Rhetorical Devices In Thomas Paine's Common Sense

In the revolutionary period, many authors used rhetorical devices to persuade the colonists to fight against the British and win their independence.

The document “Common Sense” was written in 1776 by a man named Thomas Paine. His main goal was to explain why the colonists needed independence from Great Britain. The King had refused to take actions to help the colonists. He had also imposed taxes and robbed them of their natural born rights. This angered the colonists making them want to revolt against Britain as well. The way Thomas Paine worded “Common Sense” made colonists feel that no answers but his were correct. He accomplished this by using multiple rhetorical devices. Paine often asks questions, but then quickly gave his own answer, along with asking questions that are left for speculation. The most influential devices used by Thomas Paine were hypophoras and rhetorical questions in “Common Sense” to persuade Americans into standing up to Great Britain.

Thomas Paine’s makes the most interesting argument for separation of the colonies from England when he wrote, “Can ye give to prostitution its former innocence? Neither can ye reconcile Britain and America” (Paine 997). At first, I thought Paine was merely asking a rhetorical question and using the answer to illustrate the impossibility of reconciliation between America and Great Britain. However, after more thought, I found this most interesting because I thought that it best describes the nature of the relationship between Great Britain and the American Colonies seeing as Great Britain was essentially pimping out the American colonies. Analogous to the reasons in favor of reconciliation between America and Great Britain being based on fear,

In 46 Pages author Scott Liell is able to poignantly illustrate the colonies metamorphosis from a dependent arm of the English Empire to an independent country, the catalyst for which was Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Liell is able to not only articulate the turning point of the American consensus towards independence, but he also very intelligibly depicts the sentiments of all facets of colonial dogma and the torrential effect that Common Sense had in loosening the cement that held those beliefs. Using fantastic examples of the opinions of Tories, Whigs, and those ambivalent towards independence, Liell efficiently and

Thomas Paine is often considered one of the unsung heroes of the American Revolution and wrote some of the greatest revolutionary propaganda that is still being studied today. In his 1791 Book “Rights of Man” he postulates that America is a bastion of hope and is an unlikely melting pot of cultures, languages and religions brought together greatly by a non-oppressive government that supported the rights of all people. 1791 America was by no stretch of the imagination the flawless perfect republic sought out by Thomas Paine on account of slavery (among other factors). Even today we are teetering on the edge between Paine’s ideal unoppressive society and total chaos. While Paine’s characterization of America still rings true in many regards there are some facets of modern life that Paine may find to be troubling. He also may believe that American’s today have strayed away from his vision of the “cordial union between all peoples”.

While it is true that the British colonies in North America did stem from England, it is incredulous to think that a mere island nation, no matter how powerful or far reaching their empire, could ever hope to govern a continent a vast ocean apart. Between the French and Indian War and the subsequent taxation that it resulted in, the period of Benign Neglect was beginning to take a darker and more restrictive route, which would only go to instill in the minds of the American colonists that they were only a “means to an end” for Britain. Thomas Paine would only help to stoke the flames of the coming movement for American independence through his work “Common Sense” where he brought the hypocrisies and sins of the British government to light along with arguing why the colonies would be better off on their own. Within the contents of “Common Sense”, Paine would go toe-to-toe with the arguments of colonists who opposed independence in areas such as whether or not England had the colonies’ best interest at heart, the true nature of balance between the British monarchy and Parliament, and whether or not the colonists could actually govern themselves.

Around the time of 1776, words of rebellion filled the Boston Harbor, spreading throughout the colonies like an infectious virus. The angered Americans, overtaxed and mistreated by the British after the French and Indian War, debated and argued amongst themselves about the future of their young colony. The American colonies interested in seeking independence from their motherland Britain, looked abroad in hopes to find moral and political reasons to justify revolution. In the pamphlet, Common Sense, Frenchman Thomas Paine brought forth such reason using rhetorical elements such as figurative language, rhetorical questions, and assertions in order to boost the morale of the colonists and support the Americans in their revolution against

For instance, Paine begins by producing parallel construction in the first paragraph, crafting each clause within the sentences similarly, however, the sentences’ first clause deals with society and the second clause with government. In addition, through juxtaposition he depicts the good of society against the evil that government contains. Paine claims that society aids “POSITIVELY,” while evil “NEGATIVELY” affects society by deliberately reducing the natural rights held by mankind. As result of this, society is displayed as having greater importance and of being at a higher level than government. Furthermore, society has the ability to exist as its own entity, while governments require a society for them to exist similar to how a virus needs a living host to survive.

