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Both compositions make extensive use of diction to add extra symbolism and descriptiveness to their texts. The diction used in "Letter from Birmingham" reflects the era and events that occurred at that time, such as the Civil Rights Movement or segregation. "We are entangled in an inescapable network of mutuality, wrapped in a single garment of fate.” It explains to the readers how people believed at the time and how some people chose to continue illegal behavior rather than try to stop it. The Civil Rights movement's followers and leaders were pitted against the racism wreaking havoc on their nation in the phrase "network mutuality." The description of the character Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird used a similar rhetorical device. People began to understand and accept Boo and his story toward the end of the book. "Light from the living room windows glistened on Boo Radley's forehead as he slowly stood up.” This gives us the understanding that Boo was perceived in a better light and that he was more at ease in his own skin, and that he and more others are more enlightened to him.

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The rhetoric used in literature of a certain time period reflects the historical context in both Harper Lees and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr when focusing on the rhetorical strategy of semiotics and diction. Diction is used to show the importance of the juxtaposed ideas of light and dark. Light can be seen as the good in the world while the dark shows segregation. Light and dark is an example of a semiotic that is used in both “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Dr Rev Martin Luther King Jr states  “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The urge for freedom will eventually come. Eventually people who are victims of segregation and oppression will rise up and fight back for equality and freedom.” This quote shows that in time, the light will overcome the darkness of oppression and segregation. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee states, “When Boo Radley shuffled to his feet, light from the living room windows he listened on his forehead.” Lee shows that Radley has a sense of enlightenment. The enlightenment represents the fact that he is also ahead of his time, similar to Atticus. In both Dr Rev Martin Luther King Jr and Harper Lee's work, a great display of diction is used to explain the contrast of light and dark

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Harper Lee and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. juxtaposed the ideas of light and darkness through comparing light to knowledge and education, and having darkness symbolize the unknown and injustices of the civil rights movement. The semiotics of light and dark enhance their pieces and would be great to use in a potential AP argument essay. For example, in Lee’s novel, during the mob scene with Atticus and the men of the town, Atticus stands in the porch light, while the mob stands in the dark on his lawn. This symbolizes that Atticus is the morality and representation of the righteous in this moment. MLK writes “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The urge for freedom will eventually come.” This quote represents the light because it discusses optimism, specifically the hope that freedom will come because oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. To represent dark, MLK often talks about racism, segregation, and the pains and hardships that come along with it. He described the black Americans as “victims of a broken promise” who had the “dark shadow of deep disappointment” cast upon them. The word “dark” being used here enhances how dark this period was for black Americans, because they weren’t being listened to despite their best efforts. Harper Lee represents darkness in TKAM with the change between the innocent games with Boo Radley by Jem, Scout, and Dill maturing into Jem and Scout experiencing a conviction and trial of Tom Robinson.

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If I were to create an essay on both of these texts, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and “The letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I’d use the rhetorical strategy of semiotics for both in my essay. Since both texts use semiotics to develop their own ideas but to also reflect on the time period they’re both written in. In the letter by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He uses semiotics specifically to describe his point between light and dark. When he writes to the clergymen to emphasize his point of good and evil of the light and dark. “As in so many experiences of the past, we were confronted with blasted hopes, and the dark shadow of a deep disappointment settled upon us.” He uses this line to create a sense of hope, the light of hope beaming onto their dreams and goals, then to be brought down by the dark reality of the truth—disappointment was the truth that was revealed to them. Just like in this example in To Kill A Mockingbird when Jem, Dill, and scout follow atticus to the jail and when they’re on their way they have this picture this their mind, “In the light from its bare bulb, Atticus was sitting propped against the front door.” Atticus being the light for Maycomb being the one to take the case on seriously from the injustice and evil during the time period, he is the opposite of the darkness he is the light of everything good stands for.

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Throughout The Letter from Birmingham Jail and To Kill a Mockingbird the authors depict a contrast between the darkness and light in society during the 1900s. A rhetorical argument on the literature utilized in these historically past texts could incorporate both authors’ use of diction and imagery to support their themes.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s response to the clergymen, while in Birmingham Jail, he refuted their claims by using diction and antithesis to express his opinion on segregation. Specifically, he found it to be a “disease” and caused people to be “plagued with inner fears”. King’s use of strong words throughout his speech helps convey a feeling many African Americans feel about segregation by using words related to sickness and health. Furthermore, King uses antithesis by indicating his opinion on unjust laws by saying “injustice is a threat to justice everywhere. Both literary strategies help establish King’s perspective by utilizing bold words to show his feelings.

