Friday, December 21, 2018

In the first paragraph, what kind of emotional appeal (pathos) does it have?

In the first pamphlet of "The Crisis," Thomas Paine appeals to the masculine pride and patriotism of his reader. He observes that "the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country."  A summer soldier fights only when conditions are favorable, and a sunshine patriot only steps forward when risks are low.  To be either of these things, Paine argues, is a cause for shame.
Contrastingly, Paine appeals to the emotion of pride when he observes that the man who is still willing to step up when battles are being lost "deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." What is implicit in his words is that committing oneself to the revolution is heroic. 
Paine also appeals to people's emotions regarding justice; he calls the British tyrants and asks people to fight for the restoration of justice in the form of freedom from the virtual enslavement the crown is exerting over the colonies.
Paine makes the ultimate appeal to his readers' sense of moral outrage when he declares that the kind of power Britain has seized "can only belong to God."

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