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Comparing Patrick Henry's Speech To The Virginia Convention

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Compare and Contrast Essay Freedom, equality, and success are all similar but different views in life. In Patrick Henry's speech “Speech to the Virginia convention” he talked about how he believed people could achieve these beliefs. In a like manner so did John F Kennedy in his “inaugural speech”. Both JFK and Patrick Henry viewed freedom, equality, and success in very similar but different ways.
Everybody has a right to freedom; people all have the right also to show how they express it. John F Kennedy believed freedom should not be limited to a victory. He said “we deserve today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom”(Kennedy 1). People should not express a victory over a loss more valuable than how they express freedom. On the other hand, Patrick Henry expressed freedom in a non-similar way. He had said “Give me liberty or give me death”(Henry 85). Patrick Henry and JFK believed freedom was a major role in society. Their way of showing it was where they went separate ways. One believe people should come together and seek out freedom, while the other believed people should fight for it.
Similarly, JFK and Patrick Henry viewed equality differently. Patrick Henry saw it as some people are impossible to be treated equally, not everybody deserves peace and equality with …show more content…

JFK thought that by helping other, people could find success in society. People can not just help somebody and expect success though; they must understand that helping an individual is the right decision. Like JFK said “Not because the communist maybe doing it, not because we seek votes, but because it is right”(Kennedy 4). While Patrick Henry realized people achieved success up until they viewed something such as the painful truth. “We are opt to shut our eyes against a painful truth”(Henry 85). Though both men believed in success, they saw it differently and thought people could achieve it by going in the right

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The Speech in the Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry and the Speech in the Convention by Benjamin Franklin both have similarities and differences but they are both about the views on compromise and when to stand firm. Patrick Henry had a better standpoint then Benjamin Franklin did in their speeches. Patrick Henry’s speech had a stronger point of view than Benjamin Franklin The difference between these speeches is that Patrick Henry implores his countrymen to declare war against the British he wanted to fire up the representatives at the convection in VA.

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524 Words | 3 Pages

Under the control of the British Parliament in 1775, the American colonies consider going to war in order to gain independence from Britain. In “Patrick Henry’s Speech in the Virginia Convention,” Henry addresses the need for American colonists to work together to stop the British from controlling them. Thus, Henry’s periodic sentence, rhetorical questions, antithesis, and anaphora successfully convince the American colonists to unite against the British and to bring awareness to their wrongdoings. Firstly, Henry applies periodic sentences and rhetorical questions to convey the idea that the American Colonists must fight back against the British by working together if they want to gain freedom. Henry believes that “if [they] wish to

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730 Words | 3 Pages

Lawyer and politician, Patrick Henry in his speech, “Give me Liberty Or Give Me Death” (March 23, 1775), explains that he give this plea to urge the old dominion to form militias to defend itself against British. He supports his claim by first using a religious reference to express the themes of freedom, equality, and independence. Then uses a selection of other strategies like rhetorical question and allusion to disprove the opposing arguments and clarify the point he is making. Patrick Henry purpose is to fight back and he wants other to fight with him in order for independence. He creates a powerful and commanding tone for the second Virginia convention.

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854 Words | 4 Pages

Patrick Henry was born in 1736 and believed that the people should be free from the rule of the English Parliament. For example in the Speech in the Virginia Convention he says, “I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission?” His words make it clear that the purpose of the martial law is to force people into submission. He then asks the audience, “Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it?” Both quotes are great examples of his skills in voice because he brings up the problem and then challenges them to find any other meaning behind the words.

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1018 Words | 5 Pages

On March 23, 1775, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” was heard all throughout St. John 's Church. These famous words were not only a great speaker looking to have his voice heard, but they would have an everlasting impact on young English students studying the use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Patrick Henry also used figurative languages such as allusions, parallelism, and biblical references to bring his speech to life. In this specific piece of literature, qualities like independence and individualism are exceedingly prominent, this all being due to Henry’s use of literary devices. Conversely, in the very first sentence, Henry uses ethos to articulate how he is patriotic to his home, but he occupies diverse views than his audience, the Virginia

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560 Words | 3 Pages

Revolutionary Speeches: A Common Purpose The revolutionary speeches composed of by Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine both have common goals in terms of the changes that they want made to the way of life for all Americans. The technique and manner in which the two conduct their speeches are significantly different, though. Patrick Henry’s speech is mainly to persuade the Virginia Convention to be more assertive toward the British government, and to prepare for war if the convention's voice was not acknowledged by them. Thomas Paine’s speech, “The Crisis: Number 1”, was also to written to persuade the American people.

