The article being reviewed in this essay is, “Benjamin Franklin, the Inveterate (and Crafty) Public Instructor: Instruction on Two Levels in “The Way to Wealth” by Patrick Sullivan. The article by Sullivan is an in-depth analysis of “The Way to Wealth” by Benjamin Franklin. The overall review of the article was good. It opens the readers’ eyes to some of the reasons this piece was written and the hidden messages in this piece.
The article starts off with a history of Benjamin Franklin and some background on one of his character, Poor Richard. Sullivan then explains how and why Franklin uses Poor Richard. Sullivan mentions how Richard was a well-known character by the time the “Farwell address” was written which became a piece to celebrate Richard.
After giving information about the character in “The Way to Wealth”, Sullivan begins to explain the purpose Benjamin Franklin had for writing this piece. Sullivan begins by addressing the fact that “The Way to Wealth” goes in two contradicting ways throughout the writing. The first being giving the readers/ audience instruction through the proverbial
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Sullivan did an in-depth analysis on many main ideas. He backed most of arguments with plenty of excerpts from “The Way to Wealth”, and included many reliable outside sources. The only negative, as mentioned above, was the fact he did not include the contradicting proverbs in his analysis. If Sullivan had included examples of one of his main points, his analysis would be very helpful. Although he failed to support that main point, the rest of his arguments would be hard to dispute considering the amount of support he was able to gather. This analysis would be very useful to readers who are looking for a more in depth understanding of the piece. Also, this analysis was proved usefully in my American Literature class due to the fact it brought many great ideas for
Benjamin Franklin and His Enemies Summary Robert Middlekauff starts off by introducing Benjamin Franklin as a well-mannered and civic-minded individual who is loved by everyone. Of course, Benjamin Franklin was a little bit reserved when it came to strangers, but that never stopped people from growing fond of him. His good heart and spirit lead him to amazing people like Margaret Stevenson (Polly), John Adams, William Strahan, and Thomas Jefferson to name a few. Besides from having a well-liked personality Robert Middlekauff also reveals that Benjamin Franklin was a curious man who came equipped with an outstanding resumé.
In the article, Birds and Bees, No Let’s Talk about Dollars and Cents, by Ben Stein, he successfully makes his point to inform his son that he needs self discipline to create human and financial capital to have a more stable life. The young boy has been living large his whole life and his father wants to help him keep it going by having self-discipline to make smart decisions so he doesn’t live in fear and insecurity. Ben Stein uses many anecdotes to get the point across to his son and the readers of the New York Times that people are capable of coming from nothing and turning into something with the willpower to make smart choices. With the use of anecdotes and repetition all throughout the letter, it allows Stein to utilize logos, pathos,
The late nineteenth century was a pivotal moment in American history. During this time, the Industrial Revolution transformed the nation, railroads had dissipated all throughout the country, and economic classes began to form, separating the wealthy from the poor. One of the wealthiest men of this generation was Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant who fled to America to make millions off the railroad, oil and even steel businesses. Carnegie is considered one of the richest men in history, and even with all that wealth he decided to give back to the community. As a matter of fact, Carnegie donated most of his funds to charities, universities and libraries in his last few years.
There were a lot of American men who had perfect influence on people’s mind of American society. Jonathan Edward and Benjamin Franklin were two of those writers, who were the most important and intellectual men, who left behind many admirable works for the future society. In spite of them being so intelligent, they have some different and similar views in terms of morality, personal responsibility, human nature, and limits of human knowledge and inform people how to live a better life. In addition, they were different in terms of religious inclinations. Benjamin Franklin and Jonathan Edward were both philosopher and had similar views in terms of informing people the right way to live in order to be successful and get salvation by reforming their mind in their life.
Benjamin Franklin is known to be an “Archetypal American,” because of his beliefs on religion, self-improvement, hard work, and determination; but also his somewhat prideful spirit. Much of modern America is quite similar to Franklin in his actions throughout his lifetime. In his early years, Franklin’s father, Josiah, had a set plan for what he was supposed to do with his life, as a minister. Soon into his education, he found an interest in reading and writing, so he began pursuing a career in printing.
Fredrick Douglas and Benjamin Franklin are both one of the most famous successful in American history. They both followed a certain milestone to make them successful. Even though they are considered hard workers, they both have different obstacles and different views in their lifestyle. Fredrick Douglas used to be a slave who was a fugitive and Benjamin Franklin was young white man who had a rough time with his parent because his parents are very abusive to him. By comparing the difference and similarities by these two great people in American history even though they had their rough times, that does not stop them from their success.
