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Comparison Of Speech To The Virginia Convention By Patrick Henry

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Although Speech to the Virginia Convention, by Patrick Henry, Self-Reliance, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, by Jonathan Edwards all represent something different to their respective readers, they all define the role of the individual to be the importance of having something to believe in. In Speech to the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry writes about his belief in patriotism and how these ideas can change the colonies as a result. In Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about how people should believe in themselves and how it is important to believe in yourself in order to become great. In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards writes about how those who do not believe in god will be …show more content…

Patrick Henry’s speech is used to convince tories and those who are undecided, on the topic of fighting back, to believe in his cause. Henry shows his belief in the patriot cause for freedom by allowing his emotions to seep through his writing as well as his words. “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!” (24). The words “Give me liberty, or give me death!” have a powerful connotation upon his audience. Henry is able to show his belief in the cause by announcing that he would rather die than be under a tyrannical government. As long as he has something to believe in, Henry knows that he is strong because he has nothing to lose as a result, which he declares in his words. Henry is able to convince others to believe in his cause by showing how strong his beliefs are and how they have made him absolutely fearless. Patrick Henry shows how his beliefs give him strength, which is similar to Ralph Waldo Emerson's beliefs in one’s …show more content…

Believing in one’s self is the first step to achieving greatness which shows its own importance as a result. Emerson demonstrates the importance and effects that believing in one’s self has, as well as how being yourself is more important than being judged. “Is it so bad to be misunderstood? To be great is to be misunderstood” (42). Believing in one’s self is important and being misunderstood is an important part of that. Emerson shows that being misunderstood is a part of believing in yourself in that when you are yourself, you are different from others, which makes you original. However this also makes you misunderstood as a consequence. Emerson conveys the message that it does not matter if you are misunderstood because if you are misunderstood by everyone around you, you truly know yourself. This shows the importance of believing in yourself because it makes you the strongest you can be. Like believing in one’s self, it is also important to have a god to believe in as

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