"Letter from a Birmingham Jail"

“Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was a letter written in 1963 by Martin Luther King, Jr. I actually read this article in my AP English class junior year, as we studied multiple pieces of literature from the American civil rights movement. In the letter, King responds to a statement by eight white Alabama clergymen, who indicated their belief that the fight against racial segregation should be fought in the court, not on the street. King responded by demonstrating his view that without aggressive, direct protest and action, change will never occur.
After re-reading this letter, I went to the Mars, Inc. website, and chose a piece from the careers section which was a persuasive piece of work indicating why people should want to work for Mars. I chose Mars because it is a company based out of Northern Virginia, my hometown, which I would love to do an internship and eventually work for upon graduation. They engage in some very fascinating marketing techniques and business strategies that I would love to be a part of.
Each author of the pieces of writing indicated uses very different techniques to persuade their audiences. King is speaking to the general public, government officials, and anyone concerned with the issue of segregation or attempting to make change. Mars is speaking to prospective employees and people interested in what it is like to work for Mars. King’s tone is more serious and urgent, while Mars uses a more sympathetic, light tone to gain individuals interest and to make them feel like the company cares about them. In King’s letter, he meets the clergymen’s concerns and then successfully negates them with examples of attempts taken to lead a non-violent protest which were unsuccessful. This is an important aspect of persuasive writing, seeing and then counteracting the opponent’s argument. He also uses pathos to persuade his audience. The persuasive work from Mars, Inc., tries to emphasize the company’s care for its customers and employees. It indicates that Mars has remained a private business in order to maintain a unique, accepting working and business environment. It emphasizes the diversity of employees which contributes to the innovations made. Basically, Mars tries to persuade its audience to consider a career at Mars with its individuality and care for people, not just the corporate world. These two pieces of literature are vastly dissimilar, but both can be considered persuasive writing.