In the story, the narrator describes the rich as “different from you and me. [The rich] possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand” (Fitzgerald, “The Rich Boy” 3). The narrator 's description is very accurate, which is shown especially in the main character, Anson, who was born into a wealthy family and exhibits many of these characteristics. Tate, a critical writer explains that “‘The Rich Boy’ is not so much about wealth itself as about the effect of wealth on character, and the primary effect on Anson is an over power sense of superiority” (1). This superiority that Anson feels directly correlates with his upbringing because he has more money than most people.
Franklin values frugality so highly that he refers to as the way to wealth, freedom from debt, and “producing affluence and independence” (Franklin 38). Franklin goes as far as to “avoid all appearances to the contrary [of being frugal]”, by always dressing plainly when out in public and not being seen at expensive, “places of idle diversion” (Franklin 33). Franklin’s combined frugality and humble appearance worked in his favor, as he was seen as a “thriving young man” whom merchants would import stationery for and “others would supply . . . with books” (Franklin 33). This frugality of Franklin’s gave him social standing, success, and riches.
Born in 1706 as the eighth of 17 children to a Massachusetts soap and candlestick maker, the chances Benjamin Franklin would go on to become a gentleman, scholar, scientist, statesman, musician, author, publisher and all-around general genius were astronomically low, yet he did just that. Franklin wrote in the Age of Enlightenment, an intellectual revolution in the 18th century. The ideals of the enlightenment are still thought of today, as they are a part of the United States’ Declaration of Independence and Constitution. When one remembers Benjamin Franklin very few people are aware of the fact that he worked as a printer until the age of 42. As a printer he had access to substantial amounts of literature.
Underpinnings and Effectiveness of Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” In Andrew Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth”, Carnegie proposed a system of which he thought was best to dispose of “surplus wealth” through progress of the nation. Carnegie wanted to create opportunities for people “lift themselves up” rather than directly give money to these people. This was because he considered that giving money to these people would be “improper spending”.
Carnegie, Conwell, and Alger Advocates of Wealth for All During the late nineteenth century, a form of Social Darwinism emerged called the Gospel of Wealth also known as the Success Gospel. Social Darwinism is “Herbert Spencer’s adaptation of Charles Darwin’s concepts of natural selection and “survival of the fittest” as it applies to human society” (Nash p. 417). Social Darwinists believed that the social order was the product of the natural selection of the individuals that were best suited for the existing living conditions. These individuals were white, Anglo-Saxon, wealthy men.
Many of you are taught all about the Founding Fathers and how America got it’s Independence. I’m positive you’ve all heard about the famous Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, and about all his contributions to history. He has contributed to the draft of the Declaration of Independence, but that wasn’t the only important contribution he made. He bought a famous paper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, proved the electrical nature of lighting with a kite, and many other things were done by Benjamin. You were probably not told too much about Franklin’s other accomplishments.
At the start of the 18th century, the beginning of the Enlightenment was upon America. There were many factors and people who help play a part in the Enlightenment or, in other words, the Age of Reason, some of the people that assisted the enlightenment was Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adam. Each of the philosophers demonstrates the fundamental idea of the Enlightenment like liberalism, rationalism, conservatism, toleration and scientific progress. Even though each person played an important part, the most influences person that was involved was Benjamin Franklin. Throughout Benjamin Franklin`s life, he demonstrates through his action and writing that he was the epitome of the Enlightenment by showing that he was
Final exam Earlier in the semester we were introduced to John De Crevecoeur’s letters from an American Farmer and Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography. The two books both had strong opinions about what American and what the “New Man” was in American during the 18th century. In the 18th century Benjamin franklin was the man who invented the American dream for many people. His Dream was that through hard work and honesty any man can gain respect in the community; along with deserving prosperity and economic protection. he also believed that American was a place where you could come and have a new start.
Both John Smith and William Bradford were Englishmen who came to America and helped to found the earliest colonies in New England. They came at different times and for different reasons. Both tell of events during these travels in their written accounts, but these accounts show that the two men, as well as their goals, were drastically different. Captain John Smith, considered to be the first American writer, came to America in the spring of 1607. He had many adventures prior to the voyage to New England, and thought quite highly of himself, as is clear in his writings.