Weekly Blog #6: Response to "Letters from Birmingham Jail"

I absolutely loved this piece.

This letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during his time spent in Birmingham Jail was by far my favorite of the writings we've read from the course-reader thus far in this class. Just by reading the first couple of paragraphs I was able to conclude that I would enjoy the rest of the writing.

Normally, when we are assigned a reading for this course, I start the piece, take a break, resume reading, go to bed, get up the next morning and finish the reading. With this work, however, I could not stop reading. It was not just the subject matter either (the thing I assumed would be most likely to keep me interested in the piece). He made so many great points, used such masterful vocabulary, referenced so many relevant people and situations, and made such consummate use of rhetorical strategies while remaining respectful and level-headed throughout the letter that I just couldn't put it down.

It's hard for me to pick out specific portions of Dr. King's work as my favorite parts because I was blown away by the piece as a whole. Primarily, I thought that it was great that King was obviously very conscious of his audience when writing this letter. He was not only thoroughly courteous (it's easy to get caught up and flustered in an argument as serious at this one!) but also sure to make allusions to religious scenarios and values when writing to these bishops, reverends, and rabbi.

Still, I also really enjoyed that his writing could easily have been relatable for anyone around during that time (and even for people today). King included an insanely powerful collection of pathos and ethos in his letter without sounding like he expected pity and apology--he made it clear that his main goal was change.

He also made great use of definition. Through offering explanations like those he provided about just and unjust laws ("A just law is a man-made code that squares with moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with moral law."), King was able to strengthen his argument about why the non-violent breaking of some laws was not only defensible but necessary.

Overall, I don't think that I could possibly say enough positive things about this piece of writing. I can't believe that someone was able to write this while in jail! That's amazing to me. Everything from his fantastic metaphors/analogies to his undeniably great references (that were expertly blended into his writing, might I add) was brilliant and really succeeded in making persuasive points. I feel like I should have some criticism for this piece, but I simply can't think of any. It was wonderful.