美国文学thomas-paine.pptVIP

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) Lecture 4 Contents Life Story Literary Career Reputation Life story Born in England Born into an age of revolution Staymaker, excise officer, teacher in England until 1774 Met Franklin in London Life story arrived in Philadelphia and edited the Pennsylvania Magazine Invention---perfecting the model of an iron bridge without piers Seek refuge in France died after a year of illness Literary career Pennsylvania Magazine: a political satirist of genius Masterpieces: Common Sense and The American Crisis Other works: Rights of Man; The Age of Reason; Agrarian Justice Common Sense Form: pamphlet Argument for freedom from British rule Treason against England “the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era” Common Sense Reasons for the popularity Paines new style of political writing The way the vast majority of people felt about the idea of independence from British rule + Paines incendiary words Impact (into the war) Paines arguments against British rule In Common Sense It was absurd for an island to rule a continent. America was not a British nation; it was composed of influences and peoples from all of Europe. Even if Britain were the mother country of America, that made her actions all the more horrendous, for no mother would harm her children so brutally. Being a part of Britain would drag America into unnecessary European wars, and keep it from the international commerce at which America excelled. The distance between the two nations made governing the colonies from England unwieldy. If some wrong were to be petitioned to Parliament, it would take a year before the colonies received a response. The New World was discovered shortly before the Reformation. The Puritans believed that God wanted to give them a safe haven(安全港) from the persecution of British rule. Britain ruled the colonies for its own benefit, and did not consider the best interests of the colonists in governing them. The American Crisis