American Crisis Number 1 Rhetorical Devices

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After the colonist declared they were going to try to obtain freedom from British rule, they faced several problems such as accepting the decision they have made. In The American Crisis, Number 1 by Thomas Paine, Paine tries to inspire and encourage the colonist to join the fight and not lose faith and their will power. Paine uses several writing strategies, such as aphorism and anecdote, in order to give the colonists reasons why they deserve to live free from tyranny. An aphorism is a forceful observation that contains a general truth, such as “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” Paine uses this writing strategy throughout his speech, to convince his audience that they have made the right decision in separating from Britain. For instance, one …show more content…

In The American Crisis, Paine tells an anecdote of the tavern-keeper. With this anecdote, Paine is trying to make the point that anyone who does not support independence from Britain is selfish. For instance, Paine states that war with Britain was inevitable (bound to happen) and anyone who was trying to “keep peace” was just pushing the war off for later. Paine states that they should fight now so later they can live in peace. He says that the man who does not do this is acting unfatherly, because any “generous parent” would have said, “Let me fight now that my children may have peace.” Any man who does not fight now to gain freedom so that his children will not have to fight is a coward. Therefore, through this writing technique Paine is able to persuade and grab the emotions of the audience. Throughout The American Crisis, number 1 by Thomas Paine, several writing techniques such as aphorism and anecdote are used to enhance Paine’s point. These techniques allow Paine to grasp the audience and convince them of the point being made. Thus, his use of writing strategies aid in the development of the central

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