Analyzing Documents: A Close Reading Workshop

Analyzing Documents: A Close Reading Workshop

Read the following document carefully and answer the questions that follow. Pay close attention to the author's choices, purpose, and the historical context.

Excerpt from 'Common Sense' by Thomas Paine (1776)

Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer. Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of paradise.

Of more worth is one honest man to society and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived.

1. Paine argues that while society is a blessing, government is a   evil.

2. He compares government to  , suggesting it is a 'badge of lost innocence'.

3. Paine asserts that the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of  .

1. What is Paine's primary purpose in this excerpt?

2. The phrase 'crowned ruffians' is an example of what rhetorical device?

1. Analyze how Paine uses figurative language (e.g., metaphors, similes) to convey his argument about government.

2. Consider the historical context of 'Common Sense'. How might Paine's audience in 1776 have reacted to his strong critique of monarchy?

1. Thomas Paine believed that all forms of government were inherently good.

2. Paine suggests that society and government are always synonymous and equally beneficial.