Reflection #12 Franklin and Tuckerman

Ben Franklin had many virtues in his life. Ben Franklin came up with a list of virtues that he thought could possibly make people in the world better people. The first thing that Ben Franklin did when he made this list of virtues was to incorporate them into his daily lifestyle to know that theses virtues were actually practical and it was not totally impossible for any one person to be able to have all of these virtues and to keep up with them. I think that Ben Franklin had a really good plan for implementing the virtues into his life because he did this by adding the virtues to his life one by one. I think that Franklin made a good observation that it would be really hard to change all of your virtues in one day, so he knew that it was going to take some time to change. He started to conform his current virtues to the new and improved list that he had come up with. By reading the literary criticism by Tuckerman I got a really good vibe about Ben Franklin. Tuckerman must have really liked Franklin because for a criticism he seemed to be really nice to Franklin. I noticed that Tuckerman said the Ben Franklin was “practical and he has prominent characteristics” (Tuckerman).I think that Tuckerman’s criticism is a good one because I can find support from Franklin’s autobiography that supports the opinions of Tuckerman and also myself. In Franklin’s autobiography, I noticed that he seemed to be a man that was never a hypocrite. I think that Ben Franklin was a really good man in that he did not just preach the virtues that he thought were right, he actually incorporated them into his own life at the rate of one virtue per week (Franklin 150). I think that it is really neat to look at the order that Ben Franklin organized his virtues in because I do believe that there was a method to his madness. Franklin said, “And, as the previous acquisition of some might facilitate the acquisition of certain others, I arranged them with that view, as they stand above” (Franklin 150). I noticed the order was kind of in a reverse order on the scale of importance or power. I think that the easiest virtue should be first and I do believe that is the method that Mr. Franklin did in fact use. I also notice the order because the very last virtue was “Humility- Imitate Jesus and Socrates” (Franklin 150). I think that the last virtue would be very hard to incorporate into your life if you had trouble with the prior twelve virtues. I think that Ben Franklin organized these virtues by the level of their importance. With the chart that Ben Franklin used to keep track of his progress came his understanding that he is not perfect and nor will he ever be (Franklin 157). Ben Franklin is a very honest man and I admire him for his efforts to make humans be better people.

Franklin, Benjamin, and Leonard Woods Labaree. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. New Haven: Yale UP, 1964. Print.

Tuckerman, Henry T. "The Character of Franklin." Facts on File. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.

Reflection #11: Franklin's Virtues and Deism

Benjamin Franklin is known for his inventions. But he is also known for being an active member of rationalism and Deism. Apparently, which I had no prior knowledge of, is also recognized for his thirteen virtues. I know what virtues are, but I was not aware that people were and are actually recognized specifically for them. Virtues kind of go hand in hand with morals. Everyone has different morals, which then in turn give them all different virtues. When studying Benjamin Franklin’s thirteen virtues, you get a glimpse of rationalism within them.

Franklin had two sets of virtues, the first being personal. Personal virtues pertain to your attitude activities and their challenges. Good personal character traits will better your chances of success in achieving your goals. The first couple personal virtues were temperance and order. Temperance goes along with rationalism because rationalists had to do things in moderation. They could not just blow things up, because it would overwhelm people and it would not be a good thing. The order aspect of the personal virtues goes with rationalism because rationalists had to be organized and have an order in order to prove their points. The next couple virtues were resolution and frugality. Rationalists wanted a resolution to things (Franklin). That was their main point. Something needed to be done. Frugality makes me think of rationalism because rationalists used their resources and prior knowledge in order to prove their points (Franklin). Moderation and industry were also a part of Franklin’s virtues. Moderation goes along with temperance. But industry goes along with rationalism because you are always suppose to be at work and always busy doing something. Rationalists were trying to get their point across and were always busy (Franklin). The last two personal virtues were cleanliness and tranquility. I do not see how cleanliness goes along with rationalism, but I guess it could be cleanliness in your approach to things. Do not get dirty; say what you need to say but in a positive and respectful way. Tranquility is the last one. You cannot be disturbed by obstacles you may face. You must push through all obstacles and trifles (Bloom). Ben Franklin’s personal virtues really showed how he incorporated his life and actual virtues into rationalism (Bloom).

