announcing that the time has come to take a stand. The main part of Common Sense contrasts in concept with the majority of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson takes a rather rough approach to his writing style, deciding to introduce his ideas in the beginning few paragraphs, then proceeding to list his grievances in the bulk of the piece. Paine however, presents his ideas in more of a persuasive essay style. By providing his readers with more of a storytelling format, he is able to bring them up to date with what is happening, as he does with such paragraph introductions such as “It hath lately been asserted in Parliament” (695) and “But Britain is the parent country, say some” (695). These phrases communicate to the reader what has been going on, and allows Paine to give his audience a background that will allow them understanding of his propositions. Jefferson simply lists one by one, all of his charges against the king. It assumes your knowledge of events leading up to his document; if not, then you have only his facts to rely on. One of the obvious reasons for the difference in tone between these two writers however, can simply be the situation in which both pieces of writing were constructed. This is evident even from the heading of Paine’s third chapter, “Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs.” The word ‘thoughts’ can infer that what follows is simply one man’s conception on how things are and how they should be; that they may not necessarily reflect the true views of one nation. In fact, Paine says this in his introductory paragraph, by disclaiming that “perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor” (693). By this, he obviously means that his word may not speak for all. In contrast, the Declaration of Independence is a bold and assertive document. Jefferson state...
