Analysis Of Common Sense By George Orwell

The American Revolution was not only one of the most significant events in American history, but also ignited the minds of many journalists and writers, such as Thomas Paine. Paine began his career as a journalist in 1776 with the well known pamphlet "Common Sense". By the end of this year, he was enlisted in the American army and had begun to write a series of essays, entitled "The American Crisis". At the time these were written, morale was low in the army, and the soldiers were suffering many hardships. So, George Washington ordered that Paine's essay was to be read in front of the troops to inspire them to keep fighting. He sparked a revolutionary spirit amongst the soldiers by using different methods of persuasion. In this excerpt from "The American Crisis, Number 1", Paine used metaphors to provoke feelings of anger and indignation, imagery to inspire his audience, and logic to blatantly show the contrast between mercy and disdain.

Unequivocally one of the most historically and culturally-significant pieces of literature, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense has been meticulously analyzed for its effectiveness in eliciting the reaction that Paine himself intended in 1776. At the forefront of Paine’s pamphlet is “Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs,” notable for its first sentence: “In the following pages I offer nothing more than simple, facts, plain arguments, and commonsense” (7). Within, Paine “elaborates” on three main points that strengthen the option of independence: the effects of British rule on the colonies; the plausible relationship with Britain upon reconciliation; and the actual role of England as a parent country as opposed to England’s optimal role. However, upon analysis of the text, I discerned that Paine does not develop his main points to the extent that he does his almost-propaganda-like statements regarding England. Despite this, adding historical knowledge to Common Sense can help one corroborate Paine’s views to an extent. Overall, when expressing his views on the colonies’ relationship with England, possible results of reconciliation, and England as a parent country, Paine does not elaborate, but information regarding the Navigation Acts and mercantilism can assist one in understanding the significance of Common Sense.

America’s triumph in the Revolutionary War against the British brought pure joy and glory. The Americans won! However, it was not without its struggles. It was essential to invoke passion and feeling from the people, otherwise the war would be lost in fear and doubt. One of those who urged people to join the movement, successfully strengthening their Patriotism, was Thomas Paine, an English-American political activist. In Thomas Paine’s “The Crisis,” he utilizes specific elements of style to persuade the Americans to unite and fight against Britain for liberty.

If Thomas Paine never published Common Sense Americans today would not only fail to fully grasp the many aspects as to why colonist wanted independence so bad, but it also might have taken American’s many more years before they earned their independence, and it is possible that America may not have ever got its independence. Common Sense was a crucial turn for American’s opinion against Britain. It was key factor in pursue colonies to fight for complete independence. So if Common Sense was never written, American’s today would be oblivious to how the colonist felt back then.

Today we look back at the American Revolution and picture a united people fighting for inalienable rights, but to grasp the impact that Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” had upon his contemporaries we must understand the situation in the American colonies in 1776. When Paine wrote his pamphlet, the colonist and The Parliament in London, were almost 10 years into a debate over the rights of limited self-government by the colonies. In the months preceding the publication of Paine’s pamphlet the situation had steadily worsened until the April 19th, 1775 armed confrontation between Massachusetts colonists and British Army soldiers. By the end of that day, blood had been shed by both sides, and armed colonists placed the British garrison in Boston under siege. Despite this violence, most colonists viewed the events as a part of a struggle between Englishmen that would be resolved with the continued allegiance of the colonies to the Crown, but with more favorable treatment from London. It was with this popular mindset throughout the colonies, that Paine would deliver his “Common Sense” pamphlet arguing for complete independence from England. Paine understood that to make his argument resonate he needed to appeal to the public in a manner that had yet to be done.

In the pamphlet, “Common Sense,” written by Thomas Paine to the current inhabitants of America, he addresses the flaws of the reasoning of the loyalists and persuasively shows the audience the right path. He does this effectively by appealing to the rhetoric form of logos, setting up each of his arguments with a parallel structure, and by using simple language that everyone can understand.

