Figurative Language In The Crisis By Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine makes a statement and compares the king to a thief that stole their land. Paine states, “but if a thief breaks into my house, threatens to kill me, or those that are in it, and to “bind me in all cases whatsoever” to his absolute will, am I to suffer it?”(Paine). Trying to persuade people to join the fight, Paine is asking the colonists why they are subjecting their selves to the tyranny of the king; furthermore, Paine is explaining that the colonists have no choice, but to fight or they will forever be under the tyranny of the king. Patrick Henry makes a statement about the petition in his speech that says, “Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received?”(Henry). With his rhetorical question, Patrick Henry is trying to show the colonists that the king did not care for their petition and would not settle for anything. Therefore, Henry would then go on to state why they should declare war on Britain and gain their

It’s the middle of winter. Soldiers huddled together around the fire for warmth as their entire being shakes from the frigid weather. The snow falls lightly upon them, but not as light as their hearts. It’s December 23, 1776, christmas is soon and America is losing the war for independence from Britain, each soldier wishes to return home to their family, for they feel as if all is lost and there is nothing they can possibly do to win the war. All until Thomas Paine presents the soldiers a whole hearted and encouraging speech, “The Crisis”.

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

Paine is showing how the decision the colonists make will be permanent, not necessarily for them but for their offspring. For example, if I were to carve my initials into a tree today, 50 years later, the initials will still remain there. The same concept is seen with the decision needed to be made by the inhabitants, if they are either for or against American Independence, the result will continue to have an effect on the following

“The Crisis No. 1” is a 16 pamphlet series written by Thomas Paine in December of 1776 (Paine 86). It was a rather successful piece that argued for independence from England and described the difficulties faced by the colonists because of Britain’s tyranny. Paine was mostly targeting the American patriots and trying to influence them to come together and fight for their independence. He also included his idea of the colonies being free from British rule. Through his strong use of tone and figurative language, he got the colonists to picture a tyranny free country.

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.

As the year 1776 began in the American colonies, tension with King George III’s England was at perhaps an all-time high.  Americans were frustrated with the actions of their rulers overseas.  Taxes and trade restrictions had been placed on them, and British and mercenary soldiers occupied their towns and cities.  There had even been fighting at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill.  As America grew, England’s hold on it tightened, and a few voices began speaking of independence.  The loudest and most convincing of these belonged to Thomas Paine, born in England and living in Philadelphia.  His pamphlet, Common Sense, expressed the argument for American independence in a way no one had before and had a great influence on the Declaration of

Political writer, Thomas Paine, in his persuasive writing, The Crisis No. 1, expresses feelings towards Britain's control over the colonies. Paine's purpose is to unite the colonists in an effort to retaliate against Great Britain. He uses an objective tone in order to unite and rally the common person in his nation.

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.

Next, the author of “The Crisis № 1”: Thomas Paine, uses aphorisms, while portraying ethos, to get his point across to the colonists. Although Paine uses several aphorisms throughout the first paragraph of the document, there is one that completely sums up what he is fighting for: “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph” (Paine 88). This quote explains how King George III acts like the devil and rules like a tyrant. Paine tries to get people to join together during this difficult time. Even though he knows that this will be a tough fight, the victory will be worth it. Aphorisms give the audience, not only an eye opener to the situation, but also a lesson that explains how life operates. Paine uses ethos while describing England’s rule:

Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry promote the desire and will to fight for freedom because they believed America should trust God and he would lead them to victory. A lesson that should reverberate for generations to come. Patrick Henry's “Speech in the Convention” was in March 1775 to the Second Virginia Provincial Convention. Thomas Paine’s speech “The Crisis, Number one” composed only on a drum as a desk was read to discourage soldiers during a retreat early in the war. Although these speeches were in completely different stages of the Revolutionary War they both instilled they desire to fight for America's Independence to their audiences.

Along with logic, Paine persuades the reader to his side by appealing to the audience’s feelings, or the rhetorical form of pathos. In some of the arguments made by Paine, he states certain things that are meant to invoke the emotions of the reader or that use the feelings he knows his readers have to push his side of the argument. For example, when Paine is talking about what some people are experiencing because of the British’s rule over America, he asks the reader, “...hath your house been burnt? Hath your property been destroyed before your face? Are your wife and children destitute of a bed to lie on, or bread to live on? Have you lost a parent or a child by their hand, and yourself the ruined and wretched survivor?” All of these questions are used by Paine to convince the reader that there is no way of reconciling with Britain after what they have done but they are also used to

In a time of uncertainty and alliances Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, Common Sense provided the American people an easy way to understand the breakdown of who they were going to go to war against and why they should. Paine offered opinions with intellectual backing, opinions that were soon backed or opposed by other colonists and debated from taverns to law offices all over the colonies. In this paper, I will be discussing Paine’s intended audience, his perspective, the major problems he sees between England and the American colonies, and why his writing was so persuasive to support the revolution and weaknesses in his argument.

Before the leading battles in the Revolutionary War emerged, very little of the colonists wanted full independence from Great Britain. After Britain tried to overtake the rebels with their army that was ridiculously bigger and greater than ours, the colonist had a change of heart. When King George III ordered the growth of Britain’s army and the news reached America, the hope of compromise was deserted. In the same time of these events, Thomas Paine would

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.