Reflection: Franklin's System of Virtues

In my opinion, Benjamin Franklin was becoming a better person with his system of virtues. Dictionary.com defines virtue as "moral excellence, goodness, or rightousness" or as a "good or admirable trait in a person" (Virtue). I think he was successful at being a better person.

Franklin came up with thirteen different values that he was going to follow to become a better person. Knowing that a person just can not change over night, he came up with a plan to slowly get him to where he wanted to be(Franklin 15). His plan would take thirteen weeks, and each week he would add a new virtue. If he failed one of the weeks, which he did not think he would, he would place a check mark by it. If he was successful in not putting any checks for a whole week, he would move on to the next. It turned out that he was not as successful as he thought. He realized that he was even harder to change than he thought. He realized that it was going to take him longer than he thought to be successful. Some were harder and some were easier. For example, he had a very hard time with silence, but did not have a hard time with temperance (Franklin 15).

When Benjamin Franklin first had this idea, I am sure that he thought it was brilliant. On paper, I think it is a good idea, too. But reality is that changing is hard for people. Even dropping a bad habit takes a lot of time and self motivation, so actually changing would be even harder. To put it into perspective, think of a diet. There are millions of diets out there that only work for a small amount of the population who uses them because they do not want to change. They think they want to change and they do for awhile, but after a certain amount of time they just want to go back to their own ways.

Benjamin Franklin seemed like a very smart man. Not only did he seem like one, but he actually was one. He came up with a lot of new insights and ideas. He was always aware of the things around him. Since he kept a small journal with his plan with him all the time, he was definitely trying to complete his goal. I bet he did better with the plan than I could have. I do not have a lot of self motivation. Benjamin Franklin, who was an incredibly smart man, could not even complete his plan, so there is no way that I could even come close to being successful with it.

Even though Benjamin Franklin did not succeed, I am sure he became a much better person. His plan was made with all good intentions. He was definitely successful with becoming a better person even if he could not finish his plan. In Tuckerman's criticism, he talked about how Benjamin Franklin was a very smart man who could make amazing plans that would be awesome if people could follow through with (Bloom, Harold). He was concerned with small details that could make him a better person. Tuckerman explained how Franklin believed that small details in a person could make all the difference.

Works Cited

"Virtue | Define Virtue at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.

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

Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography. Harvard University, 1895. Print.

Reflection: Franklin's Virtues and Deism

According to dictionary.com, deism is defined as follows: Belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it or as belief in the existence of God on evidence of reason and nature only (Deism). For me, this definition is plane and simple, which makes it easy to understand.

Benjamin Franklin was very modest in religion (The Religion). "The Religion of Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father" states that "he did not attempt to wither Christianity by ridicule or bludgeon it to death by argument" (The Religion). He was a confirmed Deist, and yet he still respected other people and their religions. I find this to be an extremely good characteristic to have. I think everyone should have their own religion and believe whatever they want to believe. I think it goes too far when someone tries to shove their religion down your throat, though. People should not be pressured into being a certain religion. During this time, religion was more important than it is today. People had to be a certain religion to survive in certain areas. People also seemed to think that their religion was right and wanted to convert everyone to their religion. I was surprised to read that Franklin was modest about his religion, but happy to hear it at the same time.

With his father being a true Puritan, I would expect that Franklin would be, too (The Religion). His parents wanted him to be a minister of the gospel, so they educated him with everything he needed to know. He did not like what doing with his life, so he stopped (The Religion). I was really rather surprised to hear this. I assumed that he would continue with what his parents had planned for him. During this time period, people usually just followed in their family's foot steps. They did not really pick their own path and make their own decisions. I am surprised at how different Franklin is from the rest of his time period. He is way more advanced.

Being an active reader of the philosophy of Deism, Benjamin Franklin definitely had all the facts about it before he started to believe it. He studied works from famous philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, Bacon, and Voltaire (Deist). Deism kind of went with the new thinking revolution of this time period. People were not wanting to blame God for everything anymore. Deism puts religion and reason in the same thing, which is really cool. When philosophers applied science to religion, they found that it was necessary to strip revelation and ended up with Deism (Deist). Deism is a natural religion (Deist).

I think it is cool how we started reading about Puritan writing and everything was because God said it was. If something good happened, it was God's doing. If something bad happened, it was God's doing and you had to change your ways that way something bad would not happen again. Later, people started becoming obsessed with reasoning. They would give a reason for everything and not blame God for anything. After those two extremes, they have reached Deism. Deism, being a mixture or religion and reason, seems like the perfect in between. I think it's really cool how we studied these things in the way that we did.

Works Cited

"The Religion of Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father." World Religions Religion Statistics Geography Church Statistics. June-July 2005. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. .

"Deism | Define Deism at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. .

"Deist Roots of America." Welcome To The Deism Site! Web. 26 Oct. 2011. .

Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography. Harvard University, 1895. Print.

journal 14

An average day being Benjamin Franklin's apprentice would be an interesting position. Being an apprentice means that you learn from a master or leader. With Benjamin Franklin as your teacher, you would definitely learn a lot. He was an extremely intelligent man. You would learn a lot of new things and you would also learn a lot of new ideas about those new things.

Waking up to the smell of fresh bacon cooking by the help seems like a normal morning for Benjamin Franklin. I assume that you would be living either with him or near by that way you can really get a feel for what he does. Waking up early in the morning, Franklin's apprentice maybe would wake up around the same time as Benjamin Franklin does. I assume that the apprentice would try and do about everything that Franklin does that way he can get the full idea of everything he does. After eating a nice breakfast, together they might do some morning chores. Those might be cleaning up after themselves and taking care of any cleaning that needs to get done. After getting some house cleaning and chores done, they may go into his office or thinking room, they may get started on a speech or a study. After spending some time doing their private studies, they might attend a sermon or visit someone who could help them figure something else. Back in their time, it would be hard to plan ahead to visit and listen to a professor, so they may just go visit someone of higher knowledge to help them figure something out. The apprentice would learn how to work a printing press and other basic things before learning about what Benjamin Franklin really does, just like any other job. Benjamin Franklin's apprentice would be a lucky guy.

Journal 13

What is today's American dream? What does it mean to be successful today? Being successful in this day in age means a very different thing for everyone. With so many different choices in life, everyone can choose a different path.

Being a teenager, I am always choosing a different path, or dream, with my life. Currently my dream in life is to create my own little business, such as a frozen yogurt shop. I realize that this will take a lot of money, so I may have to put in a lot of extra time and work before I complete my goal. I am also not good with math, so this may not be the best idea for me. Without thinking of all the negatives of this, doing this would be my personal American dream.

An American dream nowadays would probably involve making a lot of money. Money is a very important thing. Everyone wants as much money as possible. There are a lot of good and bad ways to make money, but a lot of people these days choose the bad way because it is easier. Society has made people want money so they can waste it on things such as fast food, even though they have plenty of food at home.

Being successful definitely means having a lot of money. Also, being successful means being better than someone else. Society has us believing that we should be better than other people by being skinnier, prettier, more nice, having more money, etc. When you are better than someone else, you feel accomplished. It is just the way people are. Everyone wants to be better than everyone else, but that is impossible. Only one person can be the best at something, so that means everyone else is competing to be the best. Being successful means being the best at something. After trying for awhile and realizing that you cannot be the best, then a lot of people give up. Hopefully people can learn to be as good as they can be and not let other people effect them.

Journal 12

If I were to make up my own reals for right and wrong, I have no idea what they would be. I am bad with decision making and being the boss. I like to be a follower. If I had to make up my own rules, I would probably ask people what would work best for them. I would possibly make a poll with choices and choose what other people want and what would benefit them.

I would think long and hard before making such an important decision. Something I would consider would be the speed that you drive in your car. I think that some of the speed limits are ridiculously slow. If someone wants to drive fast in an area where there are no pedestrians, they should be allowed to drive fast. Another thing I would really try and hammer down on is cops violating their privileges. Every time I see a police car go by me, they are always speeding. If they can give us a ticket for speeding, then they should not speed themselves. It is really not fair and really makes me upset. I think other people would agree with this rule as well.

Another rule that I would consider would be an ethical issue. When I go and walk in the park, no one even acknowledges each other. They just walk past without even making eye contact and smiling. When I was down in Texas, everyone greeted each other- even if it was a just a smile. I tried to do the same here by greeting people as they walk by in the park, but people seem so surprised by the random act of kindness that they just look at you in shock. It is pretty sad when people cannot even recognize kindness as a every day thing. I think being nice to people should definitely be a right that everyone should do their best to abide by. Being rude is definitely a wrong.

Reflection: Franklin's Writing

Anne Bradstreet wrote "Upon the Burning of a House," which was written in the Puritan writing style. This means it was based on God. Puritans lived by a strict set of rules with their religion. They had many morals and principles that were mandatory to follow. They wrote about them, making a Puritan writing style. God was the focus of a Puritan's writing. Anne Bradstreet used God in an uplifting way. She talked about how she was losing so much, but she was still content because she knew God had a plan. For example, "and to my God my heart did cry to strengthen me in my distress and leave me not to succorless" and "...a price so vast as unknown yet by His gift is made thine own; there's wealth enough, I need no more..." (Bradstreet 91). In these passages, Bradstreet is in despair. The house is burning down as well as all of her belongings. Everything she had is now burning away forever, yet she is still leaning to God and thanking him for everything he has given her. She believes that he will take care of her and none of this matters. To have that much faith seems impossible, but she seems to portray it.

Ben Franklin is not a Puritan writer. He does not talk about God. He does not blame God on anything. He does not say that his listeners have to do what he says because God told them to do so. Instead of taking the easy way out and using God as an excuse, he used reason to get his point across. He was a rational writer.

