Rhetorical Analysis Of Speech By Thomas Paine

Appease and Deceit

Shall you die for freedom, or appease the tyrannical rulings for yourself and future generations? During the Revolutionary period of American history, writers such as Thomas Paine and Patrich Henry wrote persuasive and motivational texts to ignite the fire to fight within America. Patrick Henry presented his coveted speech at the Virginia convention on March 23, 1775, in front of lawmakers to persuade them to take action against the growing British military threat with their own military. Approximately one year later on Christmas eve of 1776, Thomas Paine’s essay, “The Crisis”, was presented to soldiers to boost their morale after a difficult defeat. Using patriotic appeals, imagery, diction, language, and syntax, both

For example, Henry highlights the cowardice of the colonists when he emphasizes that they must “fulfill the great responsibility which we [colonists] hold to god and our country” (Henry 83). Henry appeals to his audience by assessing their religious values, then patriotism. By constructing this statement declaratively, the audience senses Henry’s passion and frustration with the lack of resistance that the colonists have shown to Britain's corrupt ways. Therefore, the audience believes it is a necessity to not only listen but to agree with a statement so direct. Along with this, Henry concludes that the colonists will “listen to the song of the siren, till she transforms us [colonists] into beasts” (Henry 83). Henry presents a metaphor when saying this to emphasize what the outcome will be if the same route that has already been taken to fix the problem, is used again. Also, by referring to Great Britain as “she”, connotative language alludes to the deceitfulness that Great Britain possesses because of the reputation that men have of women for being deceitful. Therefore, because of Henry’s rhetoric, he was able to convince a nation to retaliate against

To illustrate, Paine begins his essay by explaining that there is the “summer soldier and the sunshine patriot” (Paine 50). The cacophonous diction differentiates a boy to man, and a man to soldier, thus, appealing to the men's pride. Furthermore, Paine appeals to the soldier’s patriotism because everyone wants the reputation of a soldier because of the benefits that it provides, however, not everyone wants to continue to put their life on the line when times get hard. In addition to that, Paine reveals the effect that this war has on the future of the colonies by emphasizing that the soldiers must “lay your shoulders to the wheel . . . when so great an object is at stake” (Paine 52). With means of utilizing connotative diction, Paine suggests that these men’s sacrifice is key to the freedom and welfare of their future generations. Thus, as Thomas Paine did throughout the entirety of the essay, the men felt a duty to fight because of the emphasis that it would have on the