All texts carry within themselves voices of opposition. These voices may echo the views and values of readers the writer anticipates or predecessors to whom the writer is responding in some way; they may even reflect the writer’s own conflicting values. Careful readers look closely for such a dialogue of opposing voices within the text.
When we think of oppositions, we ordinarily think of polarities: yes and no, up and down, black and white, new and old. Some oppositions, however, may be more subtle. The excerpt from King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is rich in such oppositions: moderate versus extremist, order versus justice, direct action versus passive acceptance, expression versus repression. These oppositions are not accidental; they form a significant pattern that gives a reader important information about the essay.
A careful reading will show that King always values one of the two terms in an opposition over the other. In the passage, for example, extremist is valued over moderate (par. 9). This preference for extremism is surprising. The reader should ask why, when white extremists like members of the Ku Klux Klan have committed so many outrages against African Americans, King would prefer extremism. If King is trying to convince his readers to accept his point of view, why would he represent himself as an extremist? Moreover, why would a clergyman advocate extremism instead of moderation?
Studying the patterns of opposition in the text enables you to answer these questions. You will see that King sets up this opposition to force his readers to examine their own values and realize that they are in fact misplaced. Instead of working toward justice, he says, those who support law and order maintain the unjust status quo. By getting his readers to think of white moderates as blocking rather than facilitating peaceful change, King brings readers to align themselves with him and perhaps even embrace his strategy of nonviolent resistance.
Looking for patterns of opposition involves annotating words or phrases in the reading that indicate oppositions, listing the opposing terms in pairs, deciding which term in each pair is preferred by the writer, and reflecting on the meaning of the patterns. Here is a partial list of oppositions from the King excerpt, with the preferred terms marked by an asterisk:
517
Listing Patterns of Opposition
| moderate | *extremist |
| order | *justice |
| negative peace | *positive peace |
| absence of justice | *presence of justice |
| goals | *methods |
| *direct action | passive acceptance |
| *exposed tension | hidden tension |
Annotate the selection you have been working with (or another selection) for words or phrases indicating oppositions.
List the pairs of oppositions. (You may have to paraphrase or even supply the opposite word or phrase if it is not stated directly in the text.)
For each pair of oppositions, put an asterisk next to the term that the writer seems to value or prefer over the other.
Study the patterns of opposition. How do they contribute to your understanding of the essay? What do they tell you about what the author wants you to believe?