Questions for "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
1. Martin Luther King writes as a member of several communities, some overlapping, some in conflict. What are they? Focusing on two or three, explain how he defines himself within each?
2. What is the meaning of ekklesia? What does King mean when he invokes "the true ekklesia"?
3. How does King balance the twin appeals to religion and patriotism throughout "Letter from Birmingham Jail"/ Do you think he puts more emphasis on religion or patriotism? Why do you think he makes this choice?
4. In the later 1960s, Alice Walker wrote an essay titled "The Civil Rights Movement What good Was It?" How could you answer her question today? What good do you believe has resulted from the civil rights movement?
5. What is King's tone in the opening paragraph? How might you make an argument for its being ironic?
6. How do King's allusions to biblical figures and events appeal to both ethos and pathos?
7. Why does King go into such detail to explain the basic principles and the process of the nonviolent protest movement?
8. In the long sentence in paragraph 14 (beginning with "But when you have seen"), why does King arrange the "when" clauses in the order that he does? Try repositioning them, and then discuss the difference in effect.
9. Why does King wait until paragraph 45 to address the alleged commendable behavior of the Birmingham police in "preventing violence"?
10. King uses repetition of single words or phrases, of sentence structures, and of sounds. Focus on a passage of one or more paragraphs, discuss the effect of this use of repetition.
2. What is the meaning of ekklesia? What does King mean when he invokes "the true ekklesia"?
3. How does King balance the twin appeals to religion and patriotism throughout "Letter from Birmingham Jail"/ Do you think he puts more emphasis on religion or patriotism? Why do you think he makes this choice?
4. In the later 1960s, Alice Walker wrote an essay titled "The Civil Rights Movement What good Was It?" How could you answer her question today? What good do you believe has resulted from the civil rights movement?
5. What is King's tone in the opening paragraph? How might you make an argument for its being ironic?
6. How do King's allusions to biblical figures and events appeal to both ethos and pathos?
7. Why does King go into such detail to explain the basic principles and the process of the nonviolent protest movement?
8. In the long sentence in paragraph 14 (beginning with "But when you have seen"), why does King arrange the "when" clauses in the order that he does? Try repositioning them, and then discuss the difference in effect.
9. Why does King wait until paragraph 45 to address the alleged commendable behavior of the Birmingham police in "preventing violence"?
10. King uses repetition of single words or phrases, of sentence structures, and of sounds. Focus on a passage of one or more paragraphs, discuss the effect of this use of repetition.
