Reflection - Thomas Paine - Crisis No. 1

If I had to choose, which I do, whether or not Thomas Pain's The Crisis Number 1 was from the Rationalism period or the Puritanism period, I would definitely choose the Rationalist period. The style of writing was obviously Rational because of its logical and scientific approach on Britain. Paine strongly believes in his story that America should be completely independent from Britain. He supports his ideas with facts and logical explanations. One specific example Paine's writing style is his use of persuasion. I believe it is safe to say that if his novel would have not been as persuasive, individuals back then may have not made such a big deal out of his work. This could have possibly altered the history we know today. Paine's novel demonstrates how in two similar situations, one cannot treat another more fairly simply because of who they are. This is a common Rationalistic theme he tries to suggest in his writing. Thomas Paine's Rationalist approach in The Crisis No. One is an immediate example of how the Rationalism highly influenced society back then, leaving us to feel the effects of it even today.

“We did not make a proper use of last winter… and the fault is all our own” (Paine 135). In this quote, Paine says that the fault they are experiencing is only to blame on themselves. This is very different from the Puritan views of the previous time period. In a rational way, Paine explains that because society failed to prepare themselves, they are at fault for the consequences in which they now suffer. Their laziness was not God's fault, similar to what the Puritans would have believed during the Puritanism period. I find this point that Thomas Paine makes very interesting. I think he showed society what it was like to think logically. In a way, he clearly defines the Rationalism period in The Crisis Number One because of his consistent use of propaganda and persuasion.

Thomas Paine was a very logical kind of thinker, hence the fact that he is one of the leaders of the Rationalism period. Toward the end of his story, he talks about a possible scenario he could be in and what he would do. If someone came in a tried to rob his house, he would not just sit around and do nothing about it, but rather so proactive and try to stop the robber from stealing his things (Paine 136). At first, I thought, well is that not what everyone would do in that kind of situation? Back then, people were still getting over the whole "God did this" and "God did that". They began to analyze things in their life, being robbed for example is one of those in Thomas Paine's mind.

Overall, I thouroughly enjoyed Thomas Paine's novel. He definitely is a Rational thinker. He uses persuasion and logic to back up his ideas. I love reading Thomas Paine's writing because it is a different aspect than the boring Puritan ideas that we have previously read.

Paine, Thomas. "from 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.