Name: _____________________________________________________Date: _____________________

English 2 Block # _____ from The Crisis, No. 1

Reading Check

1. Paine opens with a powerful emotional appeal. In the third paragraph, what reasons does he give for

his confidence that God will favor the Americans and not the British?

2. Re-read the fourth paragraph and the anecdote about the tavern keeper at Amboy. Why does Paine

view the Tory tavern keeper’s harmless remark as “unfatherly”?

3. What powerful emotional appeal does Paine make at the end of this part of his essay to describe the

choices facing the colonists?

Thinking Critically

4. What is Paine’s main purpose in writing this essay? In your opinion, what details supporting that

purpose are most powerful?

5. The pamphlet opens with two famous images (page 89). What kinds of people does Paine identify with

summer and sunshine? Why are these images appropriate?

6. Explain the meaning of Paine’s metaphor “Mutual fear is the principal link in the chain of mutual

love” (page 93). Do you agree or disagree with this idea, and why?

7. An analogy is a comparison between two things that are alike in certain respects. Analogies are used

often in argument and persuasion to demonstrate the logic of one idea by showing how it is similar to

another accepted idea. Analogies can be tricky, though, because few ideas or situations are completely

alike in all aspects. What analogy does Paine draw when he talks about the thief (page 92)? What point is

he making, and how might an opponent answer?

8. One of Paine’s persuasive strategies is to anticipate and then refute possible counterclaims, or

opposing arguments, to his ideas. For example, on page 91, he anticipates criticism when he writes, “Say

not that this is revenge.” Find another example of this persuasive strategy, and then evaluate Paine’s

rebuttal of its potential counterclaim.

Extending and Evaluating

9. “Not a place upon earth might be so happy as America. Her situation is remote from all the wrangling

world, and she has nothing to do but to trade with them…. I am…confident…that America will never be

happy till she gets clear of foreign dominion” (pages 90–91). Evaluate these words from Paine’s

pamphlet. Considering the world as it is today, how would you reply to Paine?

10. Review your Quickwrite notes about the difficult decisions that colonists faced. If you were a

colonist reading this excerpt from The Crisis, would you be persuaded to continue the fight for liberty?

Why or why not?

11. Paine’s essay is full of memorable and moving statements. Find some that could be used to

encourage people to face the kinds of conflicts that threaten the peace today.