American+Rhetoric

Patrick Henry’s Speech
 * 1) The main purpose of Henry’s speech was to convey to the Virginia Convention that the colonists no longer had hope in freedom from Great Britain. They would either have to fight for independence or forever surrender to the power that they so strongly wanted to resist.
 * 2) When Henry spoke at the Virginia Convention, his audience members consisted of representatives from each colony. The words that he spoke were appropriate for his audience. Since He was speaking to colony leaders, he chose strong, firm and persuasive words to convince them of his idea.
 * 3) Some of the rhetorical questions that Henry used were “I ask gentlemen, Sir, what means this marital array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission” (Henry)? and “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery” (Henry)? These rhetorical questions that he asked served the purpose of convincing his audience on an emotional level that if they did not fight for independence, they would be chained to Great Britain forever.
 * 4) Some of the literary terms that Henry used in his speech were anaphoras, biblical illusions, and metaphors. He used anaphoras to emphasize and stress the importance of what he was augmenting. He used biblical allusions such as “I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided” (Henry) and “Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss” (Henry) to reinforce his stand on the fight for independence in a more thought provoking way. He used a metaphor such as “we could have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is not coming on” (Henry)
 * 5) **CATEGORY**: Reading
 * PRECIS:** Patrick Henry, a brave speaker, in his speech presented to the Virginia Convention argues that the colonists must go to war with Great Britain immediately if they do not want to stay forever under their control. Henry explains to the representatives the direness of their situation through rhetorical approaches such as anaphoras, biblical allusions, and metaphors. Henry’s purpose is not only suggest an immediate revolution, but to also to scare the colonists in order to make them comprehend the danger of their current situation
 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY**: Henry’s choice of words was very moving. I thought He was able to connect to the members of the Virginia Convention on a personal level. He used persuasive strategies that scared the colonists into realizing that war was their only option if they wanted to be free.

Common Sense Exert
 * 1) Paine’s purpose in this writing is to convey to colonists that they being ruled under a monarchy is foolish. He is trying to imply that they would be better served with electing representatives to help make the ultimate decisions for their country.
 * 2) Pain’s choice of deductive reasoning was put into appropriate use to help him argue his stance. In the context of his pamphlet he stated that all government without society is evil, therefore, he implies that England’s government is evil.
 * 3) Three types of sentences that Paine used were compound and simple. He used complex sentences such as “Should I keep my options such as time, through fear and giving offense, I should consider myself guilty if treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven which I reverse above all earthly kings.” (Paine) and Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but necessary evil, in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, Which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.” (Paine) to explain the colonists that their society is a blessing, however, without the proper form of government, pure evil will be born. Paine also used a powerful simple sentence; “Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss” (Paine.) This sentence was not only short and powerful, it was also a biblical allusion.
 * 4) One of the biblical illusions that Paine used to persuade his audience to strive to become independent was his allusion to a man who was so attached to prostitution that he would be unable to judge a fit wife. This biblical allusion comes from Hebrews where a woman was so deeply involved in prostitution that she was unable to see a true noble man. This allusion was used to show the colonists just how attached they were to England’s form of government and therefore, they would be unable to recognize a right form of government. A form of biblical language that Paine used to convey his argument was when he stated “When the world was overrun tyranny the least remove therefrom was a glorious rescue”(Paine). This type of language is biblical because it refers to a time when the world was covered in sin (darkness) and Jesus came to rescue us. He is saying if society agrees to have a representative government, which would be their rescue from England’s tyranny.
 * 5) **CATEGORY**: Reading
 * PRECIS**: Thomas Paine, a biased writer from the colonial times, in his pamphlet __Common Sence__ argues that England’s government is wrong and colonists should strive to be independent from it. Paine argues his stance through comparing England’s monarchy to a type of government that could be ruled by representatives from each colony. Pain’s purpose is not only to convince colonists that England’s form of government in which they are currently living under is evil, but to inspire them to fight for independence in order to gain the freedom that they want. Pain opens the eyes of the colonists to a whole new potential form of government by pointing out the flaws of the one they are currently under.
 * PERSONAL REFLECTION**: The sentence structure that Paine used was powerful and captivating. The tone he created in his writing really was really convicting. I think he did a great job of portraying his opinions to the colonists.

Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence Three Different Appraoches The three men all presented their arguments in a different way. Patrick Henry used more of an emotional approach, William Paine used a logical approach and Thomas Jefferson used strong vocabulary and sentence structure. I personally think that Patrick Henry’s Speech was the most influential because lines he was able to persuade the colonists that they should revolt against the current government of Great Britain. Emotional lines such as “We are apt to shut our eyes against the painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, til she transforms us into beasts” (Henry), compel the colonists to see the horror that will eventually comes out of their present form of government. William Paine however, used a more logical approach to convey his argument to the audience. He chose to present a chart of how Great Britain’s government flowed. He gave clear descriptions on where the power in the government ultimately lied. “There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the composition of the monarchy; it first excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest judgment is required” (Paine). This quote gave logical reasoning that it was not fair to the people to have someone who didn’t even know them or their circumstances’ deciding their freedoms. Lastly, Thomas Jefferson used strong vivid words and sentence structure to portray his argument of the right to declare independence against Great Britain to the colonists. “In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have answered only by repeated injury” (Jefferson). The way that Jefferson addressed his argument was both compelling and convicting to whoever received it.
 * 1) Jefferson’s purpose in his writing is to declare independence of the American colonies to the kings and parliament of Great Britain.
 * 2) Jefferson used inductive reasoning appropriately by implying through his document that because of Great Britain’s abuse of the monarchy and the King giving his people no say in the rule of the monarchy, than American Colonists deserve to be independent from Great Britain’s monarchy must be true.
 * 3) Three different types of syntactical choices that Jefferson made were the use of anaphoras, biblical language, and complex sentences. Jefferson used anaphoras when he repeated the offenses done by Great Britain’s king. He used biblical language to create analogies for the reader. He used Complex sentences to give more detail to his opinions for wanting to declare independence.
 * 4) Some common misconceptions held by American citizens about the document are the misconceptions that it was written from a Christian’s view. This misconception is held because Jefferson states that God should be their main leader/ representative. Another misconception that is held is that laws are not allowed to be changed. The context in which Jefferson wrote about the process of changing laws was both confusing and hard to follow. People who read this may believe that they are signing on to become part of a government that does not allow laws to be changed. These misconceptions exist because the word and sentence structures that Jefferson used were difficult to comprehend. He wrote with such proficiency that a common person may have to ability to decipher what he is actually trying to say.