In To Kill a Mockingbird semiotics is further expanded on to show the racial divide during the 1960s. Specifically, Atticus states “I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it all without bitterness and most of all without catching Maycomb’s disease”. In other words, Atticus symbolizes Maycomb as a disease because of its environment’s ability to cause racism. Furthermore, “They were white hands, sickly white hands that had never seen the sun…”. The white hands represent how many African Americans worked in factories, the rich part of society sits inside their houses.

Overall, both texts deeply bridge the indifferences in society. They also use imagery and semiotics to help readers visualize the scenes. Both text focused on the hardships slaves faced throughout the 1900s and helped readers try and understand the experiences African Americans during slavery.

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Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Harper Lee are both phenomenal writers whose use of rhetorical strategies only enhance their writing.  If I were to write an essay using the rhetorical strategies which Harper Lee and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King use in “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” I would use semiotics and descriptive language. The use of semiotics which is symbolism allows the reader to have a deeper understanding of even the smallest things. For example in Harper Lee’s, “To Kill a Mockingbird” she uses semiotics to show how Boo Radley’s house is a representation of what people think of him. The text states, “The house was low, was once white with a deep front porch and green shutters, but had long ago darkened to the color of slate gray…” In Luther's letter to Birmingham he says “The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward the goal of political Independence, and we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.” He uses figurative language to make his writing more descriptive and show the reader that it is a prevalent issue in which America is a country far behind in solving. While, other countries are ahead and have already realized the unjust treatment of different races. Consequently, these are the rhetorical devices I would use in an essay because looking at “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Letter to Birmingham” they are clearly very strong and support the author's claims.

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“How To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee “and “The Letter From Birmingham Jail” are very complex and important works of literature. Both pieces use many rhetorical strategies; however, a reoccurring strategy was contrast, using the depiction of health to represent the new and bright morals, with sickness as old decisions and ideals. In King's letter,  he talks about the treatment of black people, young and old, as brutal, with many “plagued with inner fears and outer resentments.” This new generation led to the “process of self-purification” for their people and society. The social hierarchy was failing black youth, but hope was gone, no one expected to be able to leave such a state, so they never tried. They watched as the white man “battered Negro women” with despair. But then, King talks about this new idea of peacefully protesting. They were the recent change for hope; their healthy youthfulness brought forth a new way of thinking. In TKAM, we see the healthy and diseased side directly physically through the characters of Jem and Scout, young and curious children, against Mrs. Dubose, a shriveled old woman sick of the cards being dealt to her. We read Mrs. Dubose described as sickeningly with “her face… the color of a dirty pillowcase… the corners of her mouth glistened with wet.” She was sickly, physically but also in a metaphoric way. Jem and Scout never cared too much for societal expectations, especially Scout. They looked at the world with an open mind, per Atticus, because they wanted to learn and grow in the best ways possible. Mrs. Dubose, however, was set on strict things and starting to be looked down upon, like in scenes (on chairs or the bed). She believed Atticus raised them wrong and made too many mistakes, and Scout should be more feminine. The kids who had the high ground always disagreed. Both pieces use deeper meanings in their contrasts to beautifully share these works.

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A rhetorical strategy seen and used in both texts would be metaphor, and how it display the racial prejudice in America. For example, in TKAM, Atticus sits in the light between a crowd of shadowed figures who pressure him to drop the Tom Robinson case. This portrays Harper Lee’s usage of metaphor to portray Atticus as the voice of reason and the light in a sea of darkness. Meanwhile, in MLK’s letter from Birmingham jail, metaphor is used to show the slow pace in the fight against racial prejudice in America. He compares the pace of the rest of the world to the US as “jet speed against horse and buggy”.

