King’s tone in the opening paragraph was respectful and courteous. There is irony in the distance between the clergy and himself. Although he is well-known and admired, they were trying to look down on him
King arranges paragraphs 2-4 in the order he does because he describes that first, he has a job to do, second he is acting out the role of a minister, third he is behaving as a patriot. Reversing the order would change the impact because it would not clearly get across his point which was that he was not an outsider and he was committed to justice.
King’s allusions to biblical figures and events appeal to pathos because any religious reference evokes an emotional response. They also appeal to ethos because his audience is Christian and Jewish so their familiarities to figures and events attest to his knowledge and understanding of the sacred text.
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King’s goes into such detail to explain the basic principles and process of the nonviolent protest movement to imply that campaign is the antithesis of protests that act without regard for the consequences.
The effect of the juxtaposition in sentence 2 paragraph 4 is to appeal to the patriotic spirit of Americans who desire the best for their country. This also serves to imply the partnership outside the United States that show that not all independence movements have been peaceful.
King arranges the “when” clauses in the order he does because King emphasizes time and urgency with the aid of the repetition of “when”. The accumulation of clauses enumerating the injustices African Americans have endured.Overall, King uses vivid element to paint what are in truth a sequence of vignettes in these subordinate clauses.
Four of the rhetorical strageties used in paragraph 25 are, first, parallel sentence structure and repitition of “Isn’t.” He makes allusions to Socrates and biblical events.When asking a rhetorical question he makes an analogy to tie in. He uses repitition of the word “precipitate,” in two cases “precipitate violence,” to emphasize his cause and effect argument. His last sentence is an example of antithesis.
One of the several chief rhetorical strategies used in paragraph 31 would be irony in using the term “extremist” as defamatory. He also asks a sequence of rhetorical questions that use a parallel structure of an interrogative followed by a quotation that implies an answer. He makes allusions to biblical figures and patriots. He uses repition of the word “extremists” so often that it becomes as common. The final sentence is an example of an understatement.
Kings waits until paragraph 45 to adress the commendable behavior of the Birmigham police in “preventing violence” because one critism that he can not agree on is the job that the Birmigham police have done. He also believes and states that the clergy are wrong. If he would have been direct he could have jeopardized his reasonable approach. By the end, he has a stronger position, but wasn’t seen as confrontational by his audience.
The light and dark imagery occurs in biblical images throughout the passage. There is also a pattern of high and and low throughout, examples are shown below.
Paragraph 10: “dark depths of prejudice . . . majestic heights of understanding”
Paragraph 14: “abyss of despair”
Paragraph 24: “like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must beopened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light . . .”
Paragraph 32: “the disease of segregation”
Paragraph 43: “the dark mountain of disappointment”
Paragraph 50: “dark clouds of racial prejudice . . . deep fog . . . radiant stars”
The effect of this repition to emphasize and have more of an impact towards the audience. He uses it as a strategy to encourage the audience to remember and respond. In paragraph 44, he repeats the phrases “if” and “I have no”.
The three final paragraphs as King’s conclusion I believe are rhetorically effective.
