Thomas Paine, through many of his works, is portrayed to be a radical thinker, especially for the time in which he lived. His works were very influential, for instance, his piece Common Sense contributed to the creation of the Declaration of Independence. Paine also wrote several works about women’s rights and the abolition of slavery. His “The Rights of Man” is a very direct piece and the reader is able to see his personality shine through, but he is still able to stay on point and not stray. Several of his points in “The Doctrine of Equal Rights” have to do with men being equal not only with their ancestors, but also “that every individual is born equal in rights with his contemporary” (Damrosch 69). It is interesting that Paine says "individual" here instead of "man" which I interpret to be on purpose because of his advocacy for equal rights for women.
Paine also contradicts Burke by writing what he believes to be the "duty of man" (Damrosch 70). While Burke emphasizes the need to respect and serve those of a higher social or economic class than yourself, Paine says that man's duty is to God and that Burke overlooks the duty of man to his neighbor: to treat others as you would have them treat you.
In "The Republican System" a part of "The Rights of Man" Paine discusses how a revolution in France is necessary because the government is failing to do its job, or rather is doing too much more than its job. He says a government should be no "more than the management of the affairs of a Nation" (Damrosch 70). He also believes that if the people of a nation do not feel that the government is doing its duty, they have every right to overthrow it. Paine's writings, through his direct style, are able to allow the reader to know exactly what he believes with no lingering unanswered questions in the reader's mind.
1 comment:
Rachel,
OK start in this first post. You do a good job of focusing on a single author from the readings, and I like your idea to place Paine in his historical context by mentioning several biographical facts about him. In the discussion of The Rights of Man, though, you tend to quote very short passages, often not in very much context, and you offer a few observations about them. I think it might be better to focus on a longer passage within that text, though, and to analyze it in more depth, also speculating on its significance and relation to other texts or to our world today. That approach would help lead to more insightful posts, I think.
I look forward to seeing what you observe in subsequent posts.
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