Benjamin Franklin (DM: Summary)

There were various major themes that were common throughout the Benjamin Franklin blog posts. A first major theme identified, illustrated by an overwhelming majority of students, was humility. Many students who chose the value of humility highlighted Franklin’s creation of the library in order to demonstrate his practice of this value. In her blog post, Rachel summed up this idea by explaining that “[Franklin] exemplifies humility through perseverance in establishing the public library in lieu of struggle and initial lack of popularity”, going on to provide the example of Franklin accrediting a number of friends for the creation of the library thus “allowing the popularity of his own idea be dismissed from his name” (Blog Post 1: Ben Franklin). It is also interesting to note that others made the point that while Franklin saw this as a key value in gaining success, he did not actually truly acquire it. In her blog post, Aaron addressed Franklin’s hypocritical nature by claiming “In both readings Franklin thinks very highly of himself and his works. He then turns around and stresses the importance of humility. Contrary to his narcissistic attitude he openly admits that he practices humility because people listen to him and like him more because he portrays himself as humble” (asimmons).

Two other majors themes that were present, though less commonly than humility, were the qualities of being hard working/industrious and frugal. Angeles pointed out the idea that “There is a conception that in the United States you can climb up the economic latter [sic] regardless of your social class because if you work hard then opportunities will present themselves. Benjamin Franklin put a lot of emphasis on the idea that in order to succeed people had to be hard workers” (Mr. Franklin). This is a concept that many other students discussed in their own blogs as well, with many citing a proverb of Solomon that Franklin presented in chapter 8 of his Autobiography. In regards to frugality, Dalton explains, “In both texts Benjamin Franklin mentions America as economically mobile. Americans are not just frugal with money but their time and food. This is because the ideal American should be hard working and dedicated (industrious) to their family” (Blog Post 1). While only few students chose the topic of frugality, their messages were similar: for Benjamin Franklin, frugality is directly related to self-reliance and success.

When describing the techniques that Franklin used to persuade his audience to adopt his values/qualities, a majority of students referenced his use of humor/satire (most notably in The Way to Wealth through the creation of characters Poor Richard and Father Abraham). Oscar underlined the significance of this by explaining that “…Franklin’s rhetorical strategy is providing means to lighten his message to the readers which allows them to absorb the message in a more relaxed way. His overall message is strong and true although placed in a comical form of explanation” (Blog Post 1-Ben Franklin). Other students drew attention to Franklin’s use of emotion and personal experience as a persuasive technique.

One thought on “Benjamin Franklin (DM: Summary)”

  1. Benjamin Franklin established the first public library in America where he had access to thousands of books from all over the world. He also founded America’s first fire department and invented electricity through his experiments with lightning rods on houses and tall buildings. I will read https://figarophotography.com/blog/2017/3/do-your-research now in order to find the best writer for help in my essay online.

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