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Rhetorical Analysis On Henry's Speech

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Henry emphasizes that the government's current tactics to gain liberty are not working, by questioning them. Henry asks “Shall we try to argument,” should they use reason to negotiate their freedom with the British government? He assures the Second Virginia council that would not work “Sir, we have been trying that for the past ten years.” He explains that failure is inevitable, if they are merely negotiating. Henry is implying they need a direct approach in order to achieve freedom: war.
In order to reinforce that war is the best option Henry uses religion to promote his cause. He explains that America will not fight its battles alone but “there is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.” He is saying God is on their side and will help them win the inevitable war. He is manipulating people’s ethics in order for them to be more …show more content…

He states “If we wish to be free” and finally obtain liberty “if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending.” We must not give up “the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged.” Which we have promised “ never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained,” the glorious object is their freedom. In order to fulfill all of these things he demands that “we must fight!”
In his last line of the speech Henry demonstrates how passionate he is about his freedom. He says “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” He is conveying the severity of issue, he would rather die than be ruled by Britain. After giving his speech he is sarcastic when saying “I do not know what course others may take.” He says this after giving a highly persuasive speech on why War with Britain is the only

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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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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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In doing this Henry forms a connection between the need to have a war and religion. This connection helps attach the reader to Henry's opinions and make them more open to the war. All in all, Henry confronts the delegates of the Virginia Convention with the inevitable British invasions and changes the opinions of the delegates through diction, figurative language and rhetorical

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He calls upon Britain’s intentions with their use of their military force in the colonies when he said, “Ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies?” Through this rhetorical question, Henry was saying that the British’s only desire for their forces in the colonies was to sustain the loyalty of the colonists toward Britain and to fetter the colonists from true freedom. One may believe that claim is true because, if losing the loyalty of the colonists wasn't a threat, the English would never have bothered to send their troops in the first place.

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But they put themselves in a level with wood and earth and stones [...] than men of straw or a lump of dirt’’. Henry’s ethos shows the audience of his strategy of going against the government corruption. Henry’s speech was well-planned out to shows his audience of his experience when rebelling the government; in addition, receiving forced punishment for not paying his poll-tax. He thought out things that made himself to commit this disobedience against the government and wanted to express his experience of his ideas and strategy to disobey the government.

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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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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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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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Patrick henry uses rhetorical appeals by using God to persuade memebers of the virginia convention to go to war with Britian. He uses pathos, logos, and ethos because he appeasl to peoples emotions and how they feel about going to war with Britain. Henry is a person who fights to get what he wants. He's a man that believes fighting is the only way of getting freedom. Henry is a credible speaker because of this he gets some to agree with him on going to war with Britain, and some still disagree becasue some say they are not ready, they are weak.

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On March 23, 1775, Mr. Patrick Henry made history when he delivered a speech at the Virginia Convention. Mr. Henry's purpose in his speech was to convince the Virginia patriots attending the convention that the only option with Britain remaining was war. Mr. Henry used many rhetorical devices throughout his speech, and with the use of pathos, ethos, and logos he had an effective advantage that appealed to almost every person at the convention. To begin with, Mr. Henry’s speech contains much use of pathos as he relates to the emotions of the people of Virginia. An example of Mr. Henry's use of pathos is when he states, “I consider it as nothing less than freedom or slavery...”.

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In the “Speech to the Virginia Convention” given by Patrick Henry to the President in 1775, asserts that the colonists should not be trying to negotiate with the British. His purpose was to convince the audience that they should not be trying to befriend the people of Great Britain rather that they should make Great Britain their foe. Henry uses his speech to appeal to both the President and the colonist through the use of figurative language, tone, and syntax. Patrick Henry’s use of diction, a persuasive and forceful tone, appeal to ethos and pathos, as well as various syntactical elements in his “Speech to the Virginia Convention” shows that the colonists should be fighting to break away from the British monarchy rather than negotiate terms to try and stay under their clutches.

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In 1775 the American Colonies stood at a tipping point. Britain and the Colonies had been embroiled in a continuing struggle over numerous injustices, and the Colonies seemed at long last situated to engage in a revolution against Britain. However, the colonial representatives were still tied up in negotiations with Britain, and many delegates of the Virginia Convention wanted to delay actions until the negotiations had concluded. Patrick Henry disagreed with the delay, so he addressed the Convention, arguing for the need to mobilize troops against the British, a request tantamount to treason. Instead of shying away from the polarizing nature of his argument, Henry adopted a respectful, but urgent, tone, crafting an argument that would inspire his audience into action.

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Henry’s Method for Achieving His Purpose In the speech Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, Patrick Henry uses allusion, symbolism, juxtaposition, and rhetorical questions to achieve his purpose. Henry’s purpose is to convince the Loyalists of his cause, which this speech does effectively. Because he used strong rhetorical devices, his language really clarified his points in why the Loyalists should commit treason and join the war, effectively convincing them to join the revolution.

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I repeat it sir, let it come.” The main point of the speech is that the colonists must go to war to protect their own freedom. He is saying that there is only way to the war and they should follow that path. Another way patrick henry uses rhetorical question in his speech is his use of ethos. Partick believes strong in his country and states, “... but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”.

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but he has different views than his audience, the Virginia Convention, does. Throughout the speech, Henry uses words like “we” and “ourselves” to show that he is still with the audience, and not against them. Henry continues on in that same paragraph by using pathos. When he said, "Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself guilty of treason towards my own country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. " He is saying that this is what he needs to do for his God.

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