Question

Read the excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

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, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice.

Why does King use this allusion?
to appeal to his critics’ intellect
to define democratic principles
to commemorate a famous leader
to decry the bondage of ancient Greece

Answer 1

to appeal to his critics’ intellect

King alludes to Socrates to invoke a respected philosophical authority and to frame his argument in rational, intellectual terms—showing that nonviolent “gadflies” play a constructive, reasoned role in awakening society.