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In both To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and the Letter from Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., there are rhetorical strategies used to exemplify the conflicting ideas during that time.If I were to write an essay on a rhetorical strategy that can emphasize the context of that certain time period, it would be focused mostly on juxtaposition and antithesis. Throughout both texts there is comparison of light and dark, good and bad, highs and lows, sickness and health which can clearly show the differing perspectives during the time. At the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes, “When Boo Radley shuffled to his feet, light from the living room windows glistened on his forehead.” This shows the ‘light and dark’ comparison because throughout the novel he is portrayed has such a rotten person, with no good qualities. By him stepping into the light, it shows the audience that he is a good person and nobody really knew who he was, or what he had gone through. Similarly, Dr. Martin Luther King writes, “…to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.” This shows the ‘light and dark’ juxtaposing thoughts because it compares the darkness and hardships that minorities such as African Americans face, and the goal to reach the heights of equality. The obvious contrast between light and dark whether it be describing racial injustice, or ones personality can show the preconceived thoughts and the context during this time period.

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Throughout “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, the use of diction helps to reflect the time period of both writings. In the letter, diction shows that the time period was around the Civil Rights movement and when segregation was prevalent. This is shown by, “There can be no gainsaying of the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community.” This illustrates the historical context of the racial injustice that occurred during the civil rights movement and the need to end the injustice. On the other hand, in Harper Lee’s novel, she uses diction to show that one of the characters, Boo Radley, is more accepted by society at the end of the book. The quote, “Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives.” demonstrates how Boo had transformed in the eyes of his neighbors, and the general public, to be someone that was always kind and giving. This relates to the letter because the overcoming of society not accepting certain people was very evident during this time period.

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Rhetorical strategies that I would focus on are Semiotics and diction that’s both used in To Kill A mockingBird by Harper Lee, and The Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King jr. The contrast of light and dark is developed in both texts. In the Letter from Birmingham jail it states, ““As in so many experiences of the past, we were confronted with the blasted hopes, and the dark shadow of a deep disappointment settled upon us.” This piece of text evidence gives the reader historical context back then. Being that many African Americans including Martin Luther king were in high hopes of having civil rights and a change in racism in the country, it took time and they weren’t given what they wanted. In To Kill a Mockingbird the text states, “when Boo Radley shuffled to his feet, light from the living room windows glistened on his forehead.” This piece of evidence demonstrates diction. It shows that boo Radley isn’t seen as a horrible person. The use of light glistened on his forehead highlights that people needed to be more knowledgeable about Boo Radley before having this negative assumption of his character.

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Choosing a rhetorical technique from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Letter from Birmingham Jail by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would quickly spring to mind while writing an AP Argument Essay. The contrast of high and low, sickness and health, light and dark, is frequently mentioned in both of these books. King mixes highs and lows to convey a deeper message in Letter from Birmingham Jail. He says, for instance, "We still meander at horse-and-buggy pace toward the gain of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter, while the nations of Asia and Africa are advancing with jetlike speed toward the goal of political independence." Similar strong language was used to characterize the character Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. People started to understand and embrace Boo and his narrative more as the book progressed. "Light from the living room windows glistened on Boo Radley's forehead as he staggered to his feet." This comment demonstrates how Boo was always perceived in such a negative perspective but, in reality, he might be regarded in a more positive one if we just took the time to understand him.

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A recurring rhetorical strategy demonstrated in both To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail is contrast; moreover, contrast is used to highlight significant problems or issues that are prominent in the time period in which these pieces of literature take place in. Harper Lee often uses contrast to illustrate the vast difference in social and economic class, which represents how the Great Depression had been occurring during the time of the novel. An example is given when explaining the situation of a poor family, “Every town the size of Maycomb had families like the Ewells. No economic fluctuations changed their status—people like the Ewells lived as guests of the county in prosperity as well as in the depths of a depression.” Contrast formulated using an image of high and low from “guests of… prosperity” and “depths of a depression” show how the quality of living for some was not on par. Additionally, the way that the story is written in two parts in itself emphasizes a contrast in the development of the novel; an innocent beginning leads to a dramatic and mature lesson learned from the Tom Robinson case. Similarly, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses contrast to represent the different sides of injustice, which punctuates the problems with racial inequality occurring at the time the letter was written. MLK writes, “...create the kind of tension in society that will help men to rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.” In this juxtaposition, MLK writes of the current struggles and pains African Americans are facing and how the coming together of people could lead to a happier and more equal future – he institutes the hopes he holds.

