Rhetorical Devices In The Crisis By Thomas Paine

This essay will be discussing and analyzing the document: Common Sense by Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine was an American founding father and very influential in the the enlightenment movement that started in 1714. Thomas Paine wrote common sense so people would begin thinking and discussing the way the British had been treating the colonies in the recent years. Paine believed that King George and the British parliament were tyrannical and that the colonies should do something about it. Common Sense appealed to many of the colonists because of the plain language Thomas Paine used. Thomas paine’s Common Sense was one of the most influential documents to the American Revolution. This essay also tries to argue that without Paine’s Common Sense the

Thomas Paine, a British-American political writer, intellectual, and strong advocate of the American Revolution, published several compelling pamphlets in the mid-late 18th century inspiring colonists to rebel against the British government. One of his most influential works, Common Sense (1776), would eventually become the most widely-read political non-fiction of its time. Samuel Adams would later declare that “without the pen of [Thomas Paine], the sword of Washington would be raised in vain.” In Common Sense, Paine powerfully argues that colonists must declare independence from Britain in order to establish a representative democracy founded upon their religious and political beliefs.

The battle for independence in America during 1776 was indeed a complex issue requiring the involvement of intellectuals to air their own views regarding the best move that British colonies could make toward gaining independence. At the time, two famous individuals, Thomas Paine and James Chalmers, appeared disagreeing to matters concerning the giant step of gaining independence from the central government in Britain. While Thomas Paine was a patriot who wrote Common Sense with the intention of enlightening Americans the greater benefit they would gain by separating from British rule, James Chalmers who wrote Plain Truth was a loyalist to the British rule and saw it as a wrong move and a beginning for a lot of problems.

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.

Thomas Paine uses logos to persuade his opinion on having the people support the army more in, he use facts, logic and reason to appeal to the people, whom knew many words that most of the people today do not. A way he shows logos is in “They sift out the hidden thought of man, and hold them up in public to the world. Many a disguised Tory has lately shown his head, that shall penitentially solemnize with curses the day on which Howe arrived upon the Delaware.”, basically saying that the Tories and British has to hide in order to survive from the Americans, and that they will regret the decisions Howe has put upon them. In the next example that shows logos, Paine presents the Tories are wimps, for they will not join the Revolution and take

In Paines excerpt he is talking to the audience which is the American people(soldiers), and he is showing and proving to them that he needs them to listen to him. He is the same as any person that is listening so he has to try and prove himself that something needs to happen. The soldiers realize how bad they are being treated and what is happening. They know that Britain has the power to start taxing and bind them no matter what. Paine is knowing of what the british are capable of and what they will do if they get more power. Paine believes in his faith and is saying to the people that god wouldn’t let something happen to them, that he is the ultimate governing system.

One of the Founding Fathers, Thomas Paine, in his pamphlet, “Common Sense”, addressed a response to the American Revolution. Paine’s purpose for writing the piece was to convince the colonists to declare independence from Great Britain. He adopts a patriotic tone, explaining the advantages of and the need to proclaim independence from a tyrannical country. Paine also utilizes multiple rhetorical strategies, and any means necessary, to persuade his audience to share in his beliefs. With the use of constructed argument and rhetorical devices such as ethos, logos and pathos, as well as diction and syntax, Paine is able to present the argument that the United States should strive for its independence from England.

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.

Back in the late 1700’s and the early 1800’s young America was being attacked by Britain but the colonists were too afraid to do anything. The colonies had declared freedom from Britain but America was not free yet. One man was able to persuade the colonists with a speech. That speech was written by Thomas Paine and it was titled “Crisis No 1”; Paine used pathos to persuade the colonists to go to war by appealing to their emotions with loaded words; an example of these loaded words is God.

War is the worst experience I have ever had. If you’re not dying because you were physically hurt, you 're always dying mentally. It’s hard not to think what we 're fighting for will make a difference. Thankfully, Thomas Paine has a way with words. I think his speech, “The Crisis,” gave us, certainly me, the motivation we needed. It seems as if we were fighting for centuries, but his speech gave us insight as to why it was such a difficult battle. He said, “That the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph”(5). This made me realize that what we are fighting for might be the most historic event in America 's history. Then he spoke about how now was the right time to fight, he said, “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day,

“The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind” (Paine 1). With the Revolutionary War beginning in 1775, and the publication of Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, only a year later, this statement was widely recognized and addressed the issue at hand: the fight for independence. According to Paine’s assertion, America’s desire for peace and freedom is a basic necessity of life; it is what all men desire. Despite this innate thirst for liberty, many residents of America’s thirteen colonies were fearful of Great Britain, and because of this fear, complied with Great Britain’s every whim. Consequently, most colonists were hesitant to fight against the mother country for independence. But Paine would not accept this attitude.

In his commentary, Crisis No. 1, Thomas Paine argues that the colonists shall continue fighting for their freedom from the British. Paine supports this argument by describing the issues that the colonists have with the British. Paine’s purpose is to persuade in order to encourage the soldiers to keep fighting. The use of a formal tone with his audience, shows the significance of the situation. To help him urge the soldiers to keep fighting, he appeals to the soldier’s pathos, or the characteristic that affects emotions, he uses strong rhetorical techniques and figurative language.

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.

In this next paragraph Thomas Paine talks about a summer soldier explaining that we need people to fight for the right fight in the worst of times. He goes on to talk about Joan of Arc using her as a symbol of honor, liberty, and dignity. He tries using these examples as a way of telling the people that we need to fight and you need to be strong enough to stand against britain. Thomas Paine also talks about the flames of liberty saying this is what we need to fight for. He also talks about the powers of hell and that they are limmeted sygnifying that britain is not an unstopable

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. The speech’s main purpose is to persuade people to fight for their freedom.