Question

@tester97 “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

These lines establish the __________________ for the Declaration of Independence.

thesis

theme

purpose

pathos

Answer 1

Help? :)

Answer 2

My suggestion,

Not the pathos as it is not appealing to the emotions of the intended audience:
- "Pathos represents an appeal to the audience's emotions. Pathos is a communication technique used most often in rhetoric..."
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathos

This could be the [Purpose], as it is saying what the Declaration of Independence was for. That mankind (should) declare the cause by which they need to separate from the binds of political connectedness..." {Possible}

This could be the [Theme], as the purpose of a theme is to convey the central idea behind a topic,
- Wikipedia says "The most common contemporary understanding of theme is an idea or point that is central to a story, which can often be summed in a single word (e.g. love, death, betrayal). Typical examples of themes of this type are conflict between the individual and society")
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_(narrative)
Where it says "...typical examples of themes of this type are conflict between the individual and society" really hits home for me and really tells me that [Theme], so far, is the best choice. {Most possible} lol.

It is definitely not a thesis.

So between Theme and Purpose, I believe, and would myself, choose [Theme] as the best choice for this!