Rhetorical Devices In Thomas Paine's The Crisis

Throughout Thomas Paine's "The Crisis: number one" he uses rhetorical devices, which properly justify his claim that Britain has wronged them and they should revolt.

In the first paragraph of the excerpt, Paine he uses a metaphor to show how bad British rule truly is. In the excerpt, it says "Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right not only to tax but to bind us in all cases whatsoever, and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth". In using this metaphor the British tyranny being compared to slavery. This shows how bad British rule is, because the age of slavery was one of America's worst times and a Civil War was fought over it.

From the metaphor, pain transitions to antithesis: "not a man lives on the continent but fully believes that a separation must sometime or another

The use of the analogy is once more to slander the British tyranny. In the excerpt Paine essentially tells his audience that Britain is like a thief breaking into one's house and destroying their property, then he asked his audience is he to suffer it? This shows that Britain is as bad as a thief breaking in to a house and destroying all of the possessions. Also Paine is saying he does not want to yield to the power anymore.

When closing his document, Paine finishes with the use of pathos, to persuade the audience emotionally. In the excerpt it says "look on this picture and weep over it! And if there yet remain one thoughtless wrench who believes it not, let him suffer it unlamented. This shows that pain has shown a sad picture, to show that the audience did not want to be like that, so if they did not want to be like that, they should do something about it.

In the end, Thomas Paine created a strong up argument, that was supported with rhetorical devices to demonstrate to the audience why they should go to