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Benjamin Franklin. A self made man…. Basic Plot. Begins in 1720/21: he is apprenticed as a paper boy by his brother’s paper- very lowly position Wants to write, but knows that his brother considers him a boy, so he submits articles anonymously, and slips them under the door.
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Benjamin Franklin A self made man…
Basic Plot • Begins in 1720/21: he is apprenticed as a paper boy by his brother’s paper- very lowly position • Wants to write, but knows that his brother considers him a boy, so he submits articles anonymously, and slips them under the door.
Has disputes with his brother. He says he is generally right, and his father agrees with him usually. • His brother is arrested after the Assembly was offended by an article. His brother would not reveal the author’s name. • His brother is ordered to discontinue printing the paper- so Ben has to take over and is relieved of his apprenticeship, and new papers are signed.
This works for a little while. Then Ben and James disagree and Ben breaks the agreement. He recognizes this as a mistake. • He leaves Boston for NY because his brother blackballs him with the other printers. • William Bradford tells him to go to Philly where his son has a print shop. He’ll hire him.
Throughout his trip, all acts of kindness are attributed to human agency rather than divine intervention. • The woman who gives him lodging.
Tells how he insisted that the people who owned the boat didn’t want his only Dutch dollar as payment, but they take it. • “ A man is sometimes more generous when he has but a little money then when he has plenty, perhaps through fear of being thought to have little.” • Is this really generosity?
Ben buys the big fluffy rolls and walks down the streets of Philly with one under each arm, eating the other! • He is stressing how absurd he was! Poking fun at himself! • Points out that he gives away his other rolls to a woman! Shows that generosity is a trait that leads to success
Walks by Mr. Read’s house! His future father in law! His future wife even sees him!
Moral Perfection • In his early twenties, Franklin tries to obtain moral perfection. • In the Age of Reason- method and order were prized. • Notice how secular and non-religious the list of virtues is. • Compares his attempt to rid himself of bad habits, to a gardener eradicating weeds. He has to work one bed at a time. • He was surprised to see he had more faults than he imagined. But he enjoyed seeing himself improve. • Order gave him the most trouble because it depended on others being orderly too. • The speckled axe anecdote.
Devices and Techniques • Franklin, being well-read, was aware of rhetorical devices. He knew how to write persuasively. • Parallelism: Repeating phrases or sentence structure for emphasis and rhythm. p.83: the repeated use of the infinitive form “to”
Clear Thesis! • Position Statement: within this same sentence he also declares his purpose for writing. • What is it? • Like we said, to teach his posterity and set an example for them.
He also makes use of… • Anecdote: a short story, often unrelated to the plot of the narrative, that is told to make a point: the speckled axe. • Aphorism: a brief statement that expresses some truth about life in terse, easily remembered form so as to emphasize a point being made
His sayings from the Almanack are all aphorisms… • Do you remember any of them? • You should if they are good aphorisms.
Uses Various Appeals • 1. Logical Appeal- uses facts, and reasons and deductions • 2. Emotional Appeal- arouses the audience’s feelings through vivid examples. Details. And strong words. • 3. Ethical Appeal- build credibility by showing the speaker is knowledgeable, sincere and responsible. Often deals with morality. • Right v. Wrong.
Advertisement Project • One of the most prevalent forms of rhetoric in our society today is advertising. We are constantly bombarded with images and words trying to convince us to buy, believe in, or endorse certain products, services, and companies.
Your Task • Find one print ad from either a magazine, newspaper or the internet that uses each of the following rhetorical techniques to persuade people to make a certain choice. • A Logical Appeal • An Emotional Appeal • An Ethical Appeal • Aphorism
You must have four different advertisements. For each ad, write at least one paragraph that explains which rhetorical device or appeal the ad is using. Discuss how effective the ad is. Be sure to consider the visual and the written aspects of the ad. • Be as insightful and critical as possible when examining them. • Due Date: Thursday, January 14th.
