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  • Essay / Why the Revolution was Necessary: ​​Analysis of the Speeches of T. Paine and P. Henry

    Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry are both considered the modern fathers of rhetoric, within the contemporary rhetorical essence. These two influential men delivered memorable and effective speeches; these speeches – both arguing for the need for revolution – make extensive use of basic rhetorical tools to help inspire a revolt against the tyranny of King George III. Primarily, both men, to achieve the common goal of motivating the public, use the tools of repetition, parallelism, aphorism, and analogy to convey their similar claims about the need for a public revolution. Paine, in "The Crisis, Article 1", focuses more on aphoristic appeal to the audience and relies on heavy use of personal analogies, thus leading to a more emotional appeal. Henry, in his speech delivered at the Virginia House of Burgesses, focuses more on repetition and parallelism to convey his powerful demand for revolution against tyranny, thus leading to an emotional and logical appeal to the audience. Both men managed to grasp the essential need for change within their society and transcend the very public issue of abuse, of tyranny, to the very private issue of manifest destiny. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayThomas Paine and Patrick Henry, although slightly different in choice of rhetorical tools, share the same basic assertion in their speeches; To achieve social and religious freedom, the American people must revolt against the “tyrannical” influence of King George III. Both speakers firmly reject the idea of ​​"compromise" and insist that the only lasting solution to escape the tyrannical grip of the British monarchy lies in revolution. Although both use similar statements, different rhetorical tools are used throughout each speech. Henry primarily employs the effective use of repetition, insisting that he has "only one lamp by which his feet are guided", which "is the lamp of experience". This “lamp” represents the selfless and driven spirit of the American dream, compounded by the oppression of the monarchy. Henry continues his speech using inclusive pronouns, with the aim of uniting the audience, through the use of repetition – “we are weak”, “when will we be stronger”. Paine, naturally, appeals to the common man through the effective use of aphorism, which derives its substantial rhetorical success from the explanatory statement of his speech – "These are the times that try the souls of men." By targeting the “souls” of the common man, Paine effectively rallies the American people to consider revolution against the “enemy,” the British monarchy. Both Paine and Henry continue to develop their ideas through individual rhetorical devices; their audience remains the common man of America. Henry's attitude becomes more aggressive throughout his speech; he condemns the relaxed attitude of some citizens and uses the parallelism to solidify the initial demand of the revolution. Henry's incendiary tone questions the audience who, "having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not," and seduces emotionally by paralleling the innate abilities of sight and hearing of the man. Paine, conversely, uses strong analogies to emotionally influence the common man, implementing strong analogies throughout his speech. Paine accuses”.