Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death! Essay Example

In 1775, Patrick Henry introduced a proposal to the Virginia Convention to form a local militia to be prepared to fight the British. In order for his proposal to pass and for his vision to become a reality, he had to persuade the members of the Virginia Convention to arm themselves as patriots to fight the British if they did not meet their demands. To do this, he had to appeal to their emotions, logic and many other aspects in order to make his speech effective and to obtain the goal that he wanted. In his speech, Henry uses both literary and rhetorical devices to make his words effective. Before one is able to see his rhetorical devices, one must first discover his use of literary devices and his word choice and syntax which contribute to the full meaning of his words. Many of his literary devices are what cause many of the rhetorical devices to have their effect. Let us start from the very beginning. Henry begins his speech with the statement that "No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the house. But different men often see the same subject differently." Here, Henry is defending his position as a patriot just as those who hold the opposing view call themselves patriots. He is simply saying that patriotism is important, but it can also be inferred that some on the opposing side may believe that only those who are not patriots would fight the British. He shows respect for those "very worthy gentlemen" who hold opposing views to his even though they do not believe the same thing that he does. He introduces his opposing view with the rhetorical shift, "But…" Henry ends his introductory statement with the phrase "different men often see the same subject in different lights." He literally means that men see the same subject in different ways, but he uses the word "light" to introduce the idea that light represents truth and illumination, ideas which he continues to develop in the