Another writing was "From a Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. " This writing was also another Puritan writing. It used God as reason. Instead of an actual reason for something, the blame and the gratefulness automatically went to God. I did not have my textbook with me, so I used an article from the Department of History. In this writing, Mary states that "I have seen the extreme vanity of this world: One hour I have been in health, and wealthy, wanting nothing. But the next hour in sickness and wounds, and death, having nothing but sorrow and affliction" (Rowlandson). She blamed and thanked God for everything that has happened to her. This woman lost her child and was held captive. When most people would hate God for putting him or her in that kind of position, she prayed to him and loved him. It was pretty amazing. She had so much faith. There was no way that I would be able to do what she did in that situation. She also learned how to forgive. She realized they were not such bad people. She realized that her old, horrible thoughts were not true and these people were not too bad. In the beginning of the story, she said that "...if the Indians should come, I should choose rather to be killed by them than taken alive" (Rowlandson). This is how much she hated them and how bad she thought of them.

Works Cited

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. 104- 108. 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.

Rowlandson, Mary.. "The Narrative of the Captivity and the Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." Department of History. The College of the State of Island, 2000. Web. 13 Oct. 2011.

Journal 11

An aphorism is "a short, point statement that expresses a wise or clever observation about human experience" according to our textbook. There are a lot of different aphorisms. Some are more clever than others, but they all get their own point across. The aphorism that I will be discussing for three hundred and twenty five words will be "The older a man gets, the farther he had to walk to school as a boy." The author of this quote was unknown.

I found this aphorism extremely funny and a great aphorism. When I was younger, i would always complain about walking to the end of our drive way to my bus stop. We had a very long drive way, and I always hated walking to the end of it. I complained- saying that all my friend's parents drive them to the bus stop. My dad would always come back with the same line: I had to walk to school uphill both ways so I think you can handle walking to the end of the drive way. Parents are always saying how lucky us kids have it with our technology and with how "well" we are treated by our parents. I can not speak for other parents, but mine occasionally go on rants about how hard they had it. They used certain complaints such as "we never got to pick what we had for dinner. Ma put a plate down in front of us, and whatever it was, we were grateful to eat!" Using the same complaints over the course of my childhood, I have memorized their most used ones. Knowing their stories, when I hear them again and they change by getting a little worse, I know that they are exaggerating. That makes me wonder how bad it was in the first place.

This symbolizes how adults think the youth has it easy by saying how hard they had it. Maybe they just want to think they lived a very hard childhood when they really had it alright. Whatever the reason is, it is a humorous tale that can sometimes go a little too far.

Reflection Blog: The Crisis, No. 1

Thomas Paine's work represents the rationalism period. From the last couple weeks of english, we have learned what rationalism is. Rationalism is basically appealing to logic for reason instead of God like the Puritan writing style. The rationalism writing style tends to use a very different form of reason. Rationalist writers use reason and logic as support. This writing style tends to be more educated because it does not just claim that God is the reason for things happening. Rationalism gives exact reason and logic for something that has happened or something that they think should happen. It is very good for persuading someone because they have the facts and no one can deny a fact. If it is a fact, it is true.
Thomas Paine's work is definitely a rationalism piece of writing. It uses logic instead of saying the cause of the problem is God and God will fix everything if we do this and this. That is very vague, but you catch my drift. Thomas Paine was one of the most influential revolutionary writers of all time according to Boucquey (Boucquey 1). As a youth, he studied works by authors who wrote about radical topics. He was very interested in people who wrote about politics in a radical way (Boucquey 1). That is probably what prepared him to write this writing.
Thomas Paine definitely wrote a rationalism piece of writing. He never blamed God for things. He never claimed that God wanted this, so we should do it. He gave reason and logic to everything that he talked about. Instead of taking the easy way out for his support and saying it was what God said, he gave reason and logic and made his thinking seem correct because he had support to back it up.
Thomas Paine was a patriot. He wanted independence from Britain. He wrote this to show why they should be independent. He does not support the war, though.Written in an elegant, simple voice, he convinced a lot of people to agree with him (Destafano). He believed that the war was started because of his writing. He wants to be separate from them. He was speaking to all the colonist. He was trying to rally support up and get some people to agree with him. Using reason and logic, he got what he wanted (Destafano).
According to Destafano, he stayed away from propaganda. I think it is cool how all the writings tie in together. Writing in a simple format, he avoided incoherent terminology (Destafano).
"These are times that try men's souls" (Paine 134). This was the opening line of Paine's writing. By starting with this line, he got a lot of people's attention. This line meant a lot with just a couple words. He basically said that he understood what was going on, he understood how hard it was, and he wanted to find a way to get away from all that and be happy again. By getting the people to know that he knows what is happening, they will agree with him to get away from that problem.

Works Cited

Boucquey, Thierry, gen. ed. "Paine, Thomas." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 14th through 18th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EWWII0214&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 4, 2011).


Destafano, Richard. "Homas Paine's The Crisis, Number One, 1776." Let. Rug. Web. .

Paine, Thomas. The Declaration of Independence. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 134-138. Print.