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Rhetorical Analysis Of Thomas Paine's The Crisis

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In the winter of 1776, during American Revolution, the still young America faced three major dilemmas: their seemingly imminent defeat, the moral debate between the Whigs and the British loyalists, and the panic and confusion of the American public. In efforts to settle the three American dilemmas, Thomas Paine wrote The Crisis No. 1 in December of 1776. In his work, Paine aimed to calm the American public and convince them to stand up to the British, and turn the war into an American victory. Paine was very successful in this, and his paper was proclaimed as one of the most persuasive works of the American Revolution. Paine’s The Crisis is so persuasive because of Paine’s use of three rhetorical devices: ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos, pathos, and logos are three means of persuasive appeals were developed by the Greek philosopher, Aristotle (“Ethos, Pathos, and Logos”). Ethos, or ethical appeal, is persuasion through the credibility of the author. Generally, readers tend to believe people who they deem knowledgeable or experienced. Pathos is persuasion through the appeal of the reader’s emotion, often influenced through strong word choice. Logos is persuasion through reasoning, clarity, supporting evidence, and logic. These three elements are used in nearly …show more content…

He starts by analyzing the past, saying that if any mistakes were made, they “have none to blame but ourselves” (IN TEXT). However, he counters this with the idea that they cannot change the past, but embrace its effects and move on. Next, he appeals to the logic of his Puritan beliefs. Paine says that he believes that “God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction” (IN TEXT). This gives the reader a sturdy base to place their hope, which he later increases by calling the king out for his murderous and unethical actions, and claims that the king has no grounds to seek support or solace from

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Thomas Paine wrote Crisis no. 1 in 1776. Crisis no. 1 shows Paine's feelings regarding Britain's control over the colonies. He wrote it to help support his argument for independence from England in the Revolutionary. He wanted to expose Britain and reunite the colonies. Paine's writing was simple and he made sure anyone could pick it up and read it.

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The Great Thomas Paine Did you know that more people read Thomas Paine Crisis No. 1 document than the number of people who watch the Superbowl? Thomas Paines document No. 1 gained a lot of attention in the late 1700’s and is still read widely across the world. Thomas was a founding father, but he also was a political figure. He got most of his fame from writing documents about the issues in the U.S during that time. His series of documents was called “The American crisis” and it was broken up into 16 pamphlets and the most famous one was crisis No. 1.

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Thomas Paine, a local pamphleteer in the pre-Revolutionary War era, wrote a convincing pamphlet to any colonists who were not already supporting the war for independence from Great Britain. In his argument, Paine uses rhetorical strategy, an emotional aspect, and divine revelation towards the citizens to create a very moving, passionate, and convincing call to arms. The first line, “These are the times that tried men 's souls,” is one of relatability and preparedness for the oncoming difficult times. Paine starts his essay off with a refutation of his argument, stating that although he wants this fight, he knows it will be tough. Paine then challenges the men’s bravery and patriotism to their country by stating the line “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country.”

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The American Crisis by Thomas Paine was written in response to the difficult times during the American Revolution. This piece of writing was read aloud by George Washington to his troops. The purpose of Paine writing this is to be motivational to the troops, explaining that nothing worth having comes easy and for free. Paine uses many rhetorical devices, one of which being pathos, relating to the readers/listeners emotions.

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Thomas Paine's most effective rhetorical strategy has to be his incessant allusions to different Biblical elements in order to arouse the idea of independence. One of the best examples of this comes as early as the first paragraph, where he discusses the absurdity of Britain's claim that they have the right to bind all of their citizens in every matter or case. However, Paine retorts with a response of his own, saying, "for so unlimited a power can belong only to God. . . ." (1). Here Paine, knowing that most of his readers are devout, Protestant churchgoers, briefly introduces the notion that Britain is overstepping its authority in such a way that it's almost as if they are trying to play God.

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Revolutionary Speeches: A Common Purpose The revolutionary speeches composed of by Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine both have common goals in terms of the changes that they want made to the way of life for all Americans. The technique and manner in which the two conduct their speeches are significantly different, though. Patrick Henry’s speech is mainly to persuade the Virginia Convention to be more assertive toward the British government, and to prepare for war if the convention's voice was not acknowledged by them. Thomas Paine’s speech, “The Crisis: Number 1”, was also to written to persuade the American people.

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In his work, Rights of Man, Thomas Paine criticizes Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France by emphasizing his favor of principles over imagination. Throughout Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke utilizes a variety of rhetorical devices, often painting dramatic scenes that appeal to his audience’s emotions, to convey his belief that the Third Estate should remain in power alongside the systems associated with it, such as chivalry. In contrast, Thomas Paine argues that emotion and imagination have no place in politics, and he appeals only to abstract principles.

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Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” was an impressive critique of colonial fears of separation from parent country and on hereditary monarchy in British Government. Paine possessed a unique ability to reach out to his audience through a variety of different methods. By using ordinary language and religious scriptures Paine painted a vivid picture on the fallacy of hereditary monarchs and for the need for American independence. However, his work wavered some by way of ignoring some factual evidence and suffered heavily by way of its own hypocrisy.

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“However , the fault, if it were one, was all our own, we have none to blame but yourselfs. ”(Paine 1) Thomas Paine was a man who believed the people of the town need to take blame for not stopping them. Thomas Paine used pathos in the easy to get people to feel what he feels and for them to feel guilty that they haven't stepped up. Using pathos in Thomas Paine speech was the best way to get people to understand where he is coming from.

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Before this many Colonists did not know of the harsh injustices done by the British. They also did not believe that the cause for revolution was urgent. Thomas Paine showed them that the cause was urgent by explaining the wrongs the British had committed and why King George was a tyrant. He also showed them that America did not need the British Empire 's protection. This quote shows his reasoning “Small islands, not capable of protecting themselves, are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care; but there is something absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island.”

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In conclusion, Paine very clearly voices his negative opinions towards hereditary succession and monarchy. He was able to provide biblical reasoning against monarchical forms of government, which was important, considering his audience in America. He was also able to provide logical reasoning against hereditary succession, such as the age issue that it can present. This document was successful in opening American’s eyes and persuading to not have a monarchical government when they declared independence from

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He gives the appeal that we must not be afraid and in the end we will have great triumph. Paine also uses imagery relate the devil with the current king of Britain. “The king of Britain can look up to heaven for help against us: a common murderer, a highwayman, or a housebreaker, has as good a pretense as he…” He is painting a picture in the soldiers’ minds of how cruel the king has been to the colonies and should give them even more spirit to go and

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Paine, Thomas, and Sidney Hook. Common Sense: The Rights of Man, and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine. New York: Penguin, 1984. Print. Annotated Bibliography Collins, Paul.

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Would there be an America if people were not able to persuade others? During a time when America is in a war against the British fighting for its independence and had lost every battle except for one during the first year of the war, fearing that the idea of America may fail. Thomas Paine then publishes a pamphlet called The Crisis, No. 1. Regarding this, pathos was the most persuasive technique used to persuade Americans to continue on with the war in Thomas Paine’s The Crisis, No. 1.

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Logos is the appeal to the audience’s logic or thinking of constructing a well-reasoned argument. It includes: facts, research, and statistics. For instance, "And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Have we anything new to offer on the subject?

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