Various Appeals in "The Crisis" by Thomas Paine

Emotional Appeal - "By perseverance and fortitude we have the prospect of a glorious issue; by cowardice and submission, the sad choice of a variety of evils -- a ravaged country -- a depopulated city -- habitations without safety, and slavery without hope..." in this line, Paine played with the fear in his audience. Because humanity, in my opinion, is mostly driven by fear, this helped rile up support for a revolution.

Ethical Appeal – in lines 31-39, Thomas speaks of what parent’s should be like. He says they should want peace for not only their lifetime, but also their childrens’. In this, he shows ethical appeal by talking about what he thinks life should be like and how people should act.

Appeals to Association - "The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in a crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." In this line, Paine continues to rally for support. He states that people who are in part of the rebellion become a sort of hero, and again urges people to join in his fight against the British.

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1. He urged the colonists to fight.

2. They sent multiple petitions to the British government but they were ignored.

3. The British government ignored them.

4. His audience was his fellow lawmakers, so they were all wanting the best for their state. They knew they would be affected by whatever decision was made, so they cared about what people said. For example, he says “…and in such a country as that we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us.” In this quote, he is rallying support against the British. He is insisting that they can fight the British, as it is their only hope in avoiding slavery.

5. in lines 18-19, he speaks of having eyes to see and ears to hear, but they cannot see or hear. In this way, he shows that the colonists are oblivious to the British advancing. You'd have to be blind or deaf to not notice. In lines 74-75, he alludes to Ecclesiates, where “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.” Here, he reminds the audience that even though the colonists may not be as strong as the British, they could still win the war because they had god on their side.

6. He talks about how the British have ignored their pleas for peace and reminds the men that there are already British troops deployed in the colonies. He took a logical approach when saying they needed to fight back if they wanted their freedom. In terms of emotion, he made the audience imagine what life would be like if they continued to be enslaved by the British. He also stated that god was on their side.

7. I have always enjoyed rhetorical devices because it makes the story a bit more realistic and interesting. It creates a connection to the reader because the author forces the audience to live through what they are describing. Although it could be classified as manipulative, I think rhetorical devices help create imagery.

Vocabulary Words List 3

Supinely – marked by or showing lethargy, passivity, or blameworthy indifference; adverb
Inviolate – free from violation, or injury, undisturbed; adjective
Martial – warlike; adjective
Despotism – the exercise of absolute authority; noun
Prudent – wise or judicious in practical affairs; adjective
Abrogate – to abolish by formal or official means; verb
Buttress – any prop or support; noun
Concomitant – existing or occurring with something else, often in a lesser way, accompanying; adjective
Diaphanous – very sheer and light, almost completely transparent or translucent; adjective
Impinge – to make an impression; have an effect or impact; verb

Vocabulary Words List 3

Supinely – lying on the back, front or face forward; adjective
Inviolate – free from violation, or injury, undisturbed; adjective
Martial – warlike; adjective
Despotism – the exercise of absolute authority; noun
Prudent – wise or judicious in practical affairs, sagacious, discreet; adjective
Abrogate – to abolish by formal or official means; verb
Buttress – any prop or support; noun
Concomitant – existing or occurring with something else, often in a lesser way, accompanying; adjective
Diaphanous – very sheer and light, almost completely transparent or translucent; adjective
Impinge – to make an impression; have an effect or impact; verb

The audience is his fellow rich, white law-makers.

He is very respectful as he speaks, being careful to clearly state that he is only stating his opinions. This is good because he will get more support from people if he is kind to everyone.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God logos/pathos/ethos

In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Jonathan Edwards emphasizes a lot on pathos. He frightens the audience with his fiery sermon, but then gives them hope by saying they can be reborn into their religion and saved from the flaming pits of hell. This helps comfort the audience from the harsh reality of his logos, where he implies everyone will go to hell because they are all sinners, and god was holding them over the flaming pits of hell. In terms of ethos, Edwards showed a bit of expert testimony when he alluded to the bible due to him being a minister. Because of his position within the church, I believe his ethos was the strongest. People believed him and listened carefully as he spoke, and this helped strengthen his pathos and logos.

Logos

-Because everyone is a sinner, everyone will go to hell.

Pathos

-he frightens the audience, then transitions into the opening of the lion king.

-fear to hope.

Ethos

-because he’s a minister, people would be willing to listen to him.

-when alluding to the bible, he is using expert testimony to back up his point.