Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

America

The main "character" of this book is no doubt America. Paine is totally rooting for American independence. What we find in Common Sense is a classic David vs. Goliath story.

In 1776, America was a young, feeble upstart and Britain was the world's biggest superpower. This makes for a super-compelling story: think of all those plucky underdog stories where the team from the wrong side of the tracks vanquishes the rich team from the prep school.