Thomas Paine-Appeals

Thomas Paine used persuasive techniques in The Crisis to persuade Americans to join his cause. The types of appeals he used emotional appeals, ethical appeals, appeals to association, and appeals to authority.

Emotional Appeal      “These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” In this Thomas Paine is trying to encourage soldiers to reenlist and to try to raise moral among the troops. He appeals to their sense of pride and their fear of tyranny to encourage them to keep fighting.

Ethical Appeal                       When Paine speaks of the conversation he overheard between a father and child he feels that the father is not being fatherly at all. He says he wants to have peace in his day, meaning he does not want to fight, so that means he wishes his son to have to fight and potentially die instead. This goes against many people’s ethics because many people believe that the father should fight for the freedom for their child.

Appeals to Association           “These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” In this he, again, makes an appeal. He claims that if you continue to stand with him you will become famous and loved as a hero by the people.

Appeals to Authority             Paine’s appeal to authority is to God. He believes that God will come to their aid during the war and help the colonists win against the tyrannical British. This mention of God brings many of the religious people in the colonies to believe that the war is going to be won.

Patrick Henry Questions

1.     Patrick Henry urges the colonists to fight the British.

2.     The colonists had sent petitions to the British government but they were ignored.

3.     The British responded to the complaints by ignoring them.

4.     Beliefs shared by the speaker and audience advance Henry’s purpose and affect the tone in this speech because they all wanted the best for their “state” and they all knew that they would be affected by the decision made. For example, Henry says “…and in such a country as that we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us.” In this quote, he is rallying support against the British.

5.      Henry alludes to the Bible in lines 18-19 and in lines 74-75. In lines 18-19 Henry says, ”Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not?” The rhetorical appeal of this allusion is whether or not the men understand that the British are in their country. He also makes an allusion in line 74-75 about the Bible. In this allusion the rhetorical appeal is that anyone can fight in the war with God on their side.

6.     Reasons to Fight

·      If they do not want to be free then they must fight---Ethos

·      British are in the towns and colonies---Ethos

·      The British ignored their appeals---Ethos

·      Anyone could fight in the war---Ethos

·      There is no more hope to have peace with Britain---Pathos

·      God will send help if they fight---Pathos
Give me liberty or give me death---Pathos

Logos, Ethos, and Pathos

Logos- If you are a sinner, you are going to hell.

Ethos- When alluding to the Bible he is using expert testimony.

Pathos- Fear is introduced thoroughly before a smidge of hope is given.

     Logs, ethos, and pathos are used in this writing, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” through different ways. Logos is more along the lines of the minister’s logic; if you are a sinner who has not been reborn, you are going to hell. This is obviously not factual, it is the speaker/writers own logic. Ethos is a little subtler. It uses his position as a minister and his use of expert testimony and allusion to the Bible to back up his arguments. The most persuasive example of pathos is that he makes everyone extremely fearful of God dropping them into the pits of hell like a spider, before letting them see the smallest bit of hope that maybe they don't have to go to hell if they are reborn. The claim or argument that is strongest is the claim that God is angry if you are a sinner and that he will send you to hell. Without any one of these three things the argument would not have been able to be nearly as strong and persuasive.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

1.     According to Jonathan Edwards, God getting fed up with your sins and suddenly casting you into the pits of hell is a constant threat to all human beings.

2.     In Edwards’s view, sinners must be reborn into their religion and faith of God to be spared God’s wrath.

3.     Edwards uses the image of God holding a sinner over the pits of hell, like a person holding a spider over a flame.

4.     In Edwards’s sermon fear and terror play a key role in inspiring people to be less sinful. Biblical allusions support the writer’s appeal to fear because the Bible does play on fear in some parts too and it proves that if you fear and respect God he may help you.

Four emotions in this story:

Anger

Fear

Worry

Sorrow

Comparing Three Stories

Of the three stories, the most reliable one would be "Plymouth Plantation" because its author appears very unbiased and does not include himself in the story. In this way it makes the story more focused on the events  that occurred rather than making himself look good. The least reliable story was "The General History of Virginia" by John Smith. In his account he wrote it in third person but very much included himself and his 'heroics' without seeming conceited. In "The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano" the aforementioned author took bits and pieces from other slaves that were actually brought from Africa and pieced them together to create this story. Although it isn't probably about his life, he still was a slave and would have been able to receive reliable information from fellow slaves who were kidnapped from their homes. 

William Bradford's purpose of writing "Of Plymouth Plantation" was to document events that occurred when the pilgrims arrived and shortly thereafter so that in the future people could look back and see what happened. In "The General History of Virginia" by John Smith, the author, motivated by wealth and fame, wrote to make himself look good and heroic. Slavery is made out to be cruel and terribly unchristian in "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano." The purpose of his writing was to persuade the reader to be against slavery.

Vocab Sentences 2

Anachronistic-Adjective- Chronologically misplaced
The words in the old books were anachronistic.

Circuitous- Adjective- Longer than the most direct way
The boys race was very circuitous.

Deleterious- Adjective- Causing harm or damage
The children were deleterious towards the sand castle.

Ephemeral-Adjective- Lasting for a very short time
The boys elation at being in the lead was ephemeral.

Evanescent- Adjective- Quickly fading or disappearing
The sun was evanescent as we trekked back home from our adventurous hike.

Fortuitous- Adjective- Happening by accident or chance rather than design
The similarity between the two pieces of art was fortuitous.

Intrepid- Adjective- Fearless or adventurous
He was very intrepid in his quest for gold.

Precocious- Adjective- A child having more advanced abilities for its age
The precocious child was finally allowed into the School For The Gifted.

Sagacity- Noun- The quality of having good judgment
Many people in the world are lacking sagacity.

Tenacious-Adjective- Tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely
The mother kept a tenacious hold on her newborn child.

Vocab2

Anachronistic-Adjective- Chronologically misplaced

Circuitous- Adjective- Longer than the most direct way

Deleterious- Adjective- Causing harm or damage

Ephemeral-Adjective- Lasting for a very short time

Evanescent- Adjective- Quickly fading or disappearing

Fortuitous- Adjective- Happening by accident or chance rather than design

Intrepid- Adjective- Fearless or adventurous

Precocious- Adjective- A child having more advanced abilities for its age

Sagacity- Noun- The quality of having good judgment

Tenacious-Adjective- Tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely