Flashcards for Common Sense

King George III

King George III in Common Sense isn't depicted as a fully developed character but rather as the embodiment of monarchical tyranny—the concrete figure Paine uses to represent an abstract system of oppression.

character

The American Colonists

The American Colonists serve as both the main audience and the collective protagonist of Common Sense.

character

The British Parliament

In Common Sense, Thomas Paine views the British Parliament not as a narrative character but as a structural antagonist—an institution designed to maintain tyranny over the American colonists.

character

The King of England (Monarchy as Institution)

In Common Sense, Thomas Paine views the King of England not as an individual but as a representation of an institution—one that the monarchy creates and maintains.

character

Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine serves as the passionate narrator and key voice of Common Sense, acting more as a persuasive architect than a typical fictional hero as he attacks the foundations of monarchy and colonial submission.

character

William the Conqueror

William the Conqueror is portrayed in Common Sense not as a vibrant character but as a historical symbol that Thomas Paine uses to challenge the very basis of hereditary monarchy.

character

“The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.”

This famous line opens Thomas Paine's Common Sense (January 1776), which is one of the most impactful political pamphlets ever written.

Thomas Paine (narrator/author) · Introduction / Introductory Remarks

“Small islands not capable of protecting themselves are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care; but there is something very absurd in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island.”

This line comes from Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), a key political pamphlet in American history.

Thomas Paine (author/narrator) · Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs

“We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”

This powerful statement comes towards the end of Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), a key political pamphlet that has greatly influenced American history.

Thomas Paine (author/narrator) · Conclusion

“One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is, that nature disapproves it, otherwise she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lion.”

This sharp line appears in Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), one of the most impactful political pamphlets in American history.

Thomas Paine (author-narrator) · Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession

“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”

This opening statement comes from Thomas Paine's Common Sense, published in January 1776, specifically in the introductory section called "Introduction."

Thomas Paine (author/narrator) · Introduction

“For all men being originally equals, no one by birth could have a right to set up his own family in perpetual preference to all others forever.”

This line is from Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), a key political pamphlet in American history.

Thomas Paine (author/narrator) · Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession

“In America, the law is king. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other.”

This famous declaration comes from Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), one of the most impactful political pamphlets in American history.

Thomas Paine (author/narrator) · Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession

“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.”

This opening declaration is found in Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), specifically in the introductory section called "Of the Origin and Design of Government in General."

Thomas Paine (author-narrator) · Of the Origin and Design of Government in General

“The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth.”

This powerful statement opens Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), one of the most impactful political pamphlets ever written.

Thomas Paine (author-narrator) · Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs

“These are the times that try men's souls.”

This famous opening line is from Thomas Paine's The American Crisis, No. 1, published on December 19, 1776, not from Common Sense (1776), though both are key pamphlets of the American Revolution.

Thomas Paine (narrator/author) · The American Crisis, No. 1

“Everything that is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, 'TIS TIME TO PART.”

This powerful excerpt is taken from Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), a pivotal political pamphlet in American history.

Thomas Paine (author-narrator) · Thoughts on the Present Ability of America, with some miscellaneous Reflections (Section III / IV)

“Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise.”

This memorable saying comes from Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), a highly influential political pamphlet in American history.

Thomas Paine (author/narrator) · Of the Origin and Design of Government in General

The Bible

In Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), the Bible symbolizes inherited tyranny and the risky mix of divine authority with human monarchy.

The Continental Charter

In Common Sense, Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet, the Continental Charter symbolizes governance that is centered around the people.

The Crown

In Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), the Crown represents the corrupt and illegitimate nature of monarchy.

The Island Metaphor

In Common Sense, Thomas Paine employs the island metaphor to illustrate Britain's political and geographic irrelevance to the American colonies.

The Sun

In Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), the sun symbolizes reason, natural truth, and the clear righteousness of American independence.

Rhetorical Question

Paine fills Common Sense with rhetorical questions that push readers to arrive at his conclusions on their own.

Analogy

Paine's most sustained analogy likens Britain's relationship to the colonies to that of a parent and child, which he then systematically dismantles.

Allusion

Scripture permeates Common Sense, serving as Paine's main source of allusion.

Metaphor

Paine employs striking, vivid metaphors to evoke a strong emotional response to abstract political concepts.

Anaphora

Paine employs anaphora to build momentum and emphasize his key arguments through repetition.

Irony

Paine uses irony to highlight the contradictions of British rule.

