Goals:
1.
Find an essay that has a purpose that isn’t
obvious
2.
Be able to find the purpose of that essay
3.
Don’t over-analyze anything
Benjamin
Franklin is one of the most well renowned men in American History, known all
over the country for his astounding accomplishments. In a letter to Madame
Brillon, Franklin tries to give some of his wisdom to a woman, who he is
presumably acquainted to. With the use of a personal anecdote and a combination
of hypothetical and real situations, Franklin attempts to caution his friend
not to value something too highly, and pay an unnecessary high price to get it.
Franklin implements a personal
anecdote in order to enlighten his friend on a time that he personally “paid
too much for his whistle”. Franklin describes a time in which he bargained for
a whistle, an object in which he found much joy at the time. As he blew it
around the house and bothered his family, Franklin describes, that, “[his] brothers… understanding the bargain [he] had made,
told [him he] had given four times as much for it as it was worth.” By
describing a personal situation, he is able to express to Madame Brillon the
negative connotation implied by paying too much for one’s whistle and imply why
doing so can be a negative action that she should not repeat.
Following his anecdote, Franklin
uses a combination of hypothetical and real situations to exemplify what
“paying too much for one’s whistle” actually involves. A real example Franklin
chooses to include describes a man, fond of
popularity, constantly employing himself in political bustles, neglecting his
own affairs, and ruining them by that neglect.” In this example, Franklin is
successfully able to show what this man is overvaluing, and what that same man
is consequently sacrificing. As a hypothetical example, Franklin describes a
person, “fond of appearance, or fine clothes, fine houses, fine furniture, fine
equipages, all above his fortune, for which he contracts debts, and ends his
career in a prison.” Here, a person again overvalued one thing, and paid an unnecessary
price. By showing his point through different situations, Franklin is able to
make sure Brillon understands what “paying to much for a whistle” really
entails, and to make sure his acquaintance heeds his caution.
By using an anecdote and a
combination of types of situations, Franklin is successfully caution his friend not to value something
too highly, and pay an unnecessary high price to get it, and be sure that she
indeed takes his advice.
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| Benjamin Franklin Image: http://www.learning-living.com/2013/04/ben-franklin-whistle.html Essay: http://grammar.about.com/od/60essays/a/whistlessay.htm |
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