9.9 KiB
Text Title: MLK Letter from Birmingham Jail
Name(s): Angel Cedillo
TYPE OF DISCOURSE (is it a letter, essay, book excerpt, speech, academic article, news article, public speech, other) |
YOUR ANSWER: Letter (argumentative and persuasive) | EVIDENCE: The letter was written as a direct response to the clergymen while King was jailed in Birmingham. |
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SPEAKER (what do you know about the author and his/her qualifications to discuss this topic?) |
YOUR ANSWER: Martin Luther King Jr., civil right leader and minister | EVIDENCE: He was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and led nonviolent civil rights protests |
CONTEXT/HISTORY (Explain the cultural or historical atmosphere that inspired this speaker to compose this text. How is this text relevant to the time period?) |
YOUR ANSWER: Letter was written in 1963 during the Civil Rights Movement after King was jailed for protesting segregation in Brimingham | EVIDENCE: Bimingham banned protests; King was arrested and later wrote this letter in respone to the public’s criticism from white clergymen. |
AUDIENCE (what can be inferred about the specific group of people intended for this piece?) |
YOUR ANSWER: White religious leaders and the American pubilc | REASONING: He addresses “My dear fellow clergymen” and responds to their published letter. |
MAIN SUBJECT (in a word or a phrase: politics, personal identity, science, technology, pop culture, gender issues, social justice, geography, language, environmental issues, civil rights, womanhood, war and peace, other…) |
YOUR ANSWER: This text is mainly about Civil rights and social justice |
EVIDENCE: The text focuses on segregation, racial injustice and eqaulity under the law |
THESIS (what is the speaker’s claim about this subject?) |
YOUR ANSWER: The speaker argues that nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience are necessary to confront with these unjust laws |
EVIDENCE: King explains that unjust laws must be challenged and that waiting only allows the injustice to continue. |
PURPOSE (What was this text intended to achieve? To inform, to persuade, to praise, to oppose, to criticize, to examine, to encourage, to ridicule, to warn, to explore, other…) |
To persuade King trys to convince readers that civil disobedience is morally and logically justified |
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TEXT STRUCTURE What general text structure is used? Problem/Solution, Cause/Effect, Chronological Order Narrative, Compare/Contrast, Description from Smaller to Larger, or a combination of several structures?) |
YOUR ANSWER: Combination of problem/soultion and cause/effect | EVIDENCE AND EXPLANATION: He explains the problems of segregation, its effects and nonviolent protest as the solution. |
LITERARY/RHETORICAL DEVICES (what devices were used, and what effect did they intend to produce? Anaphora, oxymoron, hyperbole, pun, metaphor, simile, juxtaposition, diction, idiom, parallelism, rule of 3, syntax, personification, symbolism, euphemism, emotional language, alliteration, rhetorical question, zoom in/out, facts/stats, other…) Effects can be: to highlight, establish credibility, elicit an emotional response, prove, draw attention to, offer a vivid illustration of…, etc) |
1. Logo - “We have waited for more than 340 years for out constitutional and God-given rights.” 2. Metaphor - “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. 3. Rhetorical Question - “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” |
1. Uses evidence and reasoning to show waiting has failed. 2. Highlights shared responsibility for justice. 3. Challenges the reader’s reasoning about law and morality. |
TONE (What attitude did the speaker display through language choices? Passionate, angry, intellectual, philosophical, neutral, matter-of-fact, pleading, insistent, humorous, witty, playful, scientific, preachy, calm, analytical, defiant, cynical, harsh, sympathetic, other…) |
YOUR ANSWER(it is most likely to be more than one): Intellectual, passionate, moral, insistent | EVIDENCE AND EXPLANATION (when and why does it shift?): King’s tone is intellectual when he uses logos, with historical facts and cause and effect, to address the clergymen’s arguments. It becomes passionate and insistent when he explains the harm that has been caused through segregation and emphasizes the need for action. |