The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Reflection

Benjamin Franklin's writing style is most definitely different from the previous writing styles we have looked at this year. Compared to other writers like Anne Bradstreet and William Bradford, Ben Franklin's writing style takes a more rational approach. For example, going back to Anne Bradstreet's Upon the Burning of Our House, Bradstreet talks a lot about God and how material things mean nothing to her anymore. "There's wealth enough, I need no more," and "My hope and treasure lies above," are two great examples of how she portrays this (Bradstreet 91). Anne Bradstreet has great faith in God and believes that life on earth is not a permanent thing, but that she will one day go to heaven and it will not matter how much money she has, etc. You can tell that this was written in the Puritan/Pilgrim time period for many reasons. First of all, in this time period, everything pretty much revolved around God and the church. That is why Bradstreet makes so many references to God and is not near as rational as Ben Franklin. Rationalism had not yet come during this time. Also, this was before the time of Enlightenment. Enlightenment changed the way that people thought about nature, God, and society. It was a time in which knowledge and rationalism became more important, rather than just thinking about God and the church. Another writer that reflected the Puritan/Pilgrim time was William Bradford. Like Anne Bradstreet, Bradford also makes many references to God in the passage, Of Plymouth Plantation. For example, the statement "as by God's good providence, they did"(Bradford 64). These are just two writers that wrote during this time period. Another difference that I noticed is that Ben Franklin noted things like the places and times. He wrote down details whereas the other writers did not note things like that. "Then one of the company knew the place to be Cooper's Creek,"(Franklin 108) is an example of how Franklin adds these little details in the passage. Another thing that I believe changed drastically during the rationalism period is the fact that you could go to different churches and not be criticized for it. In The Autobiography of Ben Franklin, there is a paragraph in which Ben Franklin walks into a Quaker meeting and just falls asleep."I joined them, and was thereby was led into a great meeting-house of Quakers"(Franklin 108). Back in the time of Puritan styles you had to go to your church and your church only. That is why it is really interesting and kind of cool that Ben Franklin just went in and sat down. That is kind of a big deal and shows a great difference between the two time periods. As you can see, there are many differences between Ben Franklin's writing style and other writers that wrote in the time of Puritan practice. However, with those differences comes many similarities as well. Rationalism was a big change in society because it changed the way people thought and it also changed the way that we wrote as well.

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.

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

Journal #11 - Aphorism

As our Glencoe Literature book defines it, an aphorism is a "short, pointed statement that expresses a wise or clever observation about human experience." I am sure that there are many aphorisms that can relate to something in my life, but the one aphorism that comes to mind is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson states, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." It is funny that we have to write about this topic today I feel that this quote just recently is now relating to my life a little. Just the other day I was talking about college and school in general with my parents. I was all down and out because it seems like all of my friends make really good grades without even trying that hard and already know kind of what they want to do after high school. I, myself, absolutely have no idea and my grades are only okay. My dad brought up a really good point though. He said that no matter what I decide to do, I should always do it with a good attitude and do that job to the best of my ability. This quote by Emerson talks about exactly that. You could be the smartest person in the world, and could go far, but if you so not have a good attitude and do your job well, people are not going to take you seriously. Many bosses and people in general notice when you have a good attitude and a good work ethic, and that can help you work your way up the career "ladder." Having a good attitude is not always easy to have, but it is good to know that just by being a good person, can affect the way your life turns out. Of course I will continue to work on my grades, but I will also try to remember to have a good attitude whether I am working really hard on school, or working a job, or just hanging out. So, that is how the quote, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," relates to my life and is a very good aphorism.

"Nothing Great Was Ever Achieved without Enthusiasm. by Ralph Waldo Emerson."Quotations, Famous Quotes at Quote World. Web. 11 Oct. 2011. .

Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., and Douglas Fisher. Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Thomas Paine - Reflection Blog

Unlike the Puritan views, Thomas Paine distributes a more rational way of thinking. This particular view is called Rationalism. Rationalism is something that many writers use, Thomas Paine being one of them. Before the time of Enlightenment most people looked at things from a more religious standpoint. After awhile, Enlightenment came around. Enlightenment was a time in which people started to look at things more logically instead of religiously. It was a time for knowledge and ideas rather than using spiritual elements. Thomas Paine portrayed rationalism in The Crisis No. 1. Although Thomas Paine often refers to God in this speech, he does not blame God for anything. For example, when he states, "However, the fault if it were one, was all our own" (Paine 135). In some of the other previous reading that we have read in our book this year, they were often written from a more religious point of view. They would often use God as an excuse for everything and blame Him when things went wrong or did not go their way. Thomas Paine did not do this. Thomas Paine instead, comes to terms and realizes that ultimately it is their own fault for what had happened and it was in fact not God's fault. This is a good example or rationalism because it is using more knowledge rather than blaming others for your own mistakes. From reading Crisis No. 1 we have learned many things. From this passage we learn that Thomas Paine in fact a Patriot. He did want a war with Britain because he greatly wanted to be separate from them. With this knowledge, I am assuming that Thomas Paine is writing to both Patriots and Loyalists because he probably wanted to rally up support. Although Mr. Paine wanted to be separated from Britain, he makes it very clear that he does not support the war. For example, in Crisis No. 1 he states, "Not all the treasures in the world, so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an offensive war, for I think it is murder; but if a thief breaks into my house, burns and destroys my property, and kills or threatens to kill me and those who are in it, and to bind me in all cases whatsoever, to his absolute will, am I to suffer it?" (Paine 136) This is saying that regardless of whether you are killing one person or a whole bunch under a war, it is still murder regardless. Thomas Paine sounds like he is very passionate about this subject and he absolutely does not want to start a war with Britain because it involves unnecessary murder. This also shows more support that Thomas was saying these things to not only just Patriots or just Loyalists, but both. He would have directed this toward both groups so that he would be able to gather up more supporters for not starting a war. In this passage Thomas Paine shows great rationalism while stating his points about the war with Britain and the separation from them.

Wilhelm, Jeffrey D. "The Crisis No. 1. " Glencoe Literature. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Glencoe, 2010. 134-36. Print.

"Declaration of Independence" - Faulty Logic Reflection

Thomas Jefferson was a man of great knowledge. Unlike most people, Jefferson was gifted at many things. He did not settle for one single profession, but rather obtained several different jobs including an architect, lawyer, musician, etc; and overall he became the president of the Untied States. Jefferson also for the most part, wrote the Declaration of Independence. There were other people who helped revise and edit it, but for the most part, it was Thomas Jefferson who wrote it. In the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson makes some very good points, however, much of what he writes falls under propaganda and faulty logic. We can tell this by picking out the writing techniques that he uses in his writing. For example, Jefferson often uses words that have little to no meaning behind them. These words are called "Glittery Generalities." People often use these words when they do not have enough support to back up their views. "for the public good" is an example of "Glittery Generality because it does not state what is good for the public, it just simply says "good" (Jefferson 122). Even though Jefferson does not flat out call the king names, I feel like he also uses the fault of "Name Calling". Throughout the whole Declaration Jefferson talks all about what the king has done and not done, all being bad things. For example, the statements "He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislature, " and "He has obstructed the administration of justice" (Jefferson 123). Now maybe that is true, however, Jefferson never explains why those things could be bad. I feel like Jefferson almost made a list of some sort so that it would look as if the king was obviously terrible and that we as the people should side with Jefferson himself. Another thing that he used is a technique called the "Band Wagon" technique. What this technique is saying is basically the whole "everyone else is doing it" technique. By using this he is almost pressuring people into believing the same things that he believes so that you do not appear as an outcast. It is important to observe and recognize the things that you are reading because it may affect how you feel about something. Because Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration to be very persuasive, it persuaded people to agree with him.If he had written it a different way, maybe it would have been less persuasive and the people would not have agreed as strongly. Using faulty logic and propaganda is a technique that people often use when they are trying to get their point across and want people to agree with them. Propaganda often makes things sound better or worse than they really are. Before this, I had never thought about propaganda techniques and how that can affect the way people see things. Propaganda played a big role during World War II and I guess it also affected what people thought during Thomas Jefferson's time as well.


Jefferson, Thomas."Declaration of Independence." American Literature. Columbus: Mc-Graw Hill, 2009. 120-124. Print.


"Recognizing Propaganda--Guide to Critical Thinking--Academic Support." 6 Mar. 2011. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. .