Franklin also had social virtues. These included silence, sincerity, justice, chastity, and humility. The silence aspect goes along with rationalism because you should not speak poorly about someone because it could come back to bite you in the butt. With sincerity, you have to be sincere and understanding of the situations faced with rationalism. Justice is just showing that rationalists wanted peace and just wanted to do what was right and what had to be done (Franklin). I do not understand how chastity incorporates with rationalism, but I am sure there is something. The final social virtue is humility and it says to imitate Jesus (Bloom). Rationalists did what was needed and, though they were not holy-rollers, I still think that they had God in the back of their mind. The social virtues, in my opinion, pertain strongly towards rationalism.

Overall, Ben Franklin incorporated his thirteen virtues within his rationalism. He used his own mind and feelings in order to shape his rationalist ideas. I feel that knowing Benjamin Franklin’s virtues gives you a better understanding to where his rationalist ideas came from. But his virtues could have also came from his rationalist ideas. I guess we will never know since I am not Ben Franklin and nor will I ever meet or talk to Ben Franklin.

Bloom, Harold, ed. "Benjamin Franklin." Benjamin Franklin, Classic Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 

Boucquey, Thierry, gen. ed. "Franklin, Benjamin."Encyclopedia of World Writers, 14th through 18th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 


Imbarrato, Susan Clair, and Carol Berkin. "deism."Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Settlement to the New Republic, 1608–1815, vol. 1, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 

Journal #14: Ben Franklin's Apprentice

The average day of mine if I was an apprentice of Ben Franklin's... I think that if I was an apprentice of Ben Franklin I would help him with all of his inventions. He would make me do many brain exercises. Ben would make me do these brain exercises because he has a really high expectation for my brain capacity. I think I would be a much smarter person if I had met Ben Franklin because he would had made me much more intelligent. I think that Ben Franklin would have made me a really smart person because I would be really embarrassed if I was unable to keep up with the brilliance of the genius, Ben Franklin. I think that I would be a really smart person if I really was an apprentice for Ben Franklin. Ben Franklin is one of the smartest people that i have ever learned about in my life. He has so many inventions and other discoveries that he is very well known in America today. I think that the reason why Ben Franklin would be a good person to be an apprentice for is because of his thirteen virtues. I think these virtues would be a very good thing for me to learn if I was an apprentice for Benjamin Franklin. I think that I would have been a really good apprentice because I am a good listener. I think that I am a very coach-able person, so it is really easy for me to conform to someone else's style or idea. Ben Franklin would very much enjoy for me to be his apprentice because I would be a good helper. I would help him try to stick to his thirteen virtues. I think that I would be a good person to help him stay on track of his virtues because I think I am a good person when it comes to constructive criticism. I do not think that I would enjoy being an apprentice because that means I would be an assistant. I think I would rather be the one who had an apprentice under me.

Journal #13 "American Dream"

I think that the American Dream of today is much different that the American Dreams of the past decades. I think that people in america strive to have a good education, a good job, and a successful home with a functioning family.  I think that the American Dream for children in America is much different from other kids' dreams in other countries. I think that kids in other countries are wishing for food and shelter, but we just automatically assume that we have the right to have food and shelter, but really that is something that has to be earned. I think that the people in America are the ones who take the little things for granted.  We assume that we should have parents that provide food, water, shelter, and safety, but that is not always the case.  There are many of thousands of people in the world today that do not have food, water, or shelter, let alone safety.  I think that the American Dream makes us Americans seem really selfish because we are. Human nature has made us American people really selfish.  I think that the people in American are always going to want more than they have.  The grass is always greener. After we get something really cool that we really wanted, it is time for us to start wanting the next bigger and better thing.  This is really annoying when we look at the people in America because it makes us seem really snobby.  I think that the American people should be the people to just be happy with what is going on in the world today.  We can be the people that actually appreciate the things that we have, and quit focusing all of our time complaining about the things that we do not have or the things that we wish for. American citizens should not have quite the American Dreams that we have today because it makes us come off as the really snobby, stuck up people that we do not want to be.

