Essay 1 - Jessie
In his book, Strength to Love, Martin Luther King wrote“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at a time of challenge and controversy.” This theme, and writing style, stays true in much of King's writing from the nineteen sixties. His writing focus was calling the average, everyday people who preferred comfort to change, to action. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King makes use of similes, metaphors, and formal structure to elicit an emotional response from his audience, compelling them to action to fight against racial injustice.
King’s use of similes bring vivid imagery to the mind, encouraging readers to think on how similar the actual situation is to the comparison. King uses similes when he writes:
Like a boil that can never be cured as long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its pus-flowing ugliness to the
natural medicines of air and light, injustice must likewise be exposed, with all of the tension its exposing creates, to the
light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.
Because boils must be exposed and seen in order to be cured, if they are hidden away and never treated, nothing will change, or it will get worse. King applies the same idea to racial injustice, in that it simply can’t be ignored, and has been covered up “like a boil” in the past. The formal structure of the sentence heavily implies that this is not a laughing matter. King isn’t making a casual reference to a friend, he’s speaking about something he feels is life or death.
Similarly, the metaphors King uses brought light to the unjust situation that African Americans were in at the time. King uses a metaphor when he says, “I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait.” Segregation doesn’t actually shoot “stinging darts” at those it affects, but to the victims of it, they feel as though they’ve been shot. King is implying that those who have never had to go to the back of the bus or use a different bathroom would never understand the pain the victims feel. King asks, why didn’t the church speak up to help the exhausted men and women who came from “dark dungeons of complacency” to protest for their rights? African Americans haven’t been really stuck in prisons all their lives, but legally and emotionally they are stuck in one. They have waited a long time to receive their rights. Finally, they can rise up to protest against racial injustice. King is directly addressing the church, asking them to make up for their abandonment.
Martin Luther King Jr. believed that the true colors of people show during times of hardship. King stood by this belief writing “Letter from Birmingham Jail”while incarcerated. King used similes, metaphors and formal structure successfully to call forth the emotions of his audience, and battle the racial injustice present in America. King encouraged his fellow citizens, and languishing church leaders, whose inaction was allowing the legal system to remain unjust.
King’s use of similes bring vivid imagery to the mind, encouraging readers to think on how similar the actual situation is to the comparison. King uses similes when he writes:
Like a boil that can never be cured as long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its pus-flowing ugliness to the
natural medicines of air and light, injustice must likewise be exposed, with all of the tension its exposing creates, to the
light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.
Because boils must be exposed and seen in order to be cured, if they are hidden away and never treated, nothing will change, or it will get worse. King applies the same idea to racial injustice, in that it simply can’t be ignored, and has been covered up “like a boil” in the past. The formal structure of the sentence heavily implies that this is not a laughing matter. King isn’t making a casual reference to a friend, he’s speaking about something he feels is life or death.
Similarly, the metaphors King uses brought light to the unjust situation that African Americans were in at the time. King uses a metaphor when he says, “I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait.” Segregation doesn’t actually shoot “stinging darts” at those it affects, but to the victims of it, they feel as though they’ve been shot. King is implying that those who have never had to go to the back of the bus or use a different bathroom would never understand the pain the victims feel. King asks, why didn’t the church speak up to help the exhausted men and women who came from “dark dungeons of complacency” to protest for their rights? African Americans haven’t been really stuck in prisons all their lives, but legally and emotionally they are stuck in one. They have waited a long time to receive their rights. Finally, they can rise up to protest against racial injustice. King is directly addressing the church, asking them to make up for their abandonment.
Martin Luther King Jr. believed that the true colors of people show during times of hardship. King stood by this belief writing “Letter from Birmingham Jail”while incarcerated. King used similes, metaphors and formal structure successfully to call forth the emotions of his audience, and battle the racial injustice present in America. King encouraged his fellow citizens, and languishing church leaders, whose inaction was allowing the legal system to remain unjust.