Journal #9 - Rational response

I'm sure that there have been many times when I have freaked out emotionally. The problem is that we do not always handle those emotional situations in the best way. There was a time when I had to solve a problem rationally even though I was panicking like crazy. This happened recently actually, like basically yesterday. So, the thing is, I have never been good at math. Ever. Math has always been super confusing to me and honestly I struggle to keep up. Our class has been taking quizzes and I have gotten all the right answers but I'm doing the work wrong. Every time I think I am getting a little better, I just end up doing something else wrong and failing. I hate admitting that I am not understanding what everyone else is getting so I waited in the hopes that I would eventually catch on. Unfortunately, I never caught on like I had planned and now I have a bad grade in the class, which is not okay. I am freaking out because I'm afraid that when she enters all of the grades, I will be ineligible. So, after I was done panicking and freaking out I decided that I would do something about it. I asked my friend Izzy if she could tutor me in math and she said that we would plan to get together at least once a week so she can help me. So, I turned an emotional situation around by being rational. I really should not have waited that long to get help, but I am glad I have help now.

Patrick Henry - Reflection Blog

Patrick Henry's speech has more to do with rationalism than with anything else we have learned about so far, such as the Puritan writing style. Unlike the Puritan writing style, I think Henry's speech is more logical and reasonable. The Puritan writing style that we looked into before was more dramatic and unreasonable. Also, most of the writing had something or other to do with religion because that is what their colonies were based off of. Rationalism however, is different. Right now in history we are learning about an idea that was going around in the 1700s called Enlightenment. Enlightenment was a pretty big deal back then because it changed the way people started to think about certain thing such as God, nature and society in general. Rationalism I think is kind of the same thing as Enlightenment a little bit. Instead of some of the other passages we read about God and how he is holding us over the pit of Hell, Rationalism is well, more rational. Henry talks about his stuff in a more reasonable tone and also I think looks at it from a more logical stand point than a religious one. On the other hand, Patrick Henry does refer to God still a couple of times in his speech. So I think that even though it was the start of rationalism. The Puritan era did not just disappear out of the blue or right away. Maybe this was just kind of the transition period. I think that Patrick Henry backs up his speech very well. For example, Patrick Henry states, "Shall acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?" (Henry 118) Patrick Henry is pretty much saying that if we do not take immediate action and fight, then we will eventually be taken over by our enemies. One of Patrick Henry's famous quotes was "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" (Henry 118) Patrick Henry was totally against slavery. He wanted really badly for them to fight in the war against slavery. Originally, they were not going to fight. Patrick Henry talks about how they were called weak , but then he refers back to God saying that we have a just God who is fair and will provide for them, good friends that shall help them fight in the battle. This is what makes me think about Henry's speech not being totally rational. However, you can still tell that compared to other speeches and stories that we have read, there is a great deal more rationalism in there as well. For example, when Henry says, "Our brethren are already in the field, why stand here idle?" (Henry, 118) This I believe is a rational statement. He is asking them why we would not help our brothers that are already out there fighting? Those are some of the things that make Patrick Henry's speech more rational then some of the others we have read.

Henry, Patrick. "Speech to the Second Virginia Convention." Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. 114-119. Print.

Journal #8 - Autumn

Autumn is absolutely my favorite time of the year. The only thing that could possibly make fall time any better is if the Christmas holiday was thrown in there. That is why winter is a close second for me. Now don't get me wrong, I love every season for what it is, but I would favor cold weather rather than hot weather any day. There are many more reasons that I love Autumn though!! First of all, the weather is absolutely perfect! Some days are warmer and some days are colder, but most are colder, which I love. The leaves all start to change from a rich green to vibrant reds, orange and yellows, and the air is fresh and crisp. I love walking outside, seeing your breath in the air and hearing the leaves crunch under your shoes. Another thing that I absolutely love about fall, is the food! Nothing can beat warm apple cider and pumpkin bread on a cold fall day. Of course there are more foods like caramel apples, pumpkin pie, chili, and all the rest of that great stuff. Autumn is also the season that leads up to many things. Both Halloween and Thanksgiving fall in the Autumn time, but the fall season also leads up to the Christmas holiday!! So all in all, fall and winter are basically the best.