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Arlyne Garrido
Adler
English 1A #32474
2 March 2015
Connections through Language
Writing builds connections between the reader and the writer. The form in which an
author writes their words on a page can possess the power to make an impact on a persons life.
Writers such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jimmy Santiago Baca have both made an impression
on the world with their rhetoric. Their writing defines what is known as Mary Piphers concept
of change writing because their use of language uses ethos, pathos, and logos to make a
connection and allow the reader to see these authors point of view.
Writers write because they have a purpose. They do not write simply because someone
orders them to do so; they write in order to make a difference in the world with their writing.
Mary Piphers change writing in her book Writing to Change the World is defined as writing
to connect which, like good therapy, creates the conditions that allow people to be
transformed (Pipher 8). She conceptualizes that strong writing can be like therapy and cause an
adjustment in a persons life. Pipher states, A writers job is to tell stories that connect readers to
all the people on earth, to show these people as the complicated human beings they really are,
with histories, families, emotions, and legitimate needs (6). Writers use storytelling to build
empathy. Empathy is what secures the connection between the reader and the writer; it allows the
reader to step into the authors shoes and experience what he or she has been through.
Jimmy Santiago Bacas rhetoric in his novel A Place to Stand contains empathy, which is
needed in order to make a connection between his writing and the reader because it opens up

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peoples eyes to what happened during his time in prison. His colorful use of language in his
writing makes an impact on the reader with every detail by revealing to the reader his
experiences in prison and his journey to become one of the greatest poets today. Even the darkest
details can make an impact on the reader. Baca reflects, Over the years, I encountered all of
them: eyes filled with raging despair, with weary despair, with insane despair; eyes with the
despair of an old man who can no longer fight injustice; eyes filled with the dark despair of terror
or mental illness; the anguished eyes of a child weeping in a corner. In time, my own eyes would
show all these emotions (Baca 3). Here, Baca uses repetition of the word despair to emphasize
his feelings through his writing. Baca adds, I knew why why I refused to work, why I stayed
in my cellin every muscle and bone of my body a tortured voice cried out that I could never
again tolerate the betrayals that had marked my life, stretching back to my earliest years (175).
These two quotes convey pathos to the reader by appealing to their emotions. The imagery and
vivid details in his writing leave the reader feeling a mutual sense of despair and darkness Baca
encountered in jail.
Martin Luther King, Jr.s writing in his Letter from Birmingham Jail uses ethos and his
knowledge of theology to his advantage in order to support his claims. This letter is written to his
fellow clergymen regarding his unwise and untimely actions through nonviolent protest. In the
last sentence of the first paragraph, King states, I feel that you are men of genuine good will and
that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope
will be patient and reasonable terms (King 1). This sentence is an example of ethos because he
displays warmth and politeness when he says patient and reasonable terms. While he is clearly
upset with why he is in prison, he remains polite throughout the letter when blaming the
clergymen for their actions against his. He also believes that civil disobedience is better than

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following unjust laws and something he does not believe in. He states, It was evidenced
sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of
Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. It was practiced superbly
by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of
chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire (4). Here, King
uses a biblical allusion to convey his point. These people, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
are characters from the Bible and would rather be burned alive than to follow something they did
not believe in. As well as the early Christians- they were willing to be eaten alive by lions and
face chopping blocks than to conform to actions against their faith. This biblical reference is an
example of logos in his writing because it focuses on the logical standpoint of his argument. He
uses the Bible as a fact to the clergymen as a means of persuasion.
Jimmy Santiago Baca along with Martin Luther King, Jr.s writing are examples of Mary
Piphers concept of change writing because of their appeal to the reader to impact the reader in
some way and to persuade them to view their ideas or experiences. Their use of language creates
the connection needed to make an impact on the reader- no matter who the audience may be.
Both of their writings were written in jail and gives the reader an insight on their thoughts and
experiences while in there.