Journal #12: Right and Wrong

If I was making new rules for school, I would first of all change the purse rule.  I think that the rule that does not allow purses in the classroom is really annoying. I want to have the rule changed because I think that the girls should be allowed to have their purses in the room. I think that the girls should be allowed to have their purses in the classroom because they really do not use them for anything other than to carry some tampons and my chapstick.  That is the only reason why I had my purse in class, but no, the people that use it to text in class are the people that ruined it for the rest of the people that were following the rules the first time.  I remember hearing Mr. Peterson say that its the rules that are broken are the ones that have to be changed in the hand book.  I think that the administration has messed up big time by having PACE. I think that Pace could potentially be a good thing, but I think that there are many flaws in the program. First of all I think that the whole reason for pace was so that people are available to get help.  I think that it is kind of wrong when the teachers do not allow you to leave the Pace classroom to get help! I thought that was the whole reason for PACE?! I just think that the teachers should be allowed to let people leave to get help.  I think that we should have homeroom again.  I enjoyed homeroom actually.  I like the whole idea that we could have study hall when you are able to talk.  I actually like homeroom because we were able to have conversations with other students in the class to get help with an assignment that you do not understand.  My homeroom freshman year with Mr. Pelichoff was probably my most productive year of homeroom because we were all quiet unless we asked to work on an assignment together.

Reflection #10: Ben Franklin vs. Other Puritan Writers

Ben Franklin, as an author, and Puritan authors are very different. From their writing style to the content in their writing, there is just a wide variety of differences. Ben Franklin was obviously not a Puritan considering we are comparing his works to those of Puritans. I enjoyed Ben Franklin's autobiography the most out of all of the stories and poems that we have read thus far. Franklin has a peculiar way of writing that made him stand out from all other authors that we have read this year.

The biggest difference between Franklin's autobiography and the previous works that we have read by Puritans is the lack of God in Franklin's story. All of the previous Puritan writers were all about God. Granted, Ben Franklin was not a Puritan. The Puritan's life revolved around God, and everything that they did was for Him. When life was bad, God was to be praised. When life was good, God was to be praised. In Anne Bradstreet's Upon the Burning of Our House, her house was burning down and she was still praising God. She was not the strongest Puritan of the Puritan writers but she still praised God no matter the circumstance (Bradstreet 91). Mary Rowlandson was being held captive by Indians and all she could think about was how this was going to help her in the end. God was doing this for a reason, and she was thanking him. She knew that God would never put something upon her that she could not handle (Rowlandson 83). Through reading the bit of Ben Franklin's autobiography, we find that he had struggles just like everyone else in life. But unlike the Puritans, he does not necessarily praise God for those hardships (Franklin 108).

Another difference between Ben Franklin and Puritan writers is the actual way that they write. Puritans did not use flowery talk and they got straight to the point. Franklin kind of beat around the bush in some cases. When referring to his stay with the nice lady, he gave description after description about what she gave him (Franklin 107). By no means am I saying that is a bad thing, it is just different from the works we have been reading. In William Bradford's narrative he firmly states how the winds were bad in his journey, and it is just very to the point (Bradford 64). Franklin was more of an actual writer in my opinion because he gave detailed descriptions in his autobiography (Franklin 106).

Overall, Franklin and the Puritan writers that we have read narratives about are very different. Franklin was more of just an everyday kind of guy just trying to get his story out there. He was not trying to really teach or inform his readers about anything besides his life. Puritan writers wanted their readers to know what their culture was and the kinds of things that they had to endure. Franklin did not praise God for every little thing that happened in his life. This is not saying that he was not a faithful man, he just did not put it out there in this small portion of his autobiography. Puritans were strictly God-focused people. Everything was about Him. Though we have read more Puritan works, I enjoyed Franklin's narrative more. He was more descriptive in his account of his life and he was not pushing God down your throats (Franklin 107). Franklin's autobiography and works from Puritans were really not similar. This goes right along with Franklin and Puritan writers.

Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 64-67. Print.

Bradstreet, Anne. "Upon the Burning of Our House." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 91. Print.

Franklin, Benjamin. "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 106-108. Print.

Rowlandson, Mary. "A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration or Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 82-85. Print.

Journal #11: Aphorism

A common aphorism that I know of would be: the squeaky wheel always get the grease. I think that it is very common that the people who complain in the world get what they want.  I like this aphorism because i think that it really relates to my life in the aspect of all the sports that I play.  I feel like it is always the people that complain that get what they want.  This is really annoying to all of those people on the team that do not complain about every little thing because all of those people do not always get what they want.  In other words, the really annoying, complaining people get what they want, and the people who are not complaining and that are actually doing the work required.  This is one of the times where I just have to step back for a minute and remember that life is not always fair.  I think that might actually be another common aphorism, but I'm not switching in the middle, so do not get any ideas about giving me a bad grade on this assignment.               I think that the aphorism "the squeaky wheel gets the grease," is commonly thought about in the sports because it is the parents that complain that always get what they want for their kids.  I really do not like this aphorism because it is so true.  I hate human nature!! Why are people like they are? It is so annoying!! Okay, so sorry for ranting in my journal... Here we go again... I hate the fact that the people that annoy everyone else with their complaining also annoy everyone else because they are also getting something that they want because they were so annoying. And yes, I think I do realize that I have used the word annoying a few too many times in this journal. The aphorism is so true and it applies to my life in the aspect of athletics.

Reflection #9: Thomas Paine- The Crisis No. 1

I think that the writing, The Crisis No. 1, by Thomas Paine was definitely a writing from the Rationalism period. I could just tell by the style of writing that the work of Mister Paine was Rationalist. The way that Paine had support to back up his opinions was a really good hint that he used reason and thought to prove his points. I think that the Rationalistic writing style is really good at persuading people into doing thing because it leaves no room for the reader to have their own opinion, they are chalk full of ideas that support the writer's opinion. In the very first paragraph in the excerpt in the book, Thomas Paine says, "Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, had declared that she has a right (not only to tax) but "to bind us in all cases whatsoever"; and if being bound in that manner is not slavery, then there is not such a thing as slavery upon Earth" (Paine 134). This quote really shows that Paine was passionate about riling up the people in the British colonies to stand up for what they believe in. He makes it really clear that he thinks the British government is taking over their lives and he thinks that they should not be taxing people overseas from them. I think that Thomas Paine was writing this essay to the people that were in the military. In the Before you Read section (132), it was said that Thomas Paine’s letter, The Crisis, was to be read at all military campgrounds. This makes me think that Thomas Paine was really targeting all people in the colonies, but especially the people in the military because they were already showing their passion by fighting in the wars.

Thomas Paine said in the excerpt, “We did not make a proper use of last winter… and the fault is all our own” (Paine 135). I think that this quote really shows the Rationalistic thinking of Thomas Paine because rationalism was a time of reasoning. Thomas Paine had obviously thought through that they were the ones that sat around and did not accomplish anything during the winter. I can tell that the thought process is rationalistic because you have to think about something logically to actually believe that you are at fault. I think that by telling the people that they have not really accomplished anything, he is hoping to get them stirred up enough to do something about the way they are being treated by the British government.

I liked the part at the end where Thomas Paine talked about how if someone broke into his house and tried to rob it or kill anyone that he would not just have to sit there and take it, he would do something about it. (Paine 136). Thomas Paine is trying to say that if people are not willing to let people break into their homes and take their belongings, then why would they be willing to sit around and let the British government make them pay unnecessary taxes and order them around.

Paine, Thomas. "from The Crisis, No.1." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 134-136. Print.

"Before you Read: From The Crisis, No. 1." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 132. Print.