Vocabulary
“Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states.” What does the underlined word mean?
To be aware
King states to the clergymen that “. . .you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are clearly set forth.” Why does he say this?
King respects them and answers them respectfully.
By referring to his audience as his “friends” and his “dear fellow clergymen,” King is establishing what appeal?
King responds to the clergymen’s use of the word “wait” by saying it over and over again to prove his point. What rhetorical device is this?
Repetition
King alludes to which religious figure to prove his point about outsides helping those in need?
Who is the Apostle Paul?
“History is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.” What does the underlined word mean?
Special freedoms
King says, “Whatever effects one directly, affects all indirectly.” What doe she mean this will cause?
An impact for other cities; a ripple effect
By giving the facts of the situation in Birmingham, and how they had no alternative but to protest given these facts, King is utilizing what appeal?
Logos
“. . . The dark shadow of a deep disappointment settled upon us” is an example of which rhetorical device?
Alliteration
King alludes to which famous thinker when proving his point about creating “necessary tension”?
Socrates
“. . .I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate.” What does the underlined word mean?
Not extreme; middle of the road
King says that Birmingham has an “ugly record” and it’s “brutality” is widely known. What point is he making?
That they need to act now against the worst city in the South.
Paragraph 14, where King cites having to explain to his daughter why she can’t go to “Funtown,” is an example of what appeal?
Pathos
“If this philosophy had not emerged, I am convinced that by now many streets of the South would be flowing with floods of blood” is an example of which two rhetorical devices?
Alliteration and Metaphor
King alludes to Hitler and the Hungarian freedom fighters to demonstrate the difference between which two ideas?
Just and unjust laws
“In your statement you asserted that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence.” What does the underlined word mean?
Causes or leads to
King says that the clergymen hadn’t seen the violence of the police and then goes on to list all their violent crimes. Why does he do this?
King is proving how violent the police were and that the protestors were the victims.
King spends several paragraphs addressing which specific audience, especially critical of their lack of assistance to his cause?
The white moderate
When King uses the “N word” and “vicious,” what rhetorical device is this?
Loaded language
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to follow the laws of which king?
Nebuchadnezzar
“We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels on inevitability.” What does the underlined word mean?
A certainty; something that will definitely happen no matter what interferes
MLK explains that black people are lynched and drowned in the South, yet the clergymen have told him to wait. Why is this a successful counterclaim?
The counterclaim shows that it is crazy to “wait” while people continue to be murdered.
There are this many steps in any nonviolent campaign, according to King?
Four
King alludes to the idea that Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther could be interpreted as what?
Extremists
King references which philosopher drinking poison to prove his “unswerving commitment to truth”?
Socrates