A Comparison in the Art of Persuasion
             "It is clear, then, that rhetorical study, in its strict sense, is concerned with the modes of persuasion. Persuasion is clearly a sort of demonstration, since we are most fully persuaded when we consider a thing to have been demonstrated." According to Aristotle's "Rhetoric", rhetoric modes of persuasion are based on three appeals: logical, ethical, and emotional. These appeals will be used to analyze two very controversial letters from the civil rights movement era. When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, a local newspaper published "The Letter from the Eight White Clergymen" in criticism of the direct-action, non-violent demonstrations by Martin Luther King and the African-American community. Also, the clergymen charged Dr. King as being an "outsider" and stated that the demonstrations in Birmingham were "unwise and untimely". To defend himself and the demonstrations, Dr. Martin Luther king wrote a response to the clergymen in which he justifies the need for his presence in the civil rights movement in Birmingham and explains the necessity of the demonstrations. When compared, Dr. King's arguments are more convincing and effective than those of the clergymen because he displays a greater ability to utilize the logical, ethical, and emotional appeals throughout his letter.
             Dr. King's arguments are effective because they are based on the logical appeal. However, the clergymen fail to express the same logic: "However, we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders" (271). The clergymen falsely imply that Martin Luther king is an outsider. In actuality, Dr King is an insider because he was invited into Birmingham and his statement is based on fact and logic: "I have the honor of serving as the president of the South...