In “The American Crisis: Number 1” by Thomas Paine, he states that the best thing for American people to do is to fight for their independence from Great Britain. Paine is able to persuade the people that this is the right thing to do through his writing. He wrote “The Crisis No. 1” so that every man in the county would be able to comprehend, and understand that their best option is to become and independent country. In “The Crisis No. 1”, Thomas Paine was able to accomplish this goal through his use of figurative language, his tone, and his use of rhetorical devices.

The use of figurative language in “The Crisis No. 1” is abundant in Paine’s writing to persuade the people to believe that America needs to be independent from Britain. Paine uses similes various amounts of times in his writing. An example of Paine using similes is “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered” (Paine 108); when he says this he is implying that Britain’s control over them will be difficult to overcome. Another type of figurative language that Paine uses is metaphors. A clear metaphor that he uses is “if being bound in that matter, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth” (Paine 108). In this metaphor, Paine is telling the people that the way Britain is treating them is like they are Britain’s slaves. The last type of figurative language that is seen in “The Crisis No. 1” is personification. The example of personification that is used is “Not a place on earth might be so happy as America. Her situation is remote from all the wrangling world, and she has nothing to do but to trade with them” (Paine 108). In this example, Paine is referring to America as a person, and that all America wants is to trade with the other countries. This shows that Paine took advantage of figurative language to persuade people into becoming independent from Britain.

Another part of Paine’s writing style in “The Crisis No. 1” was his sentence structure and his vocabulary choice. Many of Paine’s sentences were lengthy and contained plenty of subordinate clauses. A great example of the lengthy sentences is “Whether the independence of the continent was declared to soon, or delayed too long, I will not now enter into an argument; my own simple opinion is that it had been eight months earlier, it would have been much better” (Paine 108) this sentence is unique because it makes up a whole paragraph in Paine’s writing. Another thing that makes “The Crisis No. 1” persuasive is Paine’s word choice to towards his audience. One example of his word choice is “and I am as confident, as I am that God governs the world” (Paine 110); he uses vocabulary that even the common man can relate to and understand the points he is trying to make. Finally, Paine’s diction in “The Crisis No. 1” is tight and efficient and also informal. This can be seen when he says “It matters not where you live, or what rank of life you hold, the evil of the blessing will reach you all” (Paine 109). This sentence shows him making his point made and also that he is trying to reach everyone. Paine uses his sentence structure and vocabulary choice to his advantage to persuade the American people to revolt against Britain.

The last thing that Paine uses to persuade people into separating from Britain is the rhetorical strategies: pathos, logos, and ethos. Paine uses pathos to appeal to the audiences feeling towards separating from Britain. An example of pathos would be “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will…shrink for the service…but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman” (Paine 108). This would make the audience feel grateful for the people that fight against the British. The other example is ethos and Paine uses himself as the reliable person the people can trust. This is seen when he said “Quitting this class of men, I turn with the warm ardor of a friend to those who have nobly stood, and are yet determined to stand the matter out” (Paine 110). This displays that Paine respects the people who will fight with him. This last rhetorical device he uses is logos. The example for logos is when he says “I thank God, that I fear not. I see no real cause for fear. I know our situation well , and can see the way out of it” (Paine 111). This shows that he is clear that the only choice is to fight for their freedom. The use of these rhetorical devices helps strengthen Paine’s argument so that more people saw the need for fighting for their independence.

Paine utilized the rhetorical devices and his writing style and used it to his benefit by making people realize that getting freedom was the best thing to do. He was able to persuade the citizens that the best thing for America was to break away from Britain. Paine’s tone of voice was another reason why people were willing to follow him in his causes. Something that can be taken from this is that if “The Crisis No. 1” did not connect to the audience emotionally then America wouldn’t have had the revolution against Britain.

Works Cited
Paine , Thomas. The Crisis No. 1. Elements of Literature Fifth Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart

and Winston, 1997. 108-111. Print.