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  • Essay / King's Technical Analysis - 675

    The report of the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” a letter addressed to eight Alabama clergymen, describes King's response to their audience. As King explained his response, the Birmingham Jail jailed him for failing to follow a court order to end his protests against segregation. In his rebuttal of their public statement, King mastered the art of argument. King's mastery of argumentation shines through when examining his ability to address all sides of an argument, his ability to use analogies, and his easily understandable repetition. King's diction illustrates his ability to include all sides of an argument. When he argues, his first argument is to justify the one he is found to be wrong about in order to ensure full understanding. When King rephrases his opponents “in your statement,” he is referring to the original source of the controversy that led him to write his argument. This helps the reader understand exactly what they are basing their argument on, leaving no room for misconceptions. He first addresses their argument, then proves his own to be wrong. By first acknowledging his opponents' point of view: "you're expressing a lot of anxiety," he expresses his own opinion of theirs. By showing both sides of the argument, King eliminates any possibility of misunderstanding. Another aspect of considering all sides of one's argument can be seen when instead of using one's own opinion to deflect the argument; King uses the words of prestigious people. When King says, “I agree with St. Augustine,” he shows that his view remains not only his own, but also the belief of a very famous person. By repeating the words of Saint Augustine, King demonstrates the greatest reason. His rivals in this way cannot minimize his argument because King shares the same view on more respect... middle of paper ... certain laws and obeying others? Then, using the same words to express his opinion: "there are two types of laws", King explains his point of view very clearly. By revealing words in two different forms, such as “privileged groups rarely give up their privileges,” King demonstrates the extremity of his point. Because not only are groups “privileged,” but they also have “privileges” that extend and explain how “privileged” they are. By using the same word to explain the word itself, King shows that he understood the explainable skill of writing. King demonstrates his mastery of an argument in his ability to see and use all sides of an argument, describe analogies for better understanding, and create repetitions to broaden the understanding of his argument. King's obvious writing skills are seen throughout his work, but shine brightest in his letter from Birmingham..