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1045 Words | 5 Pages

March of 1775 was a day of persuasion for steps towards freedom. A former governor of Virginia, Patrick Henry wrote the speech “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” in response to British conflict and wanting to peacefully approach it with a reasonable effort. The British were enforcing more soldiers into the colonies and the Americans wanted their liberty. Henry advocated for the colonist to fight if their circumstances were not met with the British. Being a former governor, Henry had the knowledge of how the government system worked and was a figure who was looked up to in the state of Virginia.

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345 Words | 2 Pages

Patrick Henry’s claim in his speech to the Virginia Convention is war with England is the only way to win freedom and their desires because England makes this the only choice. Before Patrick went up there were other men that had spoken before him, these men were speaking their views on whether or not they should initialize the war. Once Patrick has his chance to say his part he believes that they should fight because England hasn’t been fair. Patrick states this basically by saying “An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us”. This is such a powerful statement because what he’s proposing is extremely dangerous.

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They both talk about freedom and equality. Lincoln and King both feel that God wanted freedom and equality for all. However, you can feel the emotions in King’s speech because he felt first hand the racism he

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Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry were two important people in American History who made a difference. Franklin’s “Speech in the Convention and Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention” helped guide our nation to independence and democracy. Both speeches have good examples of rhetorical devices, but I think Patrick Henry speech ‘Speech in the Virginia Convention” has better rhetorical devices. Some examples are rhetorical question, logos, diction, and imagery. Patrick Henry style and content is more effective then Benjamin Franklin because Patrick uses a plethora of things such as imagery, “There is no retreat but in submission and slavery!

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570 Words | 3 Pages

Patrick Henry, a Virginian lawyer, made himself known for the speeches supporting American democracy. He is known as the "Orator of Liberty." In 1775, American colonists were still under Great Britain’s power. Many were hoping to be able to work out their disagreements and remain British subjects. Patrick Henry had had enough of cooperating with the British.

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800 Words | 4 Pages

Patrick Henry, former governor of Virginia, bravely spoke on the 23rd of March, 1775, at St. John’s Church, introducing his strategies to end the American Revolution in victory. The speech was so inspiring that it ignited a massive flame of patriotism. Americans began to greatly support his political ideology. Due to his stirring choice of words, the phrase “Give me liberty, or give me death!” impacted the listeners, making his remarkable words yet known to this date.

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593 Words | 3 Pages

John F. Kennedy uses literary devices to capture the attention of the audience, sets himself equal to his audience getting their attention and support, and uses the christian religion to strike the emotions and gain the support of his audience. Kennedy uses many literary devices to catch the attention of his audience. One of these devices is repetition. One example of repetition that Kennedy uses is, “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

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485 Words | 2 Pages

Patrick Henry Argument Analysis Throughout Patrick Henry’s speech, he uses many literary devices to convey his thought and opinions to his audience, and with it, he hopes to alter or sway their views on the subject matter. Starting from the very end of Henry's speech, he states “but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”, this now infamous line uses the logical fallacy of false dilemma. This fallacy, also known as either/or, plays to his advantage as it makes the problem seem greater than it actually is by only presenting two extreme options, liberty or death. Another literary device Henry uses in his speech, is ethos, which appeals to the audience's moral or ethical plane.

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1000 Words | 4 Pages

Henry's way of using pathos convinced all the people listening to him, that they felt the same way he did about the arising situation. When Henry used ethos, he continued to show the urgent actions that needed to be done. As Henry's last sentence to the Virginia Convention,“Give me liberty or give me death!” showed that he was willing to die if that was what needed to be done, for the colonists to be free. Patrick Henry was a wonderful speaker and really knew how to capture

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