Raymond Lee

Professor Yerkes

AP English Language

19 April 2018

Letter from Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis

In Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King criticizes what the current system

of Christianity has become - in particular how far it has deviated from its foundational roots -

and compares the struggle for civil rights to the struggle of early Christians in order to glorify

those who have joined King Jr’s purpose of ending segregation.

In the introductory paragraphs King. Jr prepares his speech by establishing his ethos,

referring to his family lineage of Christianity, the “son, grandson, and grandson of preachers.”

This ensures his subsequent criticism of modern Christianity is purely for the good of the church

itself. King Jr. then goes on to reference the old days of Christianity, when Christians “rejoiced...

suffering for what they believed… a thermostat [transforming society].” However, these

compliments are then juxtaposed with how King now sees the catholic church, a “scarred body”

aligned with conformity, and “thermometer” of “popular opinion.” This apposition emphasizes

how far modern catholicism has deviated from its roots. In addition, King describes the life of

early Christians, perceived as “disturbers of peace… outside agitators” in order to draw a parallel

between the early followers of Christ and the current segregation of African-Americans. After

establishing this analogy, King reminds his audience of how these early Christians eventually

ended unacceptable behavior such as “infanticide” in order allude towards what greatness could

be established by African-Americans if only they were allowed an equal chance to the white

men.
 In the middle section of this excerpt, King’s tone when describing the church changes to

a critical, disapproving tone. He remarks on how the contemporary is only a decrepit shell of

what it used to be, “weak” and “ineffectual.” While not actively advocating for the segregation

of African-Americans, King Jr. points out how the church’s silence still contributes to the status

quo. By attacking the church’s neutral stance, King Jr. also indirectly speaks to all the moderates,

hinting at how a reluctance to act only contributes to the issue. After establishing the

contemporary church as passively active force contributing to segregation, King Jr. adopts the

role of interpreting God, stating how His judgement will be upon the church “as never before.”

This is ironic in that the church has always been the interpreter of God. By replacing the church,

King Jr. essentially discredits all authority and power of the contemporary church, even going so

far as to threaten the loss of “loyalty of millions.” This middle section is ended with King Jr’s

prediction for the future of the church, an “irrelevant social club” which young people “outright

disgusting.” This attack is especially effective, as King had already taken note of the church’s

concern with “popular opinion” in earlier paragraphs. In doing so, King utilizes the church’s

superficial nature to his own advantage- to convince the contemporary church to change.

In the last paragraph of this excerpt, King shifts from differentiating the new and old

adherents of Christianity to religiously glorifying those who have joined King’s purpose. He

thanks God for those “noble souls” that have “broken loose from the paralyzing chains of

conformity,” thus portraying the ones who support his activism as enlightened by God himself.

He also refers to the road to freedom as “torturous”, completing his analogy between early

Christians during the time of Christ and present-day advocates against conformity. This also

establishes a second implied analogy: the “people in power” that rejected Christians become

synonymous to the “modern, organized followers of Christianity “inextricably bound to the

status quo.” This comparison ultimately allows King Jr. to establish the paradox that modern

Christians whom are unwilling to join King Jr’s struggle are just like the rejectors of Christianity

thousands of years ago. King Jr wraps up this last paragraph with the employment of imagery to

summarize and simplify his ideal: the “dark mountain of disappointment” representing the

conforming nature of modern Christianity, and the “tunnel of hope” for those advocating for

change - in both the current state of Christianity, and the current corruption of American

Society’s Segregation.

Ultimately, Martin Luther King was able to criticize the current system of Christianity -

in particular how far it has deviated from its foundational roots - and compare the struggle for

civil rights to the struggle of early Christians in order to glorify those who have joined King Jr’s

purpose of ending segregation and create a sense of urgency for the contemporary churches to

change their ways.