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Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” both used rhetorical strategies such as diction to juxtapose the ideas of light and dark. In both texts, semiotics are used to contribute to For example, from Letter From Birmingham Jail, the text states,"As in so many experiences of the past, we are confronted with blasted hope, and the dark shadow of deep disappointment." This symbolizes darkness by using phrases such as "blasted hope". This contributes to the darkness of this time period because there was a lot of negativity and prejudice towards certain groups of people, who were treated unfairly. Diction is also used to symbolize light. To Kill a Mockingbird states, “When Boo Radley shuffled to his feet, light from the livingroom windows glistened on his forehead.” This quote demonstrates the positive change at the end of the novel where Boo Radley is no longer seen in such a negative way after more is learned about him as opposed to early in the book. This symbolizes light by using the words “ glistened” and “light from the livingroom windows”. The symbols used to exemplify light and dark help to show contrast between these two ideas which shows the historical context of this time period.

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For the AP Argument Essay, I would use diction in the case of “Letter From Birmingham Jail” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Throughout both writings, the authors use serval words that highlight the time period and historical content. A shared sense of light and dark is touched upon by both authors. In Harper Lee’s case, at the end of the novel, when the truth about Boo Radley is revealed the way that it was worded, “When Boo Radley shuffled to his feet, light from the living room windows glistened on his forehead.” Boo's shuffling gives the reader the idea of him slowly being revealed as a good person and now a monster. In comparison, Rev. Dr. Martian Luther King Jr. uses phrases such as “pray long prayers.” Furthermore writes, “in the dull monotony of a narrow jail cell” his use of the words giving the reader imagery, and the word chose of the word “dull” gives the reader the impression of his boredom.

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Both “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. and To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee used rhetorical strategies such as semiotics and diction to emphasize the racism during that time period. Symbols such as light and darkness were used in both texts to indicate the hopelessness of their situations. For example, in To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus is representing Tom Robinson who is falsely accused but the town and case is biased against him because of his race. Atticus tries to keep hope in the case but Maycomb tries to discourage Atticus, using language to represent darkness. “...we should have seen Atticus Finch, Attorney- at Law in small somber letters against the light from behind his door. It was dark.” The absence of the light that is usually displayed shows the little hope that Atticus is holding onto. Additionally, in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” has many examples of darkness. “We were confronted with blasted hopes, and the dark shadow of a deep disappointment settled upon us.” Using these words to describe how he felt emphasizes the oppression and hopelessness that they felt at this time. Both texts give clear examples of the issues going on in the time period through semiotics.

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr wrote the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" after being arrested for protesting the rights of African Americans in Alabama. Harper Lee wrote "To Kill A Mockingbird" about a young girl's coming-of-age story and the roots of racism and prejudice. Both these texts have ample rhetorical devices, but one that sticks out the most, especially regarding the time period is the allusion to religion. In "To Kill A Mockingbird", Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to her church. While there Scout was examining the church. She states, "At each seat was a cheap cardboard fan bearing a garish Garden of Gethsemane, courtesy Tyndal's Hardware Co." This is an allusion to the Garden of Gethsemane which is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, where on the night before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed and was later arrested. In "Letter from the Birmingham Jail", Dr. King states, "Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid." This quote shows the allusion and comparison between Paul and Dr. King. Dr. King traveled much like Paul did and not only preached the bible but also traveled to stop the injustices of racism. These allusions were imperative for this time period as everyone was religious and more specifically followed an Abrahamic religion.

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Juxtaposition is a rhetorical device used to compare two different ideas or concepts, and To Kill a Mockingbird and Letter from the Birmingham Jail both utilize this technique in various ways. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee juxtaposes the idea of innocence with racism, similar to the concept of light vs. darkness, showing how the two can exist side by side and highlighting the effects of racism in the South. Through the use of juxtaposition, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from the Birmingham Jail emphasizes the urgent need for civil rights reform and calls upon the nation to recognize and address the issues of racial injustice. Both authors use juxtaposition to contrast the ideas of justice and injustice, highlighting the issues at hand. This is emphasized in To Kill a Mockingbird, “Scout,” said Atticus, “nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don’t mean anything—like snot-nose. It’s hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody’s favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It’s slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody.“You aren’t really a nigger-lover, then, are you?”

“I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody… I’m hard put, sometimes—baby, it’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you.” (Chapter 11). Mr. Atticus Finch is unique in his response to Scout's question about the bad words she heard. He does not condemn her for using them, but instead encourages her to call herself whatever name she feels comfortable with, without fear of judgement, a common problem within their county. Similarly, in the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King argues that “ Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” He is elaborating here that the inequality the African Americans are facing is a threat to the so-called “success” the government makes and without direct recognition it will just led to further complications in the future.

