revisions to your introduction, please make your revisions and include in the space below.

“We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal”. It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. But I am sure that, if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal”. Sadly he was correct. The barbarian’s ways of the past have not change, only overthrow by new but equally harsh inhumanities. King mentioned some history examples of horror, like the WWII and Hitler, or the Hungarian freedom fighters in Hungary, or the repressed Christian faith or any faith at all in a communist country. African-American were being slather, massacre, torture and with no civil rights to support them. He uses these citations to claim justice for his color brothers. . King was hoping to appeal to his clergymen friends’ emotions through the olden days and together wreck the wall of racism taking action now. Martin Luther King Jr. applies metaphor and imagery to indoctrinate and cajole congregation leaders regarding the adversity, unhappiness and degradation black men suffer, furthermore, exhort them to accompany him in his anti-racism battle

 

Write

 

2. Using what you have learned about evidence, explanation, quotations, and paraphrase, write your body paragraphs in the space below.

You will need to include at least one of each of the following:

a direct quotation introduced with a complete sentence and a colon

a direct quotation introduced with a signaling phrase and a comma

a direct quotation that is introduced and explained in one sentence

a paraphrased example        

an embedded quotation

 

 I think that the most relevant rhetorical structure King practices in the letter is allusion. Allusion is very adequate because it concedes the audience to build reciprocity in their consciousness. The reason he does this is to state openly the injustices history had through time and how it is repeating again, like when he mentioned Birmingham and its fraudulent laws. He displays satire of Birmingham and braces the debate of honorable and dishonorable law: “We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany”. King is not frightened for saying the truth. He declared his principles openly and passionately, like when he says, “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience”. Once again he attached the allusion to his quarrel so his words of rectitude and justness can be heard.  In this paragraph his tone becomes angrier and more vehement, making it sound like an intimate association with his clergyman fellows, exposing his feelings of despair.  King illustrates in his letter that the period of time we have now, is for all men to unite and do supreme good.  Besides, he specifies to stop the altercation, not letting the destructive and villainous discrimination interfere with the peace, love and justice that men need so much: ” I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice, and that when they fail to do this they become dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress …”. King expresses how much hostility white people have against black people, and because of this they are blind of hatred; therefore, accusing them of criminal actions that do not really exist. “We who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension”. Martin Luther King, Jr. makes known in his letter his indignation about the inexcusable, improper and discriminatory course of action white people takes against blacks, and vehemently expresses his wishes of love and peace for all men: “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

 

Locate

3. Within the body paragraphs of your essay, locate a direct quotation that is introduced with a complete sentence and a colon. Copy and paste it here. Be sure to include the entire sentence that contains the quotation as well as the explanation sentence(s) that comes after it.

King cited some history facts to specify his outrage: “We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany”. He wants to transmit his black community indignity to the clericals

 

4. Within the body paragraphs of your essay, locate a direct quotation that is introduced with a signaling phrase and a comma. Copy and paste it here. Be sure to include the entire sentence that contains the quotation as well as the explanation sentence(s) that comes after it.

King writes passionately and truefully to let them know that they are just men, and men have limits: “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience”.

 

5. Within the body paragraphs of your essay, locate a direct quotation that is introduced and explained in one sentence. Copy and paste it here.

King says: “We who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension”. By this he means that even though black people are fighting in a peaceful bloodless way the prejudiced white citizens insist turning the other way around and pretend that nothing is happening

 

6. Within the body paragraphs of your essay, locate one paraphrased example and copy and paste it here.

Martin Luther King, Jr. makes known in his letter his indignation about the inexcusable, improper and discriminatory course of action white people takes against blacks, and vehemently expresses his wishes of love and peace for all men.

 

7. Within the body paragraphs of your essay, locate one embedded quotation and copy and paste it here.

“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.”

 

Reflect

8. What are you most proud of in this draft of your body paragraphs?

Thanks to all the examples, practice and explanation I had, it was easily done. I am very proud about that. I really thought this assignment was going to be very hard, but to my surprise things were very clear and smooth for such a complicated, delicate theme that is racism. This was a touching subject and it is very sad to have lost such a brilliant spirit as Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

 9. What questions do you have about how to use examples or explanations in your writing?

I really do not have any questions. I had a lot of groundwork to help me out; all in all I had no problems.

 

 

 

 

 

Good job getting this submitted and for working so hard! You’ve done some great work here, though there are a couple of areas you may want to look at again. First, be sure to eliminate “I” from your paragraphs, as we want to keep this a formal statement and not an opinion at all. Then, add a paragraph break in your paragraphs under question2. Finally, review questions 4, 5, and 7, as these are not used correctly, as the question requires. 

Here are a couple of helpful videos that may help with these: 
http://learn.flvs.net/educator/common/Course/English1/HelpSite/v12Videos/Citeevidencefromthetextinyourownwords–Lesson5of7CommonCoreStandardRL.4.1.mp4 

http://learn.flvs.net/educator/common/Course/English1/HelpSite/v12Videos/BlendingQuotations.mp4