Rhetorical Devices In Common Sense By Thomas Paine
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The American Revolution was the beginning of the country as we know it. The United Sates at one time was not united and it was not free. The war that was waged gave the United States its’ freedom from Great Britain, and showed the world that Americans could do anything that they set their mind to. Though, just like any struggle for freedom, there had to be people willing to fight in it, and there had to be a reason to put their lives on the line. Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, Common Sense, ignited a burning desire for freedom in colonists’ hearts with its brilliant use of rhetoric to inspire a nation of oppressed people. With the American Colonies in a state of unrest, Thomas Paine released a pamphlet called, Common Sense, on January 10th, 1776.
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Prejudice can be described as one group of people looking down on another group of people. Paine uses this word to change the way his audience thinks about what he is asking them to do. The word “prejudice” could be considered the framework of the whole argument. Paine knows that his audience are Christians, and he knows that they hate “sin”. “Prejudice” could be thought of as a type of “sin”, and he knows that if he can get people to believe that then they will stand up for themselves. Additionally, he knows that war is a difficult thing to go through, and that many colonists are mostly okay with the British constitution. Instead of having them just ask for reform, he knows he needs them to just overthrow it. Paine uses that word, “prejudice”, to change the way people think about Britain and the way they have perceived their rulers. He shows them that the government you may think is alright to have over you is any but the best option, and that they are being looked down upon by someone who thinks they are better than you. To get his point across, Paine uses the word 13 times in his argument. Paine is smart, so he puts the word “prejudice” at the beginning and/or ending of a sentence 11 times. By doing this, he takes away any doubt of a counter argument that the reader may have. By doing so, Paine shows that any disagreement one may have with his writings is a result of prejudice (Hoffman 391-393, …show more content…
When people left Europe, and came to America, they were looking for religious freedom. They received that, but they also kept the government that burdened them for so long. So, for Paine to come along and spark a revolution in the citizens of America took bravery and it took heart. The people of America responded to him, and they took up arms after Common Sense changed their opinion of Great Britain. Through his appeal to their religion, and to a sense of wrong and right, Paine unified a nation that was sick of being looked down to. If they had never read Common Sense, then America could very well be a very different place then it is today. Still, Americans went to war for their human rights, won that war, won their independence, and never looked
Prejudice can be described as one group of people looking down on another group of people. Paine uses this word to change the way his audience thinks about what he is asking them to do. The word “prejudice” could be considered the framework of the whole argument. Paine knows that his audience are Christians, and he knows that they hate “sin”. “Prejudice” could be thought of as a type of “sin”, and he knows that if he can get people to believe that then they will stand up for themselves. Additionally, he knows that war is a difficult thing to go through, and that many colonists are mostly okay with the British constitution. Instead of having them just ask for reform, he knows he needs them to just overthrow it. Paine uses that word, “prejudice”, to change the way people think about Britain and the way they have perceived their rulers. He shows them that the government you may think is alright to have over you is any but the best option, and that they are being looked down upon by someone who thinks they are better than you. To get his point across, Paine uses the word 13 times in his argument. Paine is smart, so he puts the word “prejudice” at the beginning and/or ending of a sentence 11 times. By doing this, he takes away any doubt of a counter argument that the reader may have. By doing so, Paine shows that any disagreement one may have with his writings is a result of prejudice (Hoffman 391-393, …show more content…
When people left Europe, and came to America, they were looking for religious freedom. They received that, but they also kept the government that burdened them for so long. So, for Paine to come along and spark a revolution in the citizens of America took bravery and it took heart. The people of America responded to him, and they took up arms after Common Sense changed their opinion of Great Britain. Through his appeal to their religion, and to a sense of wrong and right, Paine unified a nation that was sick of being looked down to. If they had never read Common Sense, then America could very well be a very different place then it is today. Still, Americans went to war for their human rights, won that war, won their independence, and never looked