In the article “The Crisis No. 1” written by Thomas Paine, Paine writes in an attempt to unify the nation to fight against Britain’s injustice during the Revolutionary war because he believes that what they are fighting for is right and this may be the last chance to receive freedom. Paine also wishes to verbally dethrone the King of England for treating the America in such an unjust way. Paine writes in a straightforward, simplistic manner with heavy emphasis on metaphors. In order to understand the “The Crisis No.1” one must first understand how Thomas Paine’s writing style effects the outcome of the article due to the employment of figurative language, tone and rhetorical strategies.

One element of writing style that Thomas Paine displays is the use of figurative language to get his biased point across. Paine employs figurative language such as similes. He compares Britain’s “tyranny like hell” saying that if someone side with Britain then that persons sides with tyranny and as a result with hell (Paine 108). This is an essential part of writing, because with America being a Christian based land if a person sides with Hell that person is seen as an unrespectful and a tamper to society. Another example of figurative language that Paine displays in the article is personification. Paine describes America as a wonderful place and “not a place on earth might be happy as America”, saying that America is a happy being (Paine 110). This is significant because Paine describes America as not just place, but a being with feelings of happiness that no other land can contend with. Another type of figurative language employed is imagery. Paine employs the image of a man in a tavern “with as pretty a child in his hand” (Paine 109). Paine demonstrated the child in an attempt to appeal to the people, because they are not just fighting for themselves, but also for the future generations to come. All in all Thomas Paine employs a variety of figurative language to persuade the reader to join the revolution and stand against Britain.

Another example of writing style that Thomas Paine employs in “The Crisis No.1” is convincing and emotional tone. Thomas Paine employs an emotional tone to convince his audience to join the army and help America in such a hard time. He presents phrases such as “the summer solider”, to get the more passive people to join and stay in for the long haul (Paine 108). This is especially important, because it is imperative that every amble bodied man fight in order for there to be a victory. Paine is also very persuasive and employs the term “FREEDOM”, because it’s what everybody at the time wanted. By using such words men might have been persuaded to join the army and help their country which is what Paine’s whole point was. Paine also writes in a confident tone. Paine explains a portion of the war saying “no great deal is lost yet” (Paine 108). Paine says this to convey that the war is not yet over and they still have a fighting chance and that he has confidence they can win. Thomas Paine wrote with an insightful and confident tone in order to persuade the American people to join the war effort.

Thomas Paine also employs another type of writing style known as rhetorical strategy. Paine demonstrates a form of rhetorical strategy by appealing to the emotions of the people by providing pathos. Paine displays the image of man in a tavern with “as pretty a child in his hand” (Paine 109). The image of the child is appealing to the human emotion of sympathy, because if the war is lost the nation’s children will have to suffer the consequences. Another form of rhetorical strategy is the appeal of logic or logos. Paine embraces logos in reference to his past piece of writing called “Common Sense” and that some people don’t see “the full extent of the evil which threatens them” (Paine 111). The importance of the quote is to demonstrate that it’s only logical if people don’t wake up from their false sense of safety evil will engulf them and horrible things will happen. The final form of rhetorical strategy used is ethics or ethos. Paine expresses himself as a man who wants what every American wants which is freedom and that he leaves the higher elitist class and “turn with the warm ardor of a friend to those who have nobly stood and are yet determined to stand the matter out” (Paine 111). This is incredibly important because Paine is placing himself on the same level as people that he’s trying to recruit which gives himself credibility within the people. Thomas Paine employs rhetorical strategy to recruit and persuade the reader to join the army and become a soldier for America.

Writing is something that can be presented in an abundance of ways. In order for the reader to understand what they are reading the reader must first understand what the writer is trying to say and how the writer is presenting it. Paine attempts to convey a message of rebellion against a tyrannical governing king and expresses his desire for independence and the opportunity to have a free life. Paine wrote “Crisis No. 1” in an attempt to persuade the reader to join the army and win the revolution as well as freedom. The writing style Paine employed is a very noticeable and easy to understand and demonstrated how important a pen and a piece of paper can be to help win the war.