On Seeing England for the First Time

In Martin Luther King Junior’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, MLK uses ethos, logos, and pathos powerfully and effectively to present his argument that the discrimination of African Americans all over the country is unbearable and should be outlawed forever. King wrote the letter in Birmingham, Alabama after a peaceful protest against segregation which was King’s way of reinforcing his belief that without forceful, direct actions (such as his own), true civil rights could never be achieved.

Jamaica Kincaid, the author of the essay “On Seeing England for the First Time”, initially conveys an attitude of awe with England, but as the essay moves along, the feelings of awe transform into feelings of mild alienation and disapproval. Having lived and grown in England shadow, Kincaid cites examples of this alienation in her childhood through the use of anaphora and motifs, using these rhetorical strategies, Kincaid define her sarcastic and bitter attitude about England. The anaphora can be found in the various motifs that are used by Kincaid to express her sarcastic attitude, and the anaphora heightens her temperament

Throughout his essay, Thoreau talks about how the government is corrupt, weak, and they abuse their powers, and he feels that power should be in the hands of the people. He feels that the more power the people have, instead of the government, it gives a majority, which is not only fair, or right, but physically the strongest. He shows this when he says, “But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it” (Thoreau 323). The people chose the government to render their wants and needs, but instead a few individuals use the standing government as he/she’s tool to carry out unjust laws. Thoreau uses the example of the Mexican War, and if the choice were given to the people, they would not have approved of those kinds of measures. According to Thoreau, if even one single man acted on his opinions, he himself could take down the government. Thoreau thinks that those who think with their heads and not their morals are likely to serve with the devil.