“Can a wretch who wanders about, whose life is a continual scene of affliction call England or any other kingdom his country?” The trivial question proposed by Crevecoeur denounces England for its weakening effect on its people. However, the very pain of affliction was transformed into motivation. Men and women crossed the tremulous seas of the Atlantic to create a new home for themselves and abandon the burden of their past.
The Frenchman develops an extended metaphor