Patrick Henry and His Speech - Research Paper Example

?Topic Response paper Patrick Henry was a citizen of Virginia in America and he was a revolutionist who delivered a speech for the liberation of his fellow Virginians called “Give me liberty or give me death”. Henry wanted his fellow Virginians to fight for their rights and liberties as citizens of the Virginian land. He wanted the Virginians to opt for love and reconciliation instead of war and conflicts. He is explaining to the fellow men that the army of British Empire does not have mind for assisting them in achieving peace and human rights. He tells them that, one cannot be ignorant to the seen, heard and experienced evil actions of their leaders. He suggests that slavery and lack of freedom among them can only bring about more violence and oppression to the region. He asks the fellow Virginians to fight energetically for their rights and freedom as they owe one from the British Empire. His justification for this call is that, not fighting and being ignorant to the atrocities of British ministry can only lead them slavery and oppression . Henry also mentions that the life with less liberty can make the Virginians weak in performing their duties and responsibilities to their own nation. It also can be a disloyalty to the God and the majestic heavens. He further argues that fleets of army and navy are not necessary for the British ministry to impart freedom and human rights to the fellow Virginians. Henry addresses the one who oppose him by saying that, the war has already begun. He is commenting that things have gone far than expected and the Virginian fellow men have taken action to launch war against British ministry. Henry is making clear that the Virginian fellow men can get liberty only if they fight as the situation has gone out of hand Generally speaking, Slavery is the main theme in Henry’s speech and this is illustrated widely by him throughout his speech in an imagery way. His imagery can be seen when he comments that the fellow Virginians are in the forged chains of British ministry. The only factor which influences the fellowmen is the illusionary hope, which they nurture in their mind .They hope ardently that the British ministry would give them liberty in future times, but Henry see this hops as an illusion. Henry asserts that, the Virginian men and women are slaves of British colonists, and if they don’t fight then the state of Virginians can only be deteriorated. Henry also comments that their senses are not shut towards the atrocities of British leaders and war is inevitable. The imagery element is highly experienced when Henry claims that the clamoring of the slaved Virginians can be heard till the plains of Boston. This kind of imagery put forward by Henry showcases the oppression and despair in the minds of the subjects of Virginia. The imagery of Henry can be reflected when he argues that the fellowmen has the blessing of God of nature in fighting and they can win as they are in the favor of truth and liberty. The imagery of God has prominent influence on fellow Virginians as this re-imposed the religious thoughts and principles buried in their minds. Henry has intimidated the Virginians by declaring several resolutions to protect the human rights and liberty of the country men. One among them was the tax resolution which aimed the well being of the fellow Virginians. “Henry’s five resolution, known popularly as the Virginia Resolves, might have remained a local matter had if not for the colonial press”(pg.118,chapter Apparently, the imagery used by Henry like slavery and power of God and nature has well resonated among the Virginians because they believe in God and can resemble things regarding their life to the Henry’s speech. The Virginians of the British colony were living a life that resembled slaves and hence the call for action by Henry hit the Virginians hard. Henry knew that Virginians were religious people, thus the mention of imagery like God’s and nature’s power initiated a profound impact on his countrymen. Henry in his speech has taken the assistance of some of the Biblical themes in an effort to awaken the fellow Virginians. One foremost theme is the mentioning of love and reconciliation in speech. Henry argues, why the British colonists need army and navy when they know they can settle the problems in Virginia with the help of love and reconciliation. Love is the main theme of Bible, and according to Henry, if love is used as a weapon to spread equality among British colonists and Virginians, then that can be seen as a big achievement. As everyone knows, love is the most significant message spread by Bible and Jesus Christ. This had a strong influence among the Virginian fellowmen as they wanted their problems to be settled by love rather than war. Henry also mentions about peace which is the core teaching of Bible. His statement about peace awakened the desire and longing for peace in the mind of the Virginians. As Virginians are religious people, they longed to get their freedom and liberty through love and peace. Henry’ by acknowledging this utilized well peace, love and reconciliation as a medium to achieve freedom and liberty. The foremost want of Henry was to give same rights and freedom enjoyed by English subjects to Virginian fellow men. In the following part of his speech, Henry claims that if one uses the power which the God of nature has placed on them, then they can win the noble fight with British colonist. The Virginians are religious people and they believed in God’s power. The speech of Henry was partly religious and mention of God’s grace and power invoked the Virginians to fight against atrocities put on them. Henry also argues that their fight for liberty was a holy act. Holy is a word closely related to Bible and this assured the Virginians that they are acting according to God’s will and teaching. He also mentioned that the Virginians are not fighting alone but have the hand of God upon them, who is the maker of the destiny. In total, with all these Biblical reference, Henry wins the heart of the Virginians and persuaded them to fight against the heinous and rebellious group which is the British colonists. Read More