For my final essay, I chose a literary analysis of "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. In his essay, Martin Luther King Jr. uses many effective techniques to support his beliefs against racism. King's letter is very persuasive because he makes people imagine themselves in a similar situation. Martin Luther King Jr. did not want a system that would treat his people or people of any color, as second class citizens. He wanted equality for people everywhere and said that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". .
Martin Luther King Jr. felt that the best way to liberate African-Americans and gain rights for them was to use nonviolent forms of protest. He wanted to eliminate the use of violence and establish more effective ways of communicating and interacting so that changes could be made. Martin Luther King Jr. felt that direct action would eventually have to lead to negotiations. Dr. King's use of nonviolence also put him and his followers on the moral high ground and made the brutality of racists very apparent. This technique showed people that King felt so strongly that he was willing to suffer for what he believed in.
Dr. King also shows that he is in touch with the views of his audience, which makes a greater impact on his readers. Marin Luther King does this by using anecdotes to make his readers see the injustice that would continue if there were no changes. This helps his audience feel that they are a very powerful part of this issue and that they can make a difference. Another technique Marin Luther King uses in his writing is imagery because it makes the audience visualize what he has seen. He also uses the innocence of children and family values by telling stories about children. Marin Luther King then goes on to explain about how racism forces a young child to grow up to feel inferior and to begin to hate just because of having darker skin.
Marin Luther King also addresses people's feelings on the issues that are surrounding Birmingham.