Analysis Of Thomas Paine's Common Sense

Throughout The Crisis, Paine incorporates multiple uses of language to persuade the men to enlist in the war for freedom. Paine states, “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered” (1). He emphasizes that Britain's tyranny of the American colonies will be

America Should Separate from the King Writers of the revolutionary period effectively persuaded colonists in the Americas to separate from the king by using techniques such as pathos, rhetorical questions, and parallelism to make the colonists realize the importance in fighting in the war, along with sparking a fear in them. Revolutionary writers such as Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine use these rhetorical devices to try and persuade the colonists to fight on the side of America during this war. In “These are the times that try men’s souls”, Thomas Paine displays pathos, rhetorical questions, and Parnellism throughout his writing to convince colonists why they should fight and how the British are not America’s friends. Patrick Henry on the other hand, in “Speech to the Virginia Convention” uses the same

In the pamphlet Common Sense, Thomas Paine manages to persuade the inhabitants into believing that American Independence was a vital decision. The use of persuasion by Thomas Paine had a positive outcome for those colonists in favor of gaining independence. He used a variety of rhetorical devices, such as: hyperboles, analogies, and tone, to state why obtaining American Independence was essential.

The purpose of writing in common, everyday language is that the people could easily understand the document better. This is essential because many people were uneducated and could not comprehend complicated terminology. Thus, Paine begins with “these are the times that try men’s souls,” attempting to ignite anger towards Britain in the reader. Moreover, Paine incorporates figurative language, such as analogy and metaphor, to provide a clearer image for the reader. The King of Britain is compared to a “common murderer, a highwayman, or a house-breaker,” changing the people’s perspective (if it wasn’t already) of the King from a prestigious, admirable man to the common criminal. By demoting the King, the people can see him as a common enemy that they must destroy and abolish from their society. Paine is directing them to unite them as a society that requires punishing and cleansing felons, otherwise, they cannot be the best: the role-model for other countries to follow. And to achieve this status, America must be under its own government and its own rules, meaning she must be liberated from Britain’s grasp. The nation’s desire to be free from their control cannot be suppressed “for though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire.” The coal is a metaphor for mankind’s desire to exercise

He wants the people to be on the American side, and actually support them in the major war for this country. When he presents figurative language in his paper that contributes to another document, “Common Sense”, Paine doesn’t use as much simile but presents many metaphors. For the first example of a simile says that Great Britain “...was driven back like men petrified with fear; and this brave exploit was performed by a few broken forces collected and headed by a woman, Joan of Arc.”, which shows how wimpy the British are because when they fought with France they surrendered in defeat to a woman, and women didn’t have much support back then. Another simile is about a fox, that represents Howe, the British General, “...to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war, the cunning of the fox is a murderous as the violence of the wolf, and we ought to guard equally against both.”, which shows how evil the General is as well. The first example of a metaphor used by Thomas Paine is, “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”,

Thomas Paine, in his renowned work Common Sense, unambiguously uses pathos to call the founding fathers, and the American colonies as a whole, to action against the oppression of the British government. By using explicit figurative language, passionate diction, and the persistent parallel structure used to create correlation between citizen and governing powers, Paine masterfully manipulates the rhetorical appeals and devices in this piece in order to inspire action.

Paine opens his persuasion to the nation by warning that getting their freedom from Britain will not be easy. By using the simile, "Tyranny, like hell...", he implies that Britain's control over them will not be easy to overcome. As he says in the beginning of the paragraph, "The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will...shrink from the service...but he

In the year of 1776, emotions intensify in Colonial America creating an atmosphere prime for dissidence and a yearning for independence. The livid Americans, overtaxed and mistreated by the British after the French and Indian War, debate and argue amongst themselves about the fate of their fledgling colony. The American colonies interested in seeking independence from their motherland Britain, look abroad in hopes of finding moral and political reasons to justify revolution. In the pamphlet, Common Sense, Frenchman Thomas Paine conveys such reasons using rhetorical elements such as figurative language, rhetorical questions, and assertions in order to enhance the morale of the colonists and support the Americans in their revolution against Britain.

In his writing, Paine acknowledges that, “Volumes have been written on the subject of the struggle between England and America.” (Paine, 683) He further states that these writings had proven

American colonists were getting more and more frustrated with the rules being forced onto them by the British, so Thomas Paine’s timing was very crucial in convincing everyone to take such drastic measures. Paine’s structure makes it clear the colonists need only one more final inspiration to fight and he wants to present that as simply as possible by saying, “In the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense...” (Paine n.pag.). Thomas Paine was a patriot of the 1770s, meaning he was one of the people who did not like being controlled by the British. The structure gives Paine a specific tone that seems very understandable and very to-the-point. He is trying to spread the idea that the solution to their Britain problem is very simple, but is overlooked by most colonists before 1776 when the pamphlet was written. He blatantly and clearly presents his argument immediately to his readers to give the colonists confidence and make them feel starting a rebellion will be easy to win and worthwhile to do. The colonists all came to the colonies to gain some freedom from the British Empire, yet are still getting controlled by them without any physical representation.

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.

Paine effectively used low language and vivid imagery to create what amounts to the most successful propaganda tool in history. He made a point in demonizing King George as a “brute” and painting Great Britain as a “parasitic” overseer, sucking profit from its American Colonies while returning nothing but oppression. His use of plain rhetoric; however was his most powerful weapon, the very title of the work implied that what Paine presented was simple logic, that it could be grasped by anyone. He plainly appealed to the already embattled colonists that “the period for debate is closed” on the issue of the Revolution, that the Crown had “made the choice to pursue bloodshed” and that there was only one

However, Paine combats all of these notions with well-thought-out, educated details that sway those arguments. For example, the idea of England increasing the profitability of America’s trade is addressed by Paine saying, “Our plan is commerce and that, well attended to, will secure us the peace and friendship of all Europe; because it is the interest of all Europe to have America a free port. Her trade will always be a protection and her barrenness of gold and silver secure her from invaders.” (Paine, 458). Paine’s use of the lack of the readers’ common knowledge allows for a compelling argument which would enlighten audiences.

Paine realized that his work would have been ignored had it lacked style. Each individual has a certain style that motivates them and appeals to their senses. Realizing this, Paine believed that the manner in which he composed his ideas for the reader to be of importance. In doing so, he mentions various comments with great significance to emphasize the importance of the point he is trying to get across. One statement that he makes is, “The blood of the slain, the weeping

Paine continues by means of insisting that the reason of independence impacts extra than simply the united states. The entire trouble of tyranny and absolute power is some thing that impacts nearly every united states inside the world, and Paine hopes that the us will sooner or later grow to be a shining instance of democracy and freedom to those different international