What Are The Rhetorical Devices Used In The American Crisis

The American Crisis by Thomas Paine was written in response to the difficult times during the American Revolution. This piece of writing was read aloud by George Washington to his troops. The purpose of Paine writing this is to be motivational to the troops, explaining that nothing worth having comes easy and for free.
Paine uses many rhetorical devices, one of which being pathos, relating to the readers/listeners emotions. Paine says things like “the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph…it is dearness only that gives everything its value.” He is trying to get the American soldiers to understand that the result of winning this war is far greater than the fight needed to do so. He also explains most people would not be able to continue fighting but “he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” He uses this sentence to try and give the soldiers a sense of pride in what they are doing, saying that they deserve praise. These quotes all play on the listener's emotions.

He states that all that the British forces in America are doing “is rather a ravage than a conquest” and that the Jerseys “would have quickly repulsed” meaning that a year ago the Jerseys would quickly and successfully stop the attack against them. By saying this he almost redirects his ideas back to the pathos used in the paragraph above this quote. In the paragraph above, he states “it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.”, Even though Paine believes that America’s independence being declared was delayed for too long, he wants everyone to give more value to the victory they will have and the freedom they will rightfully