Reflection- Thomas Paine

First of all I would like to point out that I am not much of a reading type. So these kind of stories do not really appeal to me, but I guess that is what I get for being in Honors English. Anyway back to the story, I find that Paine is trying to make a statement/argument throughout the story. I noticed throughout the story that he would always talk about I know God would not give up on us and leave us with the devils (Paine 135). One of the quotes I had highlighted in the text of the story was, "Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to tax) but to bind us in all cases whatsoever; and if being bound in that manner is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth (Paine 134). He is talking about all the taxes that Britain has put on them and that it would be like slavery. This brings up another part of his argument that he has done throughout this story. It seems to me that in the story he always brings up God and what he should do and should not do. He said that like I already said before he would not leave us to be with the devils (Paine 135), which shows that he believes that God had done this for a reason. Another quote by Paine that helps him with his argument, "Whether the independence of the continent was declared too soon, or delayed too long, I will not now enter into as an argument; my own simple opinion is, that had it been eight months earlier it would have been much better. We did not make a proper use of last winter; neither could we, while we were in dependent state. However, the fault, if it were one, was all our own; we have none to blame but ourselves. But no great deal is lost yet (135). This is just another example of how the Rationalism period was portrayed in this story. He is says that it is nobody else's fault except for his own. He is excepting the fact that the British did everything to them for a reason and it was him and his people's fault for not doing anything to help them. The quote is another example of how the Rationalism Period was portrayed in this story. I find the reason Paine wrote the piece was to make an argument out of all the things that were happening to him and other people around him. He wanted to make a statement as to what he was going through and wanted people to know what it was like for him and other people around him. This story shows a great deal of the Rationalism Period.

Bibliography

Paine, Thomas. "The Crisis, No 1." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 134-136. Print.