Common Sense Analysis

Literary Devices in Common Sense

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

Setting

In order to make his case for war with Britain, Thomas Paine needs to convince his readers that America is properly situated for such a war. At the time Paine was writing Common Sense, many people...

Narrator Point of View

Yeah, Thomas Paine might act like he knows everything about everything sometimes, but he's still just a limited First-Person narrator in this book. He even refers to himself as "the author" instead...

Genre

Common Sense lays out Thomas Paine's philosophy on democracy, freedom, and American independence from Britain. All of his ideas come to us through philosophical arguments, which he says are nothin...

Tone

Thomas Paine wants you to feel like an idiot if you disagree with him. For him, there can be no nuance when it comes to fighting the British. As he states in blunt terms, "O ye that love mankind! Y...

Writing Style

Many literary historians agree that the main reason Thomas Paine's Common Sense became such an insanely influential book is because of the straightforward writing style Paine used to communicate h...

What's Up With the Title?

Thomas Paine titles this pamphlet Common Sense because he believes that all of the arguments and ideas he makes are nothing more than the products of good, well, common sense. And many Americans...

What's Up With the Ending?

"And here without anger or resentment I bid you farewell. Sincerely wishing, that as men and Christians, ye may always fully and uninterruptedly enjoy every civil and religious right; and be, in yo...

Tough-o-Meter

There's going to be a little toughness in the fact that Thomas Paine wrote this book more than 200 years ago, but apart from that, you should be able to follow his general arguments. This pamphlet,...

Plot Analysis

Toss the BritsThomas Paine opens the pamphlet by laying out the central conflict America is facing: whether or not to grab a gun (or, like, a few hundred guns) and free itself from British rule.In...

Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis

Anticipation Stage and "Call" Thomas Paine opens this book by establishing that Britain's rule over America is nothing short of a brutal dictatorship. He calls upon all Americans to unite in an arm...

Three-Act Plot Analysis

Act IThe first third of Paine's pamphlet introduces the argument for American independence and focuses on the contradictions and corruption that are built into the English Constitution. Paine finds...

Trivia

We know that Thomas Paine's writing played an important role in the American Revolution. But did you know his pamphlet "Rights of Man" also had a major impact on the French Revolution? Now that's o...

Steaminess Rating

You're not going to find anything in this book that even remotely resembles sexytimes. Thomas Paine is way too interested in laying out the costs of wooden ships and the reasons for fighting Britai...

Allusions

The Book of Judges (2.8)The Book of Samuel (2.9)John Milton (3.25)King George III (I.2)William the Conqueror (2.13)Henry VI (2.20)