Winthrop Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Winthrop preaches about unity and togetherness to his fellow Puritans, weary and trepidatious about the dangers of their voyage and upcoming settlement, in order to reassure them that their shared religion will keep them all safe and that everything will be okay. Throughout his sermon, he repeats the word “we”, instilling a sense of a common identity into those with him. By saying “we” instead of “I”, he makes his audience sure that he is no different from any of them; that he needs them as much as they need him. He supports this later by claiming that they must show each other “brotherly affection” and keep the ship devoid of any dissension. Furthermore, continuing along the lines of conflictless unity, he alludes to the prophet Micah, who wrote books present in the Old Testament. Many of his books were centered around an idea of a warless world.
Furthermore, Winthrop supplements his argument with a hyperbolic statement, claiming that “ten of us shall be able to resist a
Throughout his oration, Winthrop apostrophizes their “enemies”, who he implies are powered by sin and will engulf the Puritans, should they commit a wrongdoing. By referring to what is effectively the embodiment of sin as a “tangible” enemy, he gives it weight and adds a layer of realness and danger to sin itself. He goes on to describe how breaking away from the community and giving into materialism and greed will cause God to desert them, further deterring them from committing sin, considering how God is the only thing tying them together. Winthrop does all he can to calm the nerves of his fellow shipmates, and ensure that they preserve their common link in