Parallelism In Letters From Birmingham Jail Essay Example

Martin Luther King Jr. twists the perspective of his audience -- Southern clergymen -- to create antithetic parallelism in “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Consequently, King fabricates logos as he urges African-Americans to “demand justice” from their oppressors, an issue that “directly affects” everyone across the nation: not just those in specific areas. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King implements antithesis -- along with his background as a minister -- to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the Southern clergymen, as he attempts to further diverge the two diametric rationales; thus, he creates logos as he appeals to the audience’s logical side and urges African-Americans to act punctual in their fight against injustice, prompted by the imprudent words of the clergy.

Moreover, King juxtaposes contradictory statements to bolster the legitimacy of his argument against injustice -- in stark contrast to the racist beliefs held by the clergy -- which creates logos that he later capitalizes on to instill celerity within the audience. Furthermore, as King attests to the significance of the Birmingham injustices, he utilizes antithesis to foster logos: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”; “Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly” (515). Here, King combines divergent interpretations of justice to demonstrate the gravity of the “injustice” that he confronted in Birmingham. In this way, King juxtaposes his perspective with that of the clergy to demonstrate the depravity of his “oppressors”. In this example, King employs antithesis to highlight the logical structure and urgency of his argument against inequity, which allows him to establish logos. Likewise, King creates logos as he employs another antithetical statement that demonstrates the timeliness of his argument: “Never voluntarily given by the oppressor … must be demanded by the oppressed”; “Jet-like speed … horse-and-buggy pace” (518). Here, King offers disparate hypotheticals to illustrate the necessity for brevity in his acts. In this way, King asserts that African-Americans must act with “jet-like speed” to gain their independence. In this example, King manufactures logos through the creation of antithetic parallelism, as the structure of his essay provides justification for his argument against the postponement of justice. Additionally, as he confesses to the clergy, King employs antithesis to create a rational structure that fosters logos: “I agree … I can’t agree”; “small in quantity … big in quality” and “shattered dreams … hope” (521 & 524-525). Here, King concedes that the clergy acts with the virtuous goal of justice in mind, which allows him to establish his argument against the manner in which they seek equality. In this way, King juxtaposes the unscrupulous principles of the clergy with his righteous beliefs to highlight the “threat” of “injustice”, which he seeks to combat with “hope”. In this example, King implements logos to create a cohesive argument that appeals to the rational side of his audience: Southern clergymen. Therefore, as King fabricates antithetic parallelism, he constructs logos and persuades the audience to take prompt action against “injustice” through the careful juxtaposition of inverse statements.

As King disproves the arguments of the white clergymen, he utilizes antithesis to create logos; furthermore, he calls the reader to take action against “injustice” across the nation. Correspondingly, King urges the clergy to reconsider the “horse-and-buggy pace” of their methods of action through his logos. Ultimately, King crafts antithetic parallelism to establish a logical structure that emphasizes logos in his argument: the timeliness of justice.