Juxtaposition

Paine organizes much of Common Sense by placing stark contrasts side by side — the old world versus the new, monarchy versus republic, the past versus a potential future.

Personification

Paine brings abstract concepts to life to make his political arguments feel personal and urgent.

Hyperbole

Paine employs hyperbole to amplify the significance of the colonial cause to grand, cosmic levels.

Extended Metaphor

The parent-child metaphor isn't just mentioned once; it's woven throughout Common Sense, serving as the backbone of the pamphlet.

Motif

The motif of nature and natural order runs throughout Common Sense as Paine's main argument.

wickedness

Moral wrongdoing and selfish behavior in people that makes external control necessary; Paine uses it to explain why government must exist at all, not as a positive good but as a check on human failings.

noun · Chapter 1

affections

The natural bonds of goodwill and fellow-feeling that draw people together into communities; here it means the social ties that make cooperation possible, not romantic love.

noun · Chapter 1

vices

Harmful habits or immoral behaviors that damage individuals and communities; Paine argues government's sole purpose is to hold these in check.

noun · Chapter 1

necessary evil

Something harmful or undesirable that must nonetheless be tolerated because it prevents something worse; Paine uses the phrase to deny that government is ever genuinely good.

phrase · Chapter 1

intolerable

So bad or oppressive that it cannot be endured or accepted; Paine applies it to government at its worst to signal that rebellion becomes justified.

adjective · Chapter 1

disordered

Broken down or thrown into confusion so that it no longer functions properly; used here to argue that simpler systems are easier to fix when they go wrong.

adjective · Chapter 1

badge

A visible mark or sign that identifies a condition or status; Paine calls government a badge of lost innocence, meaning its very existence signals that humanity has already fallen from a purer state.

noun · Chapter 2

bowers

Sheltered, pleasant garden retreats, often shaded by trees or vines; Paine uses the word to evoke an innocent, natural paradise that monarchy has destroyed.

noun · Chapter 2

perpetual

Continuing forever without end; Paine uses it to attack the idea that one family could rightfully hold power over all others for all time.

adjective · Chapter 2

succession

The system by which a throne or title passes automatically from a ruler to his or her heir by birth; Paine attacks it as irrational and the source of endless war.

noun · Chapter 3

usurpation

The act of seizing power, a throne, or authority by force or without legal right; Paine argues this is the true origin of kingship, not divine appointment.

noun · Chapter 3

hath

An archaic third-person singular form of the verb 'has,' used in formal or biblical English of Paine's era.

verb · Chapter 3

give away places

To hand out government offices, appointments, and positions of profit to favorites; Paine uses it to show that a king's real power is patronage and favoritism rather than wise leadership.

phrase · Chapter 3

set it together by the ears

To stir up quarrels and conflict among people; an old idiom meaning to cause a group to fight amongst themselves, like animals biting each other's ears.

phrase · Chapter 3

pleads

Makes a strong, urgent case or argument in favor of something; here it means that reason and nature themselves argue powerfully for American independence.

verb · Chapter 4

the slain

Those who have been killed, especially in battle; Paine invokes them as moral witnesses whose deaths demand that the colonies act.

noun · Chapter 4

reconciliation

The restoration of friendly or peaceful relations between two parties who have been in conflict; Paine argues that making peace with Britain is no longer possible or desirable.

noun · Chapter 4

grievance

A real or perceived wrong or injustice that gives someone a reason to complain or seek remedy; Paine lists specific colonial grievances to show that British rule is unjust.

noun · Chapter 4

tyranny

Cruel and oppressive government by a ruler who uses power unjustly and without the consent of the governed; Paine uses it to characterize British rule over the colonies.

noun · Chapter 4

peculiar

Unique or singular, belonging to one particular moment and no other; in this text it does not mean strange but rather one-of-a-kind and unrepeatable.

adjective · Chapter 5

viz.

An abbreviation of the Latin 'videlicet,' meaning 'namely' or 'that is to say'; used to introduce a more precise explanation of what was just stated.

adverb · Chapter 5

national bond

A tie that binds citizens together through shared obligation; Paine argues that a national debt, rather than being purely harmful, creates mutual investment among a nation's people.

phrase · Chapter 5

bears no interest

Carries no additional charge or fee for borrowing money; when a debt costs nothing extra to hold, Paine says it harms no one and can even strengthen national unity.

phrase · Chapter 5

striking

Forceful and immediately convincing; used to describe arguments so clear and powerful that they are hard to dismiss or ignore.

adjective · Chapter 5