Letter to Birmingham

According to “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” why is King “so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership”?

• King believes that the leaders have become entirely

  absorbed in secular rather than religious concerns.

• King believes that the church has stolen and misused

  donations given by its poorest parishioners.

• King believes that the leaders have not stood up boldly in support of civil rights.

• King believes that the church has nothing relevant to offer to the youth of the 1960s.

What rhetorical device is the following quote most likely an example of?

"When you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading 'white' and 'colored'"

• Ethos

• Pathos

• Logos

What does King mean in lines 37–38 when he says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”?

• All citizens are equally threatened by justice.

• Discrimination does not exist in rural areas.

• All laws are unfair and should be ignored.

• Everyone is affected when one person is hurt.

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.

In his opening paragraph, King says that he rarely pauses to answer criticisms, but he is replying to the clergymen because

• their actions were unwise and untimely.

• their letter shows them to be extremists.

• he believes them to be sincere and good.

• he wants his letter to bring about change.

What is the basis for King’s argument against the idea that he is an outsider who came to Birmingham?

• He was born in Birmingham.

• He has organizational ties in Birmingham.

• He has many relatives in Birmingham.

• He went to college in Birmingham.

King compares himself to early Christian prophets because they

• died fighting for their cause.

• did not submit to unjust laws.

• believed in civil disobedience.

• did not negotiate with enemies.

According to King, the purpose of direct nonviolent action is to

• end the bombings of homes and churches.

• create tension so that people have to confront an issue.

• halt the activities of both merchants and consumers.

• draw the sympathy of the religious community and moderate whites.

What is the main purpose of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'?

• To criticize the federal government

• To defend his actions and promote nonviolent protest

• To praise the Birmingham police

• To request financial support

Which rhetorical device is predominantly used in the phrase 'justice too long delayed is justice denied'?

• Metaphor

• Alliteration

• Antithesis

• Anaphora