Letter from Birmingham Jail

In his opening paragraph, King admits there is a paradox (something that seemingly contradicts itself) in his argument. What is the paradox?

• The actions of King and his followers were unwise and untimely.

• Their letter shows them to be extremists while fighting for moral action.

• He urges both obedience to and the deliberate breaking of the law.

• King wants his letter to bring about change by fighting for peace.

What is the basis for King's argument in "Letter"?

• He was justifying the protests happening in Birmingham

• There is a distinction between Just and Unjust Laws

• King is defining the laws which he felt were not broken

• He is citing Thoreau's "Honest Man" argument

What is an Unjust Law?

• A code inflicted by a majority on a minority

• A code inflicted upon a minority that the minority had no part in enacting

• A state of disorder due to lack of authority

• A code inflicted upon a minority, by a majority, that the minority did not want, but had to opportunity to oppose

Which rhetorical device (persuasion) is featured in purple?

• Pathos

• Ethos

• Logos

• Kairos

Which rhetorical device (persuasion) is featured below in PINK?

• Pathos

• Ethos

• Logos

• Anaphora

 Why was Martin Luther King arrested and put in jail?

• He refused to pay income taxes. 
• The U.S. President felt threatened by his actions.  
• He participated in illegal fundraising.  
• He instructed people to disobey unjust laws.  

What rhetorical device (persuasion) does King use when he states, "Throughout the state of Alabama all types of conniving methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters and there are some counties without a single Negro registered to vote despite the fact that the Negro constitutes a majority of the population. Can any law set up in such a state be considered democratically structured?

• kairos

• logos

• pathos

• ethos

What political assumptions lie behind King's advocacy of civil disobedience? (You can select more than one response for this question)

• forethought

• love of the principles

• openness

• willingness to bear the penalty

King's final sentence, "I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law", employs what type of rhetorical appeal?

• pathos

• logos

• ethos

• kairos

What is the argument in this letter?

• He was defending the laws already in place.

• He was fighting for woman's rights.

• Defending both his right and his moral grounds for organizing nonviolent protest activities in support of the civil rights of African Americans.

• He defends that view of breaking laws when those laws are unjust.