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If it were to write a rhetorical essay on Harper Lee's work and Martin Luther King Jr's work, I would use diction in my essay. I would focus on light and dark, as is seen in both the MLK letter from Birmingham jail and in to kill a mockingbird. As an example from to kill a mockingbird, I would use the quote, "when boo Ridley shuffled to his feet, light from the living room windows glistened on his forehead.". Harper Lee uses the diction of boo Radleys forehead glistening to show that he is not as bad as the kids saw him as. In the MLK speech, the text states, "in the dull monotony of a narrow jail cell…".Additionally, the MLK speech states, "pray long prayers". The use of diction by MLK is similar to the diction used by harper Lee because they use diction to show both light and dark. Harper Lee uses the diction in the quote to show that a person's appearance on the outside does not reflect who they are. The MLK quote shows with diction that even a bad situation can lead to a good outcome.

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If I had to use the rhetoric of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from Birmingham, as evidence when responding to a prompt, I would focus on the rhetorical strategy of semiotics.

In both sources of literature, both Harper Lee and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. strategically utilize semiotics of Illness and Health to reflect the historical context in which their work is written. Harper Lee’s semiotics of Illness and Health to achieve this reflection are affirmed with the phrase,”There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who’ll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance.” This phrase embodies the recurring theme throughout the novel of racism/inequality as well as specific diction with the word “Negro” to provide the reader with the historical context of the novel. Similarly to Harper Lee, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also utilizes Illness and Health Semiotics to achieve reflection of historical context with the phrases,”disease of segregation” and “Depressing clouds of inferiority”. These phrases assert the overall theme in MLK’s argument in an analogical manner as well as express his feelings towards the issue he is arguing about.

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Semiotics is what I'd use. The contrast between Light and Dark is a recurring topic in the lines from To Kill a Mockingbird and Letter from Birmingham Jail. Dark is seen , "But for what reasoning? to maintain the discriminatory practice of discrimination. In the civil rights struggle, the enemy is the evil system. Light is seen , "Oppressed people cannot continue to be oppressed indefinitely. The desire for freedom will manifest eventually. Meaning that ultimately, those who are oppressed and segregated against would rebel and struggle for equality and freedom. In the book TKAM, Light and Dark, "Boo Radley's forehead was illuminated by light from the living room windows as he slowly stood up."

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The rhetoric used in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Martin Luther King Jr. displays the racial injustices that were prevalent in the time period for African Americans. This is highlighted through the use of diction, specifically through the utilization of antithesis. For instance, formal language is used by Martin Luther King while both formal and informal language is written in To Kill a Mockingbird. For example, in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. often uses formal language to convince the audience of his credibility as well as suggests the clear formality of the time. On the other hand, in To Kill a Mockingbird, the language difference accentuates the gap in social class between whites and African Americans. While Scout often uses formal language, Tom Robinson uses informal language such as “They’d watch me work, some of ‘em, some of ’em’d set in the window.”” The contrasting language between Martin Luther King and Tom Robinson exhibits that African Americans were able to gain more education and rights within the time frame of the two texts.

Antithesis, which expands the idea of diction since it involves using word choice to create a contrast, is used by both authors to allow the readers to visualize the injustice prevalent in the time period. Martin Luther King Jr, had argued that ”Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” He also elaborated that African Americans were forgotten in regards to success by claiming that they were “in an airtight case of poverty in the midst of an affluent society.” Martin Luther King uses the word choice to respectfully reveal that inequality prevails. He warms that this inequality could lead to a worse occurrence. Moreover, Harper Lee had written in To Kill a Mockingbird that “…people like the Ewells lived as guests of the county in prosperity as well as in the depths of a depression.” Harper Lee could suggest that the Ewells, likely given that they were white, lived in a better circumstance than African Americans. The unfortunate realization that African Americans would not live tolerably in the same circumstance provides an example of the injustice in the setting.

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In both To Kill A Mockingbird and Perils of Indifference, the semiotics of sickness and health are used. Both of these texts share the idea that segregation and racism is an illness that effects everyone negatively. A quote from To Kill A Mockingbird that shares this idea of figurative sickness is, “Lula stopped, but she said, ‘You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here—they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?’” In Rev. Dr. MLK Jr.’s speech, he states, “…Those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation.” In this quote, it is discussed how segregation is a disease that plagues the nation. Similar to in To Kill A Mockingbird, it shows how segregation affects everyone negatively, even children.