In essence, Common Sense is about freedom in America, not only about cutting off its ties with the British. The freedom Pained swooned about was a specific kind of freedom that only existed in the New World. Once the ties were severed, it was new beginnings. One of the types of freedoms Paine had hoped to see, was the freedom of man and woman to think and feel the way he or she chooses to; something that was not commonly practiced or accepted in their old lives back in England. But, in effort to obtain this unique kind of freedom, Americans had to be willing to stand up and fight for that right. This was a war a on freedom and it couldn’t be won sitting down, they had to be active and play an active role in this vision so that it could become a reality. Paine was a firm believer that it was everyone’s responsibility to protect their freedom at all cost. It was nothing more or less than a basic right that everyone should possess. In efforts to get the people to come to a realization, Paine attempted to persuade the readers ( the colonist who read his pamphlet Common Sense) that a man is one who makes decisions not only for himself but, for future generations by choosing to fight for freedom from England. It was because of those first people who immigrated here to America in search of shelter from their oppressive and manipulating homeland, and because of that, America

During the 1760’s and 1770’s, tension was rising between the American colonists and Great Britain. The American colonists found themselves in many problematic situations under the monarchial rule. For this reason, a plethora of colonists considered declaring complete independence from their “mother-country.” Thomas Paine was one such colonist who believed that it was necessary for the colonies to break free from British authority. He created a political pamphlet titled “Common Sense,” which widely influenced the colonists to strive for freedom. In “Common Sense,” Thomas Paine clearly exhibits the unjust practice of monarchy and hereditary succession, the inevitability of British oppression, and the opportunities gained after detaching from Britain as persuasive arguments for colonial independence.

Paine had many different ideas on the principles that government was based on. His biggest idea was “that the more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered”(Paine, Common Sense, 8.). He claims government as an establishment sole purpose is to limit the evil in man.

Freeing one’s mind into a realm of openness without pollution from bogus media sources is a paramount piece of the common sense puzzle that our society needs to solve. To think for one’s self is to have the ability to draw from past experiences and opinions to create a justified thought or action. People of today have become no better than the sheep of a shepherd. We are told what to wear, how to act, what we should believe, and the list continues. Our thoughts are no longer our own, as they all belong to an outside source or influence. Without your own thoughts guiding you, your common sense becomes smothered and your opinions are no longer your own. During the colonial times, the British had stripped the American colonists of their own free thought. The spark of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, however, was enough to ignite the subconscious of the colonists into taking up arms.

Following a brief introduction to the third edition, Mr. Paine make the following statement which I found terribly intriguing. “Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices.”

3) Paine then provides a striking example of how a government forms and grows from being mere organizational regulations, to an overwhelming, unequal, and corrupt being. He also provides the observation that a successful government must have not only a balance of power, but also of representatives in each state or region. His example leads into his opinion that a government should exist as simply as possible, “the less liable it is to be disordered, and the easier repaired when disordered” (p. 6) Yet another complaint he proposes is the government’s inability to produce the outcomes that it promises. Although he published this pamphlet before the first president of the United States, that same pattern of unkept promises still unfortunately remains true in American politics of the present day.

Throughout time, events such as wars and assassinations have occurred that people today can describe as “a turning point in history”. However, not all turning points in history have to be wars, assassinations, etc. In fact, perhaps everybody acknowledges that Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense is a “turning point in history” because it inspired the United States Revolutionary War. Common Sense, a pamphlet, can be credited as to inciting the American Colonies to revolt against Great Britain. However, how could a mere pamphlet concerning such a complex and complicated issue ignite The United States to a major turning point? By focusing on trade sanctions imposed on the United States by Great Britain and insisting the United States could have a better Navy than Great Britain while writing in an easy to read style that emphasizes key words by capitalizing or italicizing, Paine appealed to the average colonist in a way that reinforced the democratic ideals of the early Americans.