Vigil Strange I Kept On The Field One Night Analysis

Through the use of various Rhetorical devices, Paine is able to achieve his goal of inspiring the soldiers and restoring the drive for independence they once withheld. One way Paine rallies up his troops is by

Paine believed that America needed to break free of the British clutches. He spoke out against slavery and joined the army to help fight the war. He did not agree with hereditary monarchy and wrote another paper to argue this point (Franklin 321). Paine was very aware of his criticizers, and worked very hard to persuade them toward his way of thinking. In his pamphlet Common Sense he

Tim O’Brien’s moral dilemma arose when the draft notice arrived. Upon the arrival of his draft notice, he believed that the government picked the wrong person, as he was not fit for the war. Through his details of his job

Through the initial characterization of young Tim, O’Brien suggests that when faced with unexpected life changing dilemmas people will more often than naught end up clouded judgement and panic. Young Tim is ambitious and well educated, he is on his way to Harvard University on a scholarship. His life is heading in the best direction possible. This is until he receives the draft letter. His ideals “hurtling down a huge black funnel” and all he can do is “nothing …wait.” His helpless soon becomes rage, rage towards the government who’s motives for the war “were shrouded in uncertainty”. He is “too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything.” “Why don’t they “draft some back-to-the-stone-age hawk?” Why must he, who doesn’t support this “uncertain” war “put [his] own precious fluids on the line.” As “the rage in [his] stomach” “burned down” he soon

In Tim O’Brien’s “On the Rainy River”, Tim is faced with the most difficult decision of his life. The Vietnam War is unfolding overseas and Tim is drafted into the military. As Tim has the option of staying and fighting a war he doesn’t believe in or facing the embarrassment of fleeing to Canada, O’Brien illustrates how other’s opinions sway our decisions in life more than we think they do. Tim battles himself over what should be an easy choice. Will he stay or go? His hometown is “a conservative little spot on the prairie” (1005). There, it is all about tradition and duty. If he chooses to go, he can already imagine his fellow townsfolk gathering around to talk, shamefully, about how “that damned sissy [has]

In Tim O’Brien’s fictional narrative “On the Rainy River,” the narrator faces the dilemma of avoiding the draft or submitting and going to Vietnam, a common predicament that many men faced after receiving draft cards for the Vietnam War. O’Brien displays the thought process of the narrator as he makes a decision, and near the beginning, the narrator describes certain qualities that he believes make him “too good for [that] war”(2). He lists off achievements like “president of the student body” and “full-ride scholarship,” arguing for the idea that he is “above” going to war(O’Brien 2). Through explaining what the narrator believes to be superior traits, the reader might begin to ask, “What types of people actually went to the war?” If the narrator feels that he was above going to Vietnam, there must be some preconceived notion of who was expected to serve. After seeing how the narrator reacted to his call to battle, a question is left of whether the draft was fair in relation to social classes.

In Tim O’Brien’s short story, On the Rainy River, O’Brien wrestles with ideas of social conformity in the midst of a national crisis while struggling to find who he is and his place in a polarized era. Written in the Vietnam War’s aftermath, O’Brien presents his struggles of defining himself as a young draftee while discerning who he is as an adult long after. O’Brien receives a draft notice and undergoes an identity crisis regarding what part he will play in the war, but runs to Canada on an impulse, arriving near the border. When he is about to cross, O’Brien betrays his conscience and returns to his hometown to answer his summons. Through the application of a historical lens, one can gather much about the divided attitudes on the positions on war and the reflection of these feelings as the polarization dies down in upon its publication.

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

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.

In December of 1776, in the midst of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine, an audacious and rebellious persuasive writer living in the American colonies, gathered the attention of fellow colonists, militiamen, and military generals through his controversial opinions and creative writing style, particularly illustrated in his essay, “The Crisis No. 1.” Paine, a dauntless supporter of the revolution, wrote his essay urging colonists to join the fight and earn their freedom through battle. In order to construct his eloquent and compelling essay, he used an impressive combination of the persuasive techniques; rhetorical appeal, figurative language, and tone.

In lines 37-40 he says “... a generous parent would have said, “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace:””. This example puts the listener of The Crisis in a mindset that forces them to consider the future, not only for themselves, but also for their children. This helps to persuade the audience because they must reason with the idea that Paine has presented to them. To add to the idea of reasoning, Paine says in lines 43-46 “America will never be happy until she gets clear of foreign dominion. Wars, without ceasing will break out until that period arrives, and the continent in the end must be the conqueror; for, though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal never can expire…”. This statement has a number of meanings to it. The first concept that Paine highlights is the idea of escaping from other countries. It is unlikely that Paine was scared of directing this towards Britain exclusively, so it could be concluded that this was meant towards all countries in general, and if this is the case then Paine was already trying to convince the people of America that isolationism was the route that they should be directed towards. After this point, he makes reference to liberty. During this time, America was an experimental country with freedoms and liberties that no other country had seen before, using democracy, a principle that not many countries had used. Although Paine was known for directing The Crisis

Thomas Paine was the most persuasive writer for the American Revolution. He wrote to inspire soldiers under Washington that they can win the war, remain strong and fight for the freedom of their country.. In Paine’s essay, “The Crisis, No. 1,” rhetorical devices that Thomas uses are personification and emotional/logical appeal to compare and contrast victory versus defeat. Paine emphasizes that the struggle for freedom from the British through personification and that it’s important because the colonists need to continue to fight and not give up.

After the threat of a possible British invasion intended to disperse any thoughts of rebellion, the colonists’ opinion on revolution varied throughout the colonies. Thomas Paine genuinely believed fighting for freedom was the best choice for America, even though he understood it would be a hard task to undertake. Because of this, Paine used his writing skills to attempt to unite the colonies to support the fight for freedom. In order to reach the largest amount of people, Paine incorporated simple language into his writing.

Thomas Paine, one of the United States’ greatest minds behind the American Revolution, published Common Sense in 1776 with intent on persuading the colonies to pursue a war already bound to happen. His simple gripping prose promoted the premise that the rebellion was not about subjects wronged by their monarch, but a group of independent people being oppressed by a foreign government. Common Sense played a drastic part in the American Revolution, as its use of rhetoric and vigor assisted him in stating that war has already began, that now is the time to fight, and demonizing Great Britain as a brute, one of which has no respect for other people. Paine sets the groundwork for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution by attempting

Thomas Paine was a great influence before and during the American revolution, two specific events that were stepping stones to the Revolution were also stepping stones for Paine’s work. The Stamp Act and The Enlightenment helped Paine to realize the need for revolution, with those events as influences he argued many points, including Naval occupation, need of debt and non-reconciliation with the British, on why the revolution is needed. Paine arrived in The British colonies in Seventeen Seventy-Four and started his literary career writing pamphlets and sharing his ideas with the public. Paine showed passion in revealing what he thought to be the public with his writing and opinions. That passion lead him to be in the center of the Revolutionary war.