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Braveheart Patrick Henry Analysis

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Liberty is something that can motivate people to take drastic actions, even go into war. One piece that exemplifies this is Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Council,” in which, Patrick Henry claims that people should fight for their liberty. It can also be seen in the movie Braveheart, by Mel Gibson, during William Wallace’s speech to his soldiers. Both men use their emotionally charged speeches to try to get their audiences to fight for their liberty. Both Patrick Henry and, the character, William Wallace use the idea of liberty to motivate their audiences. When Patrick Henry addressed the Virginia Convention, he used the ideals of liberty from an oppressor. Patrick Henry once pleaded, “Give me liberty or give me death,” (85). In this quote Henry cries for a government of his choosing, Henry is trying to exclaim for the audience that they should want to live how they desire and not how someone else desires them to live. As a closing to his argument this emotionally charged statement is how Henry tries to rally the crowd. Henry used emotion throughout his speech, in the beginning Henry exclaimed, “... I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery...”(83). He is telling the Convention that the British are practically enslaving the colonists because they are forcing them around with soldiers. Henry also uses this to motivate people to fight for their beliefs. Because Henry uses emotion, motivation, and rebellion from oppression Henry focussed on

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