MLK LFABJ Student Questions & Rhetorical Terms

In what way does King say one should break an unjust law?

  Appeal reason, by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert  

similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

"Isn't this like condemning Jesus because his... devotion to God's will precipitated... crucifixion?"

What was the main reason why Dr. King was in Birmingham?

What is being used here? “I beg you to forgive me…. I beg God to forgive me.”

What is Dr. King's tone when referring to the White moderate?

Greek for “character.” Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy on a given topic. 

“On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings I have looked at the South’s beautiful churches” is what?

the use of stylistic devices that reveal an author's attitude about a subject

 "Just as Socrates felt it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so individuals could rise from the bondage..."

Identify the tone: "all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent"

the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences

Which best describes the tone of the first paragraph of Letter From Birmingham Jail?

What was the author's purpose repeating the word "extremist" through paragraphs 30-36?

Rhetorical device? "..that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation"

In the context of Dr. King’s letter what does the word “extremist” mean?

Identify the device:"[T]he Negro's great stumbling block... is not the... Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate"

Which of the followingis not one of four basic steps?

areference to someone or something outside of the text (literary works, famous individuals, historical events)

Why did Martin Luther King claim the churches in Birmingham were a disappointed?

"So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to city hall; let him go on freedom rides"

When King mentions famous people in U.S. history, he accomplishes appealing to which rhetorical appeals?

"Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the U.S. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known."