Essays of excerpts from Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry

Tuesday: January 20, 2015

I know personally that I enjoy reading other's essays to either gain personal knowledge, vocabulary or simply for fun and so I decided if there's anyone else in the world like me then I would post from time to time my essays. Enjoy! :) 

Essay Regarding Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry 
     Independence and freedom is a concept held dear to many Americans hearts. In Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death", he is urging colonists to fight to gain their freedom from Great Britain. Similarly, in Thomas Paine's "Common Sense", he is trying to make colonists realize that they must make a stand against  England and their selfishness.However, the fantastic use of rhetoric is shown throughout Henry's piece, for example, "Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our back and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?". Henry is elaborately explaining the willing defeat the colonists seem to be suggesting to allow. The strong figurative language and antithesis in Patrick Henry's piece overpower Thomas Paine's metaphors.
     Clearly, figurative language and metaphors are evident in both Henry and Paine's texts', Henry's usage however, is much more powerful. "I have one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience". Henry is giving himself credibility by showing his audience, fellow American colonists, that he does know what he is talking about simply for the fact that he has lived and gained experience in his life. This is just one sample of Henry's use of metaphors and in fact a majority of his speech is just that.
     The strongest form of rhetoric in Henry's piece is antithesis, having no form of negotiation. "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!". This empowering statement takes hold of the entire piece, saying that there is absoluetly no way around the concept of liberty and freedom. Henry's boldness in this one sentence is what makes the entire piece so rich and so powerful, because he is blatantly giving no other option, saying that is the only choice, only one or the other. This gives the text an extra flare, an extra power that lacks in Thomas Paine's "Common Sense".
     Undoubtedly, Thomas Paine does hold strong use of metaphors, for example "that as America hath flourished under her former connexion with Great Britain, that the same connexion is necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect. Nothing can be more fallacious than this kind of argument. We may as well assert that because a child has thrived upon milk, that it is never to have meat, or that the first twenty years of our lives is to become a precedent of the next twenty. But even this is admitting more than is true". However, unlike Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry's metaphors are bolder and stronger in meaning and urgency. Henry uses greater rhetorical questions as well, such as, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?", the stronger language and imagery is compelling in itself.
     Furthermore, Patrick Henry's fantastic bold speech is urgently trying to persuade his fellow American colonists that fighting back is the only way to go against Great Britain. Henry is utterly compelling in his strong metaphors and powerful antithesis the entire piece is named for, "give me liberty or give me death!". It is impossible to deny that Thomas Paine's text from "Common Sense" is not full of metaphors and powerful language as well, however, it lacks the effective use of rhetoric that Patrick Henry displays in his speech. The urgency and dire importance of the matter is portrayed perfectly in "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death".

Essay Regarding Thomas Paine excerpt from "Common Sense"
     The United States of America has been a melting pot of backgrounds since its' making. Even before, when the United States was just merely colonies, people still came from all over Europe and saw the country as a land of opportunity. In Thomas Paine's excerpt from "Common Sense" he is describing the unbalanced relationship between the American colonies and Great Britain, describing that Britain is not as "motherly" as some may want to say but merely overprotective and wanting to get as much from the colonies as possible. Paine sates "she did not protect us from our enemies on our account, but from her enemies on her own account." He is saying Great-Britain only has its own agenda at interest and is only helping the colonies if they get some type of benefit from it. The concept Paine is trying to get across is that if Great Britain felt a responsibility to the colonies they would take care of them, not treat them so bad and that the colonies themselves are a mixture of people from various countries so the idea of England being the "mother country" is a way for them to keep control.
    Undeniably, the ties with the colonies and England have indeed been stronger than most other, if England felt a greater responsibility to take care of the colonies then they would not try to subject them to such cruelty. "But Britain is the parent country, say some. Then the more shame upon her conduct. Even brutes do not devour their young, nor savages make war upon their families... Europe, and not England is the parent country of America." The point Paine is trying to express here is that there was a reason most of the Englishmen fled from England as well as the rest of the nation from their homelands, to escape from some sort of subjection they felt was held against them. However, if England is trying to profess any sort of responsibility and care for the colonies they are certainly doing it wrong because as stated in the quote, mothers care for their young not try to inflict pain or start war as England is doing.
   Although Great-Britain would like to claim the title of  "mother country", it is hard to claim such a thing when a majority of the nation is a mixture of backgrounds. "Not one third of the inhabitants, even of this province, are of the English descent. Wherefore I reprobate the phrase of parent or mother country applied to England only, as being false, selfish, narrow, and ungenerous." Paine is posing the idea that England being the parent country to the colonies is simply a ruse to gain riches, establish power, and to rule above. The fact that a majority of the population is not even English makes the idea absurd, the colonies should be worrying about becoming independent and their own nation, not be ruled under another.
     Thomas Paine builds on these two ideas by linking them together gradually. The beginning of the text starts off arguing with a metaphor that basically implies that America did not flourish due to England or any of the European countries,but "enriched herself". From this, he branches into the idea that England is only claiming parenthood for selfish gain not for generous protection. Which then leads to the fact that a majority of the country is not even English nor from England, feeling not attachment to the country whatsoever, so being under English law especially when England and the rest of Europe is an ocean away, makes utterly no sense. In fact, Paine states, "In this extensive quarter of the globe, we forget the narrow limits of three hundred and sixty miles (the extend of England) and carry our friendship on a larger scale." Meaning that the distance overpowers any type of title England would like to exist, but does not, and the colonies are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.
    Furthermore, Paine is advocating the reconciliation with Britain is wrong and will not be fair nor equal until they recognize the colonies as an independent establishment. He argues tat if England was feeling so "motherly" then why would they condemn them to such awful treatment. The integration of various types of backgrounds from different countries goes against the idea of England being the "parent country" because it can not be a parent to those feeling no connection to the country itself. Regardless, Paine shows that the ruse of England's selfishness is not working, their obsession with power over the colonies is weak and he's trying to persuade the nation to refuse Great Britain. He is expressing that England has an agenda for power and wants to steal their glory, he is expressing that England can not parent a nation of such versatility and it is all a scheme, he is expressing that the colonies have enriched themselves and they must make a stand.

Katya Podkovyroff

"The September Journalist"