January 1776, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet, that had an Impact on the world as a whole today. When writing the Pamphlet little did Paine know he would have such an impact on how society is run today. “Common Sense” was an outburst not only in Paine's career but for Independence for many others as well. Despite all odds against Paine, Paine was a leader and influenced American colonists to Break apart from the British’s rule. Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, “Common Sense,” led to the American Revolution, and eventually led to freedom for American Colonists from Great Britain, and paved way for the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Paine was responsible for some of the most influential works of the revolution. Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense was a very crucial part to America and its movement of independence from Britain. Paine was effective with his writings by being very plain. He wanted both farmers and officials to understand what he was talking about and be able to comprehend his ideas. Paine wanted to put his ideas out to the people of the American colonies so that they could understand it just by reading and not have to analyze and decipher what he was really trying to get across. He wanted to let the colonist know that there was no more room for talking about a split from English rule but it was time for the colonies to unite and take up arms against their British oppressors.

Thomas Paine’s revolutionary pamphlet, Common Sense was an immediate sensation in the thirteen colonies in 1776. Paine strayed away from dense and scholarly writing and wrote in the language of the people, often citing the bible. The pamphlet provided clear justification and explained the advantages of the need for independence from Great Britain. Thomas Paine argues in his instant best seller, for independence from England and for the creation of a democratic republic.

In 46 Pages author Scott Liell is able to poignantly illustrate the colonies metamorphosis from a dependent arm of the English Empire to an independent country, the catalyst for which was Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Liell is able to not only articulate the turning point of the American consensus towards independence, but he also very intelligibly depicts the sentiments of all facets of colonial dogma and the torrential effect that Common Sense had in loosening the cement that held those beliefs. Using fantastic examples of the opinions of Tories, Whigs, and those ambivalent towards independence, Liell efficiently and

“In the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments and, common sense.” (Common Sense, Thomas Paine) Thomas Paine is seen as one of the most influential and outspoken igniters of the American Revolution. In his pamphlet commonsense he addresses all the ideas of government and constitutional pragmatism. William Hogeland in his article Thomas Paine’s Revolutionary Reckoning. Hogeland describes Paine’s life in great detail as well as showing the conflict between Paine and President George Washington. The connection between Paine and Washington is one that really brings into perspective how much Paine’s writtings meant in defining how America took up arms against England. What is most interesting about Hogelands

Scott Liell’s book 46 pages: Thomas Paine, Common Sense, and the Turning Point to Independence ultimately describes Thomas Paine’s life and showcases the struggles he went through and the outside forces that influenced him to write Common Sense. Liell’s book also expresses the importance of Common Sense, stating that it is the “single most influential political work in American history” (16). Paine was born and raised in England, in which the King and his monarchial rule would have evident influence in his later

Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, is a major document of American history written between 1775-76. In this, Paine argues for the independence of the colonies. He begins his argument with general reflections about government and religion. He then specifies issues that dealt with the colonies.

The birth of a nation does not happen overnight nor with one word. One can clearly see how words and ideas have an impact on people’s thoughts and writing by examining “The Declaration of Independence” and Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.” Basically, the two documents echo principles stated in John Locke’s “Second Treatise of Government,” and share a style of expressing their feelings on national issues; the authors examine and give reasons for colonial problems with the government and offer a solution. The tone and audience might vary, but the overall message is similar in its principles, showing the impact Locke and Paine had on such a vital document in our history as the “Declaration of Independence”.

Throughout time, events such as wars and assassinations have occurred that people today can describe as “a turning point in history”. However, not all turning points in history have to be wars, assassinations, etc. In fact, perhaps everybody acknowledges that Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense is a “turning point in history” because it inspired the United States Revolutionary War. Common Sense, a pamphlet, can be credited as to inciting the American Colonies to revolt against Great Britain. However, how could a mere pamphlet concerning such a complex and complicated issue ignite The United States to a major turning point? By focusing on trade sanctions imposed on the United States by Great Britain and insisting the United States could have a better Navy than Great Britain while writing in an easy to read style that emphasizes key words by capitalizing or italicizing, Paine appealed to the average colonist in a way that reinforced the democratic ideals of the early Americans.