In the 1950s, a growing group of Americans began to speak out against injustice and

inequality. To this day, there are still protests and fights against injustice and inequality in the

world, from Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, to Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1940s, to Malala in

2017. All three of these people who took a stand all had the same purpose to speak out; to fight

against unjust laws that take away basic human rights.

In “A Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., the purpose of the text is

to fight against unjust laws that take away basic human rights. Throughout the text King uses

various forms of rhetoric to advance that purpose. One example of this is when he says, “I have

the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an

organization...” This is an example of ethos because it appeals to the audience’s sense of

credibility by bringing up a Christian Leadership group to a group of religious people.

Furthermore, King uses word choice to advance his purpose when he says, “​Just as Socrates felt

that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the

bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective

appraisal..​.” This specific example of word choice advances the author's purpose because he

brings up the Greek Philosopher Socrates and compares his actions to what is happening now.

In “On the Adoption of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” by Eleanor

Roosevelt, the purpose of the text is to fight against unjust laws that take away basic human

rights. Throughout the text, Roosevelt uses various forms of rhetoric to advance that purpose.

One example of this is when she says, “We hope it's proclamation by the General Assembly will

be an event comparable to the proclamation of the Declaration of the Rights of man by the

French people in 1789...” This is an example of logos because it appeals to the audience’s sense
of logic by stating how she and many more hope this could be compared to the Declaration by

the French because theirs worked out fine. Furthermore, Roosevelt uses word choice to advance

their purpose when they say, “The Soviet amendment to article 20 is obviously a very restrictive

statement of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.” This specific example of word

choice advances the speaker's purpose because she uses the word ‘obviously’ implying that if

you have logic, you would be able to notice how restrictive the article is.

In “Check Against Delivery” by Malala, the purpose of the text is to fight against unjust

laws that take away basic human rights. Throughout the text, Malala uses various forms of

rhetoric to advance that purpose. One example of this is when she says, “I speak-not for myself,

but for all girls and boys. I raise up my voice-not so that I can shout, but so that those without a

voice can be heard.” This is an example of pathos because it appeals to the audience’s sense of

emotion by addressing certain groups of people (girls, boys, those without a voice). Furthermore,

Malala uses imagery to advance their purpose when they say, “Dear Friends...the Taliban shot

me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends...” This specific example of imagery

advances the speaker's purpose because she could have said very generally that the Taliban shot

her but she used detail such as describing exactly where she was shot giving you that image of a

girl her age being shot.

In conclusion, to this day people are still speaking out against inequality and injustice and

that should continue until everybody is equal.