The Rhetorical Common Sense

A detailed Summary of The Rhetorical Common Sense


In January of 1776, Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense with the intention of convincing American colonist to establish independence from Britain. It's apparent from the style of his pamphlet that he wanted to convince the masses in a fashion which would make them come to the conclusion that, without a doubt, Thomas Paine must be right. This rhetorical form of writing is evident throughout his pamphlet and obviously present in the title. By titling his pamphlet Common Sense, he was stating to all his readers, that it wasn't necessary for him to explain why the colonies should separate from America. It was "common sense" that independence was inevitable.

Paine's Common Sense was a pamphlet that spoke to all types of people and groups that read it. He spoke to the merchants, the loyalist, the religious separatist, and all other who may have seemed skeptical of supporting a war against Britain. As he wrote, he knew his job was to make his ideas and major points simple. He also need to phrase them in ways that m


He asks his reader to choose between believing the Bible or renouncing it. Again, he is basically saying. How can you go against this argument? Isn't it obvious what's right? In his following sections on the thoughts and future of America, he blatantly states that he "offers nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense." To those who have thoughts of entrusting themselves once again in Britain even after all that happened, he says that they must examine the "connexion and dependance, on the principles of nature and common sense, to see what" may occur if the stay dependents as opposed to if they break away. He uses again the words, common sense. He is not only saying that it is natural for Britain to undermine the colonies but that it is common sense for the colonist to understand that and make a change.

Paine's method is to convince his readers that his thoughts are just as easily the type of thoughts they could have concluded themselves. His readers were overall so roused to act b

Some common words found in the essay are:
Britain America, Common Sense, Thomas Paine, common sense, Britain It's, , evolution society, thomas paine, government evil, society government,

Approximate Word count = 686
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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