Read the following excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and answer the
question.
Isn't this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act
of robbery? Isn't this like condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment
to truth and
his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they
made
him
drink hemlock? Isn't this like condemning Jesus because his unique God consciousness
and never
ceasing devotion to God's will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion?
In addition to literary devices like similes and rhetorical questions, King also uses allusion in this
passage. Which of the following phrases are alluding to something or someone outside the letter that
King expects the reader to know?
Select all that apply.
"they made him drink the hemlock"
"his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery"
Jesus" "unique God consciousness and never ceasing devotion to God's will"
Socrates' "unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries"
"condemning a robbed man"