Thomas Paine will take us into new territory next time. Like Franklin, he’ll try to get us to look at American life from a different point of view than we’ve yet considered.
It could be useful to compare Paine’s ideas with this article on Religion in 18th-century America.
Questions:
- How can we reconcile Paine’s frequent mention of God in “The American Crisis” with his discussion of religion in “The Age of Reason”? How is he defining “God”?
- Note the different publication dates between the two texts. What do the biographical sketch in the anthology or the links on the course website tell you about the historical factors that may have influenced Paine’s texts? Who is his intended audience for each text?
- We’ll want to keep thinking about defining characteristics of American identity and Paine’s place in that discussion.
- Paine is known for his “plain” style of writing, though this by no means suggests that his writing is unsophisticated. Where do you see his “plain” style most clearly? Where do you notice the artistry in his use of language? Both of these essays are meant to persuade the reader of something. What is Paine’s persuasive purpose in each, and how does he use his literary style to achieve that purpose?