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The rhetorical strategy of diction is used in both works to create powerful imagery and symbols.
Throughout both works, the author is able to effectively communicate their messages with the descriptive language. The use of diction in the Letter From Birmingham Jail uses the vivid images to depict the time period and what took place during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. The quote, "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.", shows the readers that many people back then felt as if they were trapped in their lives and there would never be any change. The “network mutuality”  refers to the supporters and leaders of the Civil Rights movement versus the racism that was infecting their country. Similarly, this powerful language was displayed in To Kill a Mockingbird to describe the character Boo Radley. Towards the end of the book, people became more accepting and knowledgeable regarding Boo and his story. “When Boo Radley shuffled to his feet, light from the living room windows he glistened on his forehead."This quote allows us to see that Boo was always seen in such a dark manner, when in actuality, if we just took the time to understand him we would be able to see him in a better light.

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A rhetorical strategy prominent in both “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr, and TKAM by Harper Lee is the use of Semiotics. Semiotics are easily conveyed in both texts, and most significantly when in relation to the topic of health and sickness. To start, in TKAM, Mrs. Dubose struggles to fight an addition. Atticus tells Jem, “Well is right,” said Atticus. “She’s not suffering any more. She was sick for a long time. Son, didn’t you know what her fits were?” The sense of fighting this addition relates to MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In the letter, Martin Luther King writes, “It has been a tranquilizing thalidomide, relieving the emotional stress for a moment, only to give birth to an ill-formed infant of frustration.” This quote connects to Mrs. Dubose’s illness, as she struggled to fight her addition. Overall, there is a clear relation is the significance of the semiotics in these two texts.

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If asked to analyze the rhetorical choices of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Harper Lee in both of their writing, I would describe how the issue of Injustice in the respected time period caused different choices to be made in the writing to accomplish their individual purposes. In to Kill a Mockingbird, for example, Harper Lee uses light and dark semiotics when describing the courthouse, because this is an important area in the story, where the issue of racial injustice for Tom Robinson is being argued. In the text, scout describes, “that side of the courthouse was dark. A larger square of stores surrounded the courthouse square; dim lights burned from deep within them.”. This example of darkness being used as a symbol is significantly different from King’s use of it in his letter from Birmingham jail. In his letter, he describes the effect injustice can have on a young African American girl. He writes that “depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental skull.” In this case, King uses darkness to describe the struggle of the African Americans faced with injustice, rather than Lee who uses it to describe the controversy surrounding with inequality. Both of these uses are deliberate because of the state of the issue of injustice in the time period. This example is just one of the ways that historical context of the issue influences the rhetorical decisions of the author.

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When writing an AP argumentative essay between two texts written by Harper Lee and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and their rhetorical strategies during the time period, the syntax of the text, more specifically, examples of Conduplicatio and repetition through the lens of light and dark. An example of these rhetorical strategies in TKAM would be ““It’s an easy question, Miss Mayella, so I’ll try again. Do you remember him beating you about the face?” Atticus’s voice had lost its comfortableness; he was speaking in his arid, detached professional voice. “Do you remember him beating you about the face?”” (TKAM chapter 18.) the use of repressing his question in two different tones with the same wording proves to be a strong example of repetition, to push emphasis on his questions and probing for an answer. A similar type of repetition, which can be connected to a Conduplicatio, can be seen in the letter of Birmingham, “Throughout the state of Alabama all types of conniving methods are used o prong negreo from becoming register voters, and there we some countries without w sign,e negro registered to gouge, desire the fact that the negroes domeyiyue w majority of the population.” (Page 3, letter from Birmingham.) In this texts, the overall use of negro multple times, as well as including the idea of registering for voting in the multiple clauses added emphasis onto the words and situations.

