Rhetorical Analysis Of A Sense Of Freedom By Thomas Paine

A Sense of Freedom Too often, people are confronted with a situation in which they are surrounded by complete idiots. Even though someone is speaking in plain English, it seems as if all rationale is thrown out the window and in its place, ignorance. It is only fitting that some cannot help but wonder if all of common sense is forgotten by society. To encourage a look from a different perspective, arguments must be made with various rhetorical devices to convey an author’s point. In Common Sense, Thomas Paine argues for the independence of America from Britain using diction, pathos, and logos to convince the audience that it is right for the Americans to do. Paine commences his argument by emphasizing the malicious intent of the British or as in the example Paine uses, the pagans, with diction. He uses describing words such as “idolatrous” to convey the “customs of the Heathens” (Paine 6). To better compare the British with the pagans and convince the people of the British’s iniquitous attitude toward the Americans, as the pagans were with the Jews, he specifically chooses words with certain negative connotations. His use of diction in his essay as a rhetorical technique establishes his point of view …show more content…
Paines exercises pathos in his essay by claiming many people are devastated unjustly by “British barbarity,” and in due time, more will “suffer the same fate” (Paine 16). His use of the words “barbarity” and “suffer” evoke a universal feeling among the Americans on their experience with the British and help them sympathize with Paine’s argument. British supporters reading this line would hopefully cogitate on their stance on American independence. Paine’s play on pathos puts in perspective the struggle of some Americans’ fight with British cruelty to further support his argument so that the audience develops an empathetic understanding of the need to separate from Great