Thomas Paine's Common Sense RA
“Common Sense,” by Thomas Paine, is a call to action by a man who has an uncanny ability to prompt his reader into decisive choices, not with a flurry of emotional sales pitches, but with a steady stream of sober, calm rational arguments. He writes to a pre-revolutionary audience of the need to take action against the tyrannical forces that would destroy the very fabric of a society: the loss of liberty and freedom. His tone elicits sympathy and respect in his audience, whom he addresses indirectly with appeals for them to avoid prejudging and presupposing, but rather to open their minds and hearts to hear out the careful, methodical points of common sense that are at the heart of Paine’s overarching theme: now is the time for a revolution!
Paine begins his plea to action by offering a rationale for his writing. In an attempt to soften the soil of the reader’s mind, Paine petitions readers to remain open to his appeals, referring to himself in the first person, and claiming that his words offer only three things: plain facts, solid arguments built from these facts, and common sense conclusions (326). His reference of himself in first person suggests a bit of credibility building, as a writer who refers to himself does not mind the self-consciousness of the doing so. Paine then shows an acute understanding of the needs of the audience, who would most likely desire only to hear plain facts rather than unfounded opinion; Paine proceeds to refer to the reader indirectly in third person, beckoning him to “divest himself of prejudice and prepossession, and suffer [allow] his reason and his feelings to determine for themselves…”(326). His lateral address to the reader by referring to the reader here in third person, distances himself from those readers who may be hostile towards Paine’s ideas, while showing deference to those who already are inclined to adopt Paine’s proposals. The words ‘reason’ and ‘feelings’ highlight Paine’s awareness of the rhetorical appeals to logos and pathos, and he clearly uses an early tactic of petitioning the reader to allow an openness of mind to allow the arguments clear passage to ideas the reader may not have already adopted.
The first paragraph then suggests Thomas Paine’s shrewdness as a writer: his ability to understand the needs of the audience as well as his awareness of the nuts and bolts of the art of rhetoric. After all, one must always address the concerns of the audience from the outset, if one wishes to gain traction in the minds of the audience. It may not always be warranted to follow one’s “common sense,” but in this section, Paine delivers the message that facts lead to argument, and arguments to judgment; and judgment must be filtered through the lens of the naturally occurring mental processes of filtration and conclusion. This, then, is Paine’s pitch: Common Sense Rules.
Paine begins his plea to action by offering a rationale for his writing. In an attempt to soften the soil of the reader’s mind, Paine petitions readers to remain open to his appeals, referring to himself in the first person, and claiming that his words offer only three things: plain facts, solid arguments built from these facts, and common sense conclusions (326). His reference of himself in first person suggests a bit of credibility building, as a writer who refers to himself does not mind the self-consciousness of the doing so. Paine then shows an acute understanding of the needs of the audience, who would most likely desire only to hear plain facts rather than unfounded opinion; Paine proceeds to refer to the reader indirectly in third person, beckoning him to “divest himself of prejudice and prepossession, and suffer [allow] his reason and his feelings to determine for themselves…”(326). His lateral address to the reader by referring to the reader here in third person, distances himself from those readers who may be hostile towards Paine’s ideas, while showing deference to those who already are inclined to adopt Paine’s proposals. The words ‘reason’ and ‘feelings’ highlight Paine’s awareness of the rhetorical appeals to logos and pathos, and he clearly uses an early tactic of petitioning the reader to allow an openness of mind to allow the arguments clear passage to ideas the reader may not have already adopted.
The first paragraph then suggests Thomas Paine’s shrewdness as a writer: his ability to understand the needs of the audience as well as his awareness of the nuts and bolts of the art of rhetoric. After all, one must always address the concerns of the audience from the outset, if one wishes to gain traction in the minds of the audience. It may not always be warranted to follow one’s “common sense,” but in this section, Paine delivers the message that facts lead to argument, and arguments to judgment; and judgment must be filtered through the lens of the naturally occurring mental processes of filtration and conclusion. This, then, is Paine’s pitch: Common Sense Rules.