Essay - Rhetorical Analysis of 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' and the Speech...

Rhetorical Analysis of "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and The Speech the Graduates Didn't Hear"

Analyzing a piece of written text involves a careful study ***** the historical ***** social con***** in which that piece was written. This objective is precisely what rhetorical analysis aims to achieve—that is, to achieve understanding/comprehension and clarity of the message extended in a written text by ********** the important elements of rhe*****ric, namely, the historical and cultural context ***** the piece, purpose of the writer/author, persona, tone, and strategies used by the author, such as language use, appeals, and rhetoric devices (allusions, denotation, connotation, irony, understatement, etc.).

Two arguments presented by Martin Luther King Jr. and Jacob Neusner will be studied in order to determine how the two ********** used the elements of rhetoric to effectively express ***** message and purpose that they want to extend ***** their audiences. The analysis ***** include a thorough discussion of the ***** and cultural context, tone, persona, and rhetorical ***** utilized ***** King and Neusner to establish their stance about black American oppression ***** the futility ***** formal school education amidst the harsh realities of life, ***** expressed by the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and "The ***** the Graduates Didn't *****," respectively. Thus, this paper will conduct a rhetoric*****l ***** of (1) King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to denounce the black ***** oppression of ***** dominantly white American society and (2) Neusner's "The Speech the Graduates ***** Hear" to extend the message of the 'uselessness' of ***** schooling in ***** real world because of its inapplicability and perfectionist ideals (of formal *****).

Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a letter written by M*****rtin ***** King Jr. in 1963, which addresses the accusations of the Alabama clergymen ***** the 'violent' demonstration that he and his organization had conducted. The demonstration is actually a peaceful demonstration ***** aims to protest the prevalence of black ***** oppression ***** discrim*****ation in the society despite legal laws and regulations that declare the black Americans' equality with ***** white Americans. K*****g's main thesis in writing the Birmingham letter is that, racial segregation, or injustice to the black American *****, ***** due ***** the continuous encouragement of ***** ***** American society, particularly the powerful communities in politics and religions. In addressing ***** confronting the problem of injustices among the ***** *****s in the American society, ***** the violence that had happened in Birmingham, and generally, the inequality ***** ***** prejudice happening in his American society, K*****g argues his position by using both m*****al, social, and political references and logic for his ***** to be considered valid ***** agreeable.

King initially started out his letter by confronting the issue that ***** happened in Birmingham. An example ***** the moral arguments King had mentioned in his letter about racial stratification and injustice is this statement: "... I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the eighth century prophets left their little villages and carried ***** "thus saith the Lord" far beyond ***** boundaries of their home