Question

Read the passage.

I must close now. But before closing I am impelled to mention one other point in your statement that troubled me profoundly. You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping “order” and “preventing violence.” I don’t believe you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its angry violent dogs literally biting six unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I don’t believe you would so quickly commend the policemen if you would observe their ugly and inhuman treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you would watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you would see them slap and kick old Negro men and young Negro boys; if you will observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I’m sorry that I can’t join you in your praise for the police department.

In his “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” Dr. King uses the phrase I don’t believe . . . twice. Which rhetorical device is he using?


balance


antithesis


parallelism


emotion

Answer 1

parallelism

Parallelism is when there is a series of sentences, phrases or words that have a similar grammatical structure. Parallelism is used for emphasis and can be helpful for comparing and contrasting ideas. In this case, The sentences beginning "I don't believe.." have the same grammatical structure and emphasize the behaviors of the police.

Answer 2

parallelism

Step-by-step explanation:

In this text, King uses this phrase twice, in similar instances and with similar sentences. The literary device that he is using is parallelism. Parallelism occurs when an author employs components that are grammatically similar, or the same in construction, sound, meaning and meter. These are found in literary works in order to give more balance and rhythm to the text, and thus, make it more persuasive.