Topic > Freedom or Slavery: Analysis of Patrick Henry's Speech at the Virginia Convention

"Give me liberty or give me death." These famous words were uttered in the speech “the speech to the Virginia convention,” when Patrick Henry addressed the Virginia convention, specifically President Randolph, in March 1775. Henry respectfully expresses his opinion on what action America should undertake regarding their conflict with Great Britain. Most of the other members of the convention think that they should deal with the conflict peacefully, but Henry believes it is necessary to prepare for war if Britain does not comply with the colonists' commands. In Patrick Henry's speech at the Virginia Convention, he argues that there is no choice for America but to go to war and break away from Great Britain by facing the reality of how the colonists are treated and facing the harsh reality of that what will happen if they don't go to war. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Patrick Henry argues to President Randolph and the Virginia Convention that the colonists should break away from Great Britain and go to war addressing the way they are currently being treated. Henry urges the convention to “listen to that siren song until she turns us into beasts.” The mention of a mermaid is a mythological allusion to the Odyssey. Henry is metaphorically comparing the false hope the English gave the colonies to Circe luring men to her island. This false hope coming from Britain dehumanizes the colonists, playing on their emotions such as anger and sadness, linked to pathos. Henry also explains how the English have an “insidious smile with which our petition has lately been received.” Henry's reference to an "insidious smile" creates diction that appeals to pathos because it suggests that the English are misleading, which would again anger the colonists with this idea of ​​false hope. Furthermore, he addresses the way the colonists are treated by saying that the colonists “having eyes they do not see and having ears they do not hear.” Henry is making a biblical allusion to Ezekiel 12:2 to create an appeal to pathos. This Bible verse says that those who cannot see or hear the truth about God will lose spiritual salvation. He connects this to the fact that the colonists cannot see or hear the truth about what the English are doing. Patrick Henry uses many rhetorical strategies such as allusions, biblical references, and pathos to address how the colonists are treated by the English in order to convince the convention that going to war is the only option. Patrick Henry urges the Virginia Convention the colonists should break away from Great Britain facing the harsh reality of what will happen if they do not go to war. For example, during his speech, Patrick Henry talks about how Britain will be “the next sweeping storm.” He metaphorically creates an appeal to pathos as he describes the advance of the British army as a storm rising from the north. Through this metaphor, Henry explains that just as a storm cannot be stopped by man alone, neither can the English be stopped by man alone. This emphasizes that only through the power of God will they win the war and if they do not put all their strength into fighting, they will be crushed. Patrick Henry also shows what would happen if the colonists did not go to war, explaining it as a “question of liberty or slavery.” It refers to the need to fight for freedom. This appeals to pathos because he is trying to convince them that the only alternative to war is British rule/slavery. The idea of ​​slavery”.