Martin Luther King begins his letter with the following paragraph:

While confined here in the Birmingham City Jail, I came across your recent statement calling our present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would be engaged in little else in the course of the day and I would have no time for constructive work.

Question

Martin Luther King begins his letter with the following paragraph:

While confined here in the Birmingham City Jail, I came across your recent statement calling our present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would be engaged in little else in the course of the day and I would have no time for constructive work.

anonymous · Answer

But since I feel that you are men of genuine goodwill and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms. 

What is the effect of his choice to start his letter in this way? Answer the question in complete sentences. In your response, be sure to discuss the purpose and tone of this opening paragraph and explain how it works with the overall structure and purpose of the letter.

anonymous · Answer

@snowxangel

snowxangel · Answer

Quite easy actually, just say how he started the letter in regards of him being in jail and people judging him for his acts and how that effects the letter as a whole in terms of structure, tone, etc. Read a couple times and I'm sure it'll make sense.