But one does not dress for private company as for a publick ball. 'Tis perhaps only negligence" (Chapter One). Here, his humor allows the reader to look at his work in a more lighthearted fashion, in addition to poking fun at his old age. Franklin's choice to use humor in what seems to be a serious piece of rhetoric may seem perplexing, but it's use is effective and called for. Franklin's audience is the early American population, mostly those who are educated, but also those who are not. These people are used to reading dry sermons and treatises. Franklin must have known that through the use of humor, he could capture their attention. Furthermore, his stylistic use of humor, and ability to poke fun...
In other words, Franklin knows humor to be a sort of universal through which he can communicate with many. Thus, his humor allows him to identify with his readers, making it more likely that they will accept his prose. Franklin's choice to use humor, then, though it may seem out of place, is actually and ingenious rhetorical choice. His choice can help today's writers understand why the unconventional can sometimes be the best way to make an argument.
He also related how his small group of friends played tricks with their unwitting neighbors. His friends would set fire on alcohol, rekindled candles blown out, imitate lightning flashes or by touching or kissing and make an artificial spider move (Bellis). Using the Leyden jar, Benjamin made an electrical batter, roasted a fowl on a spit fired with electricity, ignited alcohol by electricity through water, fired gunpowder and shocked wine
Franklin, instead, was able to see the advantages in unfortunate situations, and to use them to his own benefit. He was able to admit that he was a marginal poet and go on to do other things rather than feel injured or insecure. Again, I feel that having been educated and a talented reader/writer was responsible for much of Franklin's genius, but the ability to be grateful for hardship, to
Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine both came from similar backgrounds and shared much commonality during their early years, however, each embarked on life paths from different perspectives. It seems Paine was more a revolutionary and anti-establishment, while Franklin was more a statesman and progressive. Benjamin Franklin came from a modest family and at the age of thirteen began as an apprentice for his bother (Franklin pp). Franklin
Benjamin Franklin -- Writer, Inventor, Founding Father, and First True American George Washington may be the father of his country, but Ben Franklin is the first true American. While George Washington was born a wealthy and propertied Virginia landowner in the European aristocratic tradition, and made his fame as a highborn and commanding military general for the crown during the French and Indian Wars, Benjamin Franklin was born to a poor
Isaacson, Walter. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. Simon & Schuster, 2000. It is George Washington who is usually referred to as the father of our American Nation. Benjamin Franklin, in contrast, more often than not takes on the status of the friendly and eccentric uncle, given his greater age, his propensity towards scientific experimentation and innovation as well as political action, and even his renowned fondness for making the turkey the
Self-Made Man and the Recipient of Divine Grace: Benjamin Franklin vs. Jonathan Edwards Despite the fact that both Benjamin Franklin and Jonathan Edwards are honored as two of the greatest authors of colonial America, they could not be more different in their ideological orientations. Edwards (1703-1758) is perhaps most famous for penning the image of the human soul as a spider in the hand of a merciful God, suspended above the
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