Analysis of Patrick Henry
In the speech, "The Virginia Convention," Patrick Henry set out to convince the Virginia delegates that the war with England was inevitable and the longer they waited the harder the war would be to win. Patrick Henry uses the art of persuasion to win over his audience. In the essay, "The Crisis, No. 1," Thomas Paine set out to persuade the people of each colony should stand up and fight for their freedom. He set out to convince the colonists that the tyrant England had binded the colonies in her grasp and transformed the colonists into slaves. In the, "Notes on the State of Virginia," Thomas Jefferson sets out to convince the State of Virginia that whites are the superior race and that all African Americans that have been emancipated should be exported to another country. All of the authors institute effective use of the range of appeals, logos, ethos, and pathos giving the speech a quality of concrete mental and physical wholeness. The logos contribution of Henry's address makes use of solid facts to convince the people of Virginia that fighting or slavery are the only possible outcomes of their meeting. He uses this as a fear factor to persuade the people that fighting is the only way to maintain their freedom. These logic
Even long ago strong skills of persuasion were required to sway the population. With a balance of emotional, ethical, and logical appeals, references to current events, and strong aggressive voice make up a strong persuasive speaker. Each writer uses their own cultural context to base their argument and their supporting details. With these combined characteristics one can use the art of persuasion to move others to actions and gain agreement through there case. In Paine's essay, "The Crisis No. 1," he uses mainly ethos and pathos appeal to his audience. Unlike Henry's address to the convention, Paine's uses a broader spectrum to target every colonist that is unsure of the war. Paine writes during the Revolutionary War as a man who has seen the battles showing the American colonist that they have to put their commitment to a common cause to a real test. He was showing that the colonists had to make a crucial decision between English servants or Americans. The main aspects of his cultural context was that the war has already started, The Continental Army had lost against Howe's men, and Washington and his men have retreated to Philadelphia in December of 1776 to prepare to reengage the British. Paine's uses an excess of ethos and pathos in his essay, which draw away from a balance in his rhetorical strategy. He uses want is called the bandwagon appeal hoping that others will join because everyone else is doing it. His word choice adds a very persuasive contribution to his essay. "Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." Paine uses the word tyrant to describe England and the oppression they have caused and other powerful words such as conquered and consolation to enforce his point. The logos contributions in Paine's essay can be seen strongly in the first three paragraphs exhibiting what Britain has done to the colonies. "Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right not only to tax but to bind us in all cases whatoever,"askes Paine to his people. The arrangement of words shows that England is not trying to help the colonies, but is trying to transform them into slaves. Paine has a well-arranged essay, but is not well balanced. Paine focuses too much on the ethos and pathos appeals to his audience and doesn't have en
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Approximate Word count = 1595
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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