Facilitator Text Analysis

1. Who is writing?
William Penn is writing.

2. Who is the audience?
All people of Pennsylvania are the audience.

3. Who do the writers represent?
The representation of the writer (William Penn) can’t be directly stated, as if he had some political stature, such as being governor. William Penn represents himself; he is an authoritative person with power from the proprietary charter granted him by the King of England. He stood for his ideology, which had developed since encountering the Quaker faith at Oxford, as well as the experiences he had with various governing powers in Europe. This ideology believed that law had divine purpose.

4. What is being said, argued and/or requested?
In the preface, William Penn argues for affirmation of the divine purpose in law and argues that corrupt people equals a corrupt government. In the Frame of Government, Penn states the organization, structure and function of Pennsylvania’s government. In the third section, “Laws agreed upon in England”, William Penn basically states how the laws – which will be created with the participation of citizens, and will thus grant rights that are more humane than most previous laws – will actually be enforced by the government of Pennsylvania.

5. How is it being said, argued and/or requested?
His content in the preface is argued by asserting a divine purpose exists within law, by stating that, “When the great and wise God had made the world, of all his creatures, it pleased him to chuse man his Deputy to rule it: and to fit him for so great a charge and trust, he did not only qualify him with skill and power, but with integrity to use them justly.” This means that God has assigned man the task of ruling the world, and by that William Penn justifies the constructing of a government. The frame of the text is basically a declaration for the decided organizational structure and function of the government of Pennsylvania. The third section is also a declaration, but for basic laws to be enforced by the government of Pennsylvania.

6. What proof and/or justification is being used to legitimize the request?
Well, first of all, this charter isn’t a request; it’s a list of statements. Within the passage, William Penn speaks of the King’s consent in lending him the authority to write and enforce this charter. So, this granted power by the King does legitimize William Penn’s authority to enforce this charter. But, from another perspective, William Penn believed he and all people had innate divine rights. This idea would be appealing to many other readers at that time of religious dissent.