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 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. Beginning his career, Franklin was much of an amateur in his profession, though he showed much promise. Franklin never gave up on achieving his career and life goals, which is why he is someone worth imitating; he is the ultimate example of an Archetypal American.
Modern American identity revolves around self improvement. Americans seek to improve themselves in all areas of life, be it socially, financially, or physically. Americans accomplish these goals through education and observing the successes of others. Benjamin Franklin, a man who is frequently admired by fellow Americans, embodies many of these qualities and, as such, has become an archetype of success and of what it means to be American. Benjamin Franklin is an archetypal American because of his values of self-improvement, community-mindedness, and frugality.
Think of success like watching a tree grow the branches split into different paths one can take each split is another opportunity to prosper and grow beautiful leaves like trophies. An uncommon belief is that the process of becoming successful is like a tree branch, if one starts off strong, more paths appear growing from the sturdy branch, and achieving goals lead to leaves growing to show wealth. “It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success,” (Gladwell 30). Author of nonfiction book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell, agrees with this uncommon belief, in his book he argues that success does not come from intelligence or passion
Benjamin Franklin wrote his autobiography in during the 1700’s about his life starting with his early childhood and through the last couple of year he was alive. Franklin speaks about his life comparing his actions to the Hero’s Journey; Call to Adventure, Crossing the Threshold, as well as Challenges and Temptations. The Hero’s Journey; originally called a Monomyth, was introduced and written by Joseph Campbell in his book; The Hero With A Thousand Faces published in 1949. The Hero’s Journey is a series of events that a person experiences on his or her way to becoming a true hero. Benjamin Franklin; in his autobiography, speaks about the hero’s journey, referencing his life to the Call to Adventure, Crossing the
Love and respect are a couple of the few things that will last forever, but they are not always shown. In the Russian folk tale retold by Leo Tolstoy, “The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson” and “Abuelito Who”, an informal yet intimate poem by Sandra Cisnero, the universal theme is “love and respect your elders”. A universal theme is “a message about life or human nature that is so fundamental to human existence that is true for all people of all time periods and cultures.” (Sato, 76) These themes aren’t restricted to just one particular place or time, but reappear over and over again, all over the place. “Themes in literature tend to recur because human beings are more similar than different, no matter what the culture.” (Sato, 77)
Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues are truly something to follow. They contain a theme of avoiding conflict and being clean, mentally and physically. The virtues that seem the most important in achieving a well-balanced life, to me, are Franklin’s Silence and Order.
Success is something that every person looks at differently and in America it is something that is strived for every step of the way by most typical people. The idea of success is planted in our heads at a very early age and is embedded in our culture as a part of the American Dream. Ways that success is approached are different depending on what drives a person, whether it's competitiveness or a strive for greatness. A competitive approach to success is described in Margaret Mead's essay The Egalitarian Error when she writes, "For many Americans, the concept of success is a source of confusion. As a people, we Americans greatly celebrate and admire the one who gets the highest grades, the one voted most attractive or most likely to succeed.
“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live,” quoted Anne Sweeney, formerly the co-chair of Disney Media, President of the Disney–ABC Television Group, and the President of Disney Channel. In this quote, Anne wanted everyone to know that everyone has their own definitions of success and have their own ways to get their. Two ways that people define success is being happy or satisfied with what they love doing and reaching their goals after obstacles. These two features can be seen in the books, The Outliers, The Last Lecture, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul and the article, Catching Kayla, by Digital Sports News.
I chose The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin. I am very familiar with it because I did a project on it, so I will be able to explain it in greater detail than if I had chosen another story. It was quite enjoyable and informative, too, so I find it interesting to discuss. The Autobiography is about Franklin’s journey to become a better person. He originally wanted to become perfect, but he was never able to achieve this goal.
Success is a concept that is constantly altered and has a different meaning from person to person. The stereotypical definition of success would be someone who has a high-paying job or is in the upper-class. Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers: The Story of Success, approaches the concept of success in a different and unique way. Gladwell discusses how opportunities, cultural legacy, and hard work all coincide with each other to produce real success. He uses mostly logic and multiple unrelated anecdotes to support and provide evidence for his statements. Gladwell 's main argument is that although hard work and talent are essential for success, one’s given opportunities and cultural legacy are what really drive them to the pinnacle of success.
Despite the claim that the world has made progress towards gender equality, women are expected to depict feminine characteristics and mannerisms deemed suitable by society. Sandra Cisneros challenges these societal expectations in her poem “Loose Woman” by embracing the negative connotations of a masculine woman. Cisneros faces the pressures of conforming to the American and Latin American status quo of being a woman. Because Cisneros chooses to defy many womanly ideals, she is labeled with “undesirable” identities heavily influenced by religious beliefs. These religious views impact the social expectations of a woman’s sexual orientation as well as her social behavior. Cisneros is labeled with these “undesirable” traits in attempt to be belittled
For most people, aspirations and dreams are a part of growing up. For a certain boy in the early 1700’s, his dream was to become a sailor. Even though that specific dream never came true, he diligently worked at everything he came in contact with, whether he liked it or not. That diligence eventually paid off, making him successful at everything he did. This boy was Benjamin Franklin, and his perseverance, hard work, and ingenuity made him one of the most famous Founding Fathers of our country. Ben Franklin of Philadelphia by Margret Cousins tells the fascinating story of Ben’s life.
One of the main lessons that I absorbed from Benjamin Franklin’s discussions was that success could definitely be achieved, no matter what social status you derive from, by improving one’s mind, body, and behavior. He admirably proved, through his actions, that a human being could prosper through hard work and
Allegory of the Cave by Plato can be applied to modern day society in many ways. The ideology of success in our society is responsible for dictating human thought that success is based on money and wealth. I believe that one is successful when a person achieves their desired goals and aims. Success is different for everyone.