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In the Letter from Birmingham by Martin Luther King Jr. and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, they share a common rhetorical strategy, which is semiotics. In both texts they show light and dark, illness and health, and high and low. There are many examples of light and dark in Letter from Birmingham. One example is, “They carved a tunnel of hope through a dark mountain of disappointment.” Not only are there multiple examples of light and dark in Letter from Birmingham there are also many examples in To Kill a Mockingbird, one being “As he told us the old tale his blue eyes would lighten and darken.” Both writings used light and dark to describe character traits and/or reactions. Illness and health were also shown in both pieces. In Letter from Birmingham King says, “It has been a tranquillizing thalidomide, relieving the emotional stress for a moment, only to give birth to an ill-formed infant of frustration.” In To Kill a Mockingbird it says, “I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it all without bitterness and most of all without catching Maycomb’s disease.” In both texts they include the concept of racism as a sickness or a disease. High and low were shown in the two texts as well. In Letter from Birmingham it says, “They are still all to small in quantity but they are big in quality.” In To Kill a Mockingbird it says, “Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’ comp’ny, and don’t you let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty!” In both texts, there are groups of people who see themselves as higher than others, whites who support segregation, and Scout compared to the Cunningham boy.

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In writing an AP Argument Essay, choosing a rhetorical strategy from both Letter from Birmingham Jail by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, using semiotics would come to mind immediately. Throughout both of these texts, the juxtaposition of high and low, illness and health, light and dark, are commonly brought up. In Letter from Birmingham Jail, King uses highs and lows to portray a deeper meaning of something. For example, when he states “The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward the goal of political independence, and we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.” Here, he uses “we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace” to portray how we have been dragging this along, and this political independence has been in movement for a while, but due to the setbacks from people who are for example, clergymen. In To Kill a Mockingbird, light and dark is used very often with portraying Boo Radley. When Boo Radley is finally revealed in Jem’s room, “They were white hands, sickly white hands that had never seen the sun, so white they stood out garishly against the dull cream wall in the dim light of Jem’s room.” Portraying Boo Rapley’s hands as white, and never seeing the sun shows how he has been shunned away from society, and his life. By him stepping into the light in Jem’s room also shows how he is stepping back into reality, and the city of Maycomb.

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Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” both use semiotics to provide imagery and develop connections between different parts of the text and develop complex themes. One specific semiotic theme present is one of illness and health. This is compared to segregation and discrimination in both works. MLK writes, “...haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never knowing what to expect next, and plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodyness” — then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.” This quote provides imagery of the experience of African Americans during the times where they faced segregation and discrimination. It also connects to TKAM, where people like Tom Robinson “were plagued with inner fears” because of the “disease” of people like Bob Ewell that existed during the time period of the story. MLK specifically refers to the “disease of segregation,” a developed metaphor, in his writing. In Chapter 11 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus, the only one defending Robinson, shoots a dog which had a disease. This presents an analogy to segregation, which MLK referred to as a disease, and the fact that Atticus is doing his part in trying to “shoot” it down. He later says, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” Both MLK and Atticus show how they are fighting the “disease” of segregation in different ways (Atticus through the court case). Overall, the semiotics used in both works, which also include light and dark and high and low, are very important in providing imagery of a different time period and also prove to be useful in connecting both texts.

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I would use semiotics. The quotes from To Kill A Mockingbird and Letter From Birmingham Jail revolve around the theme of Light and Dark. Dark: P.g 6 - “But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation.” Evil system is seen as the villain in the civil rights movement. Light: P.g 4 - “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The urge for freedom will eventually come.” Meaning eventually people who are victims of segregation and oppression will rise up and fight back for equality and freedom. Light and Dark- Chapter 31: TKAM, “When Boo Radley shuffled to his feet, light from the livingroom windows he listened on his forehead.”

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If I was writing a rhetorical essay on these two works, I would use diction to show the importance of the juxtaposing idea of light and darkness. Martin Luther King and Harper Lee both show that light represents the good of the people, while the dark shows the evils of segregation and the ills of the world. Martin Luther King states that “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The urge for freedom will eventually come.” This shows that eventually want to come out of the darkness of oppression and become equals to the rest of the country. The light will eventually shine over the darkness which is segregation. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee writes “When Boo Radley shuffled to his feet, light from the livingroom windows he listened on his forehead.” This wording shows that Radley is enlightened, and like Atticus, is ahead of his time. Both works show how diction was used to show the contrast between light and dark.

