Common Sense Essay

Common Sense
“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason”(324). Opening lines from Common Sense gives an insight of Paine, and his frustrations with the rule of England. During this time America was still under the rule of England, although many America’s were discontent with the treatment of their nation not much was being said out loud. Paine was a forerunner in getting the overall opinion of America voiced and changed. Common Sense went above and beyond this, it is said that the pamphlet inspired American’s to do something other than complain about their current situation. This pamphlet published in 1776, originally released under anonymous author, to prevent being charged with treason, for evident reasons. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was one of the first nationally recognized public outcries against England and their overall hindering relationship with America. Common Sense was a game changing literary document because, it revolted the nation with truth, the author is infuriated, and Paine also stated ways to fix the issues at hand.
Throughout the pamphlet Paine uses the fact that England considered itself our “Parent Country” to blatantly discredit the treatment of America from them. Paine states, “Even brutes do not devour their young, nor savages make war upon their families (327).” By this statement Paine is saying that England’s treatment towards America has no justification. No one else at the time had said anything negative publically on this issue. In addition, Paine goes on to say that if America did have a so-called mother country it would be Europe instead. This was apparent to him since America had become such a melting pot with immigrants from Europe. England largely neglected America in many ways one being, such as arranging meetings where officials has to travel days just to discuss issues. Paine gives several examples of other miss-treatments from England throughout the pamphlet.
In section III of Common Sense Paine states that he is going to merely offer simple facts and common sense (325), even though I think that the statement is a bit modest he does just that. Paine asked a series of questions, which at first may seem insignificant but these questions are strategically placed to make the reader fell the same anger Paine himself feels. To paraphrase Paine ask if you could shake hands with someone who has burned your house, destroyed your property, and lost either a child or parent to them. In turn he says if you can then you have no right to hold any rank or title and you are also have a cowardly heart and the sprit of a brownnoser. Paine does not stop there he also says that are “Never can true reconcilement grow where wounds if hate have pierced so deep,” this is another example of the anger he wants to convey to the reader. Paine does an excellent job of making the reader just as enraged as he is, I also believe that in doing so, he starts the much need fire to the American’s at the time.
Throughout this pamphlet Paine purposes ways to fixing America’s problem (that problem being England). Since the king refused to be reasonable or diplomatic, it was inevitable that this relationship would not end without a fight. He does propose the idea of governing ourselves, and forming a constitution of our own. Paine states that it would be in our best interest to do these things because it would be

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