Topic > 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, in the essence of contemporary rhetoric. Both of these influential men gave memorable and effective speeches; these speeches – both advocating the need for revolution – make heavy use of basic rhetorical tools to help inspire a revolt against the tyranny of King George III. First, 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, within “The Crisis, Article 1,” focuses more on aphorismic appeal to the audience and leans on heavy use of personal analogies, thus leading to a more emotional appeal. Henry, in his speech given at the Virginia House of Burgesses, focuses more on repetition and parallelism to convey his powerful claim of revolution against tyranny, thus leading to an emotional and logical appeal to the audience. Both men manage to grasp the essential need for change within their society, as well as transcending the public issue of abuse, from tyranny, to the very private issue of manifest destiny. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry, although they differ slightly in their choice of rhetorical tools, share the same basic statement in their speeches; to achieve social and religious freedom, the American people must rebel 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 devices are used in each speech. Henry primarily makes effective use of repetition, insisting that he has “one lamp by which his feet are guided,” which “is the lamp of experience.” This “lamp” serves as the altruistic and motivated spirit of the American dream, exacerbated by the oppression of the monarchy. Henry continues his speech by employing inclusive pronouns, with the aim of uniting the audience, through the use of repetition – “we are weak”, “when we are stronger”. Paine, of course, addresses the common man through the effective use of aphorism, which gravitates substantial rhetorical success onto the expository statement of his speech – “These are the times that try the souls of men.” By targeting the “souls” of the common man, Paine effectively pushes the American people to consider revolution against “the enemy,” the British monarchy. Paine and Henry both continue to develop their ideas through individual rhetorical devices; their audience remains the common man of America. Henry's attitude becomes more aggressive during his speech; he condemns the relaxed attitude of some citizens and uses the parallelism to consolidate the initial affirmation of the revolution. Henry's provocative tone questions the audience, who, "having eyes, does not see, and, having ears, does not hear", and appeals emotionally by paralleling man's innate abilities of sight and hearing. Paine, in contrast, uses strong analogies to emotionally influence the common man, implementing strong analogies throughout his speech. Paine accuses the English of being a "thief who breaks into my house, burns and destroys my [property] and kills me or threatens to”.