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The certain focused rhetorical strategies that reflect the time period and emphasizes how it felt being there at the time is demonstrated with the choice of symbolism  through the words and phrases to show the physical containment that people of color experienced at that time. Additionally, an example in the Letter from Birmingham jail by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through the 12th paragraph he expressed, “when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society”. This represents in a way the perspective of many people including Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. which importantly connects to the repetition of this feeling of tension especially with waiting through out the whole text, this quote explains this tension with poverty being expressed as permanent with the choice of “airtight”. When it comes to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, represents the rhetorical choices of the repeating speech that Atticus is hated by his own family, ““Just what I said. Grandma says it’s bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he’s turned out a nigger-lover we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He’s ruinin‘ the family, that’s what he’s doin’.” Furthermore, even though it isn’t stated directly, the idea of a  family with high reputation not wanting to ruin the perspective other people have of them with solely participating in helping people of color in poverty or those who aren’t being correctly justified. This therefore demonstrates the time’s impact onto the author’s choice in representing the family in a symbolic manner of bringing them down of containing them in this area where they are hated by the public and by the society, having a clash of different perspectives of possibly the author’s own views with when the book was done, with what was represented as the way to think in the time period the book was meant to be.

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In terms of rhetorical strategies/devices, when crating an essay to properly demonstrate the strategies used by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, and Harper Lee’s, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the immediate response of semiotics comes to mind. Semiotics allows for the writer to provide the reader with signs, symbols and signification, so they can understand what is going on in the text on a deeper level.
The use of the contrast of light and dark in texts can allow for the reader to learn so much about either the character at hand, or the historical context in the given time period. In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. uses the light as an example of reaching a moral epiphany, in which the character finally sees the good in the world. In Letter #2, Martin Luther King Jr. argues, “Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture.” This argument from the letter allows for the reader to understand that the stigma during this time period was, if nobody else is promoting civil rights and justice, then we don’t have to. The continuation of this quote indicating, “groups are more immoral than individuals”, shows that a change in group is much more significant than a change in an individual person, and groups are less likely to change than individual people, due to the fact that their minds are molded to share opinions, and stick to that opinion.
In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, the use of lightness and darkness can properly signify Scout’s journey of finding Atticus and waiting around hoping he’s okay. The darkness represents all of the jail when they were walking around in search of Atticus, and the lightness is the realization that he was found, and that he had happened to be sitting in the light. The quote, “I pushed my way through dark, smelly bodies and burst into the circle of light.”, allows for the reader to understand just how worried Scout was about her father. Running around a dark jail and finding the luminosity, with Atticus allowed for Harper Lee to demonstrate the true darkness within Scout all along and the realization that Atticus, represented the light in her life.
In both texts, the semiotics allow for the writers to signify emotional and mental feelings, with inanimate objects, and result in a deeper understanding and connection to the text from the reader’s perspective.

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Diction is used throughout both pieces as a way to bring more symbolism and descriptiveness to the writings. The use of diction in the Letter From Birmingham ties to the time period and what took place during that time like the Civil Rights Movement or segregation. The quote from the letter “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” tells the readers that how people thought back then, how certain people were repeating unlawful actions instead of trying to terminate them. The network mutuality was referencing the supporters and leaders of the Civil Rights movement versus the racism that was infecting their country. A similar maneuver of the same rhetorical strategy was displayed in To Kill a Mockingbird to describe the character Boo Radley. Towards the end of the book, people were more accepting and knowing regarding Boo and his story. “When Boo Radley shuffled to his feet, light from the living room windows he glistened on his forehead.” grants us the knowledge that Boo was seen in a better way and that he was more comfortable in his own skin, he and more people are more enlightened to him.

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The rhetoric within TKAM and The Letter from Birmingham Jail is use of diction and symbolism through semiotics. For example, illness and health is represented in both texts to represent contrasts within two sides, more specifically to demonstrate the stigma of another. In Letter from Birmingham Jail, King says “smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society.” Poverty is considered an ‘illness’ in these terms, and it sticks out and is majorly perceived as negative when existing in the same society as those who are considered well off, or ‘healthy.’ TKAM also does this in the quote, “Boo Radley’s insane fingers picking the wire to pieces; the chinaberry trees were malignant, hovering, alive.” Boo Radley is the exhibition of mental illness within the text, as he represents ‘illness.’ This evidently results in the people of the town, specifically the main characters in the text Jem, Scout, Dill, etc fearing him. The authors choice of describing this character in comparison to ‘malignant and alive’ trees is a form of diction that is highlighting the conventionally better side. In terms of symbolism, “the airtight cage” is a symbol for how poverty is a socioeconomically constricting position, and in TKAM, the trees symbolizes a thriving and alive subject that is in the same space as someone who suffers from mental illness, portraying him as a type of lethargic and dim individual because of it.