What Is Benjamin Franklin The Way To Wealth Analysis

1219 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Advice and stories that benjamin franklin tells in his autobiography

Matthew Schweitzer
Professor Day
ENGL-201
7 December 2016

Reflection Essay “The Way to Wealth” Benjamin Franklin’s rhetoric and critical presentation of life facts in “The Way to Wealth” are aimed at persuading people to work hard and focus their activities on creating more wealth. The essay collects informative and educative proverbs from the Poor Richards Almanac, and it was written in 1758. It is of the essence to note that the article is primarily built on rhetoric whereby the audiences are persuaded through elements, proverbs, and aspects that are evident in life, but they may fail to consider them. It offers a broad range of lessons in life notably of the essence in the modern society although the essay was written in the 18th century. …show more content…

It creates the sense and the importance of time which is also a valuable element in the modern world. It is noted that if one loves life, then they should not waste time because life is made of time. In connection to this, the material encourages people to work hard. Related to this being the theme of hard work; it is held that there is no gain in life that a person can get without having encountered pain. It is through upholding these that people will create and maintain wealth in a thoughtful manner. In the same way, the modern society values wealth they should realize that to create more wealth from the current and that they will need to spend it properly and spend a good deal of their time in finding means to create more wealth. The aspect of proper and timely investing is manifested in the context where the author states that that to get more estates one will have to spend many (Franklin 810). Among the proverbs, it is evident that the author believed in the essence of hard work. All people should work hard to succeed and have the best that life …show more content…

Through the character, Poor Richard despises sloth and laziness. It is explained that a lazy person will end up miserable. Although laziness moves slowly poverty will overtake it sooner (Franklin 809). It could be interpreted as a major lesson to the modern youths cautioning them for being lazy. It is held that the elements of idleness and laziness among women and men will lead to their downfall. To escape this author explains the essence of simple tasks such a knitting and spinning would be beneficial (Franklin 810). Associated to this is the sense that the rich have. Although it was in 1758, it is an aspect that is evident today it is a case where the rich will spend most of their time flaunting their wealth. They have the sense that they are better off and tend to relax. It is then that the life of debt overtakes them and from there they lose their liberty to the debtors (Franklin 812). Similarly, today there are millions of the people who could be said to be rich go into debts in trying to maintain a given lifestyle. It would be right to quote that people in this gap tend to find themselves in life where they confuse extravagancies with necessities and mixed

Show More
Related

  • The American Dream in Ragged Dick, by Horatio Alger

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Carnegie, Andrew. The Gospel of Wealth. 391st ed. Vol. 148. N.p.: North American Review, 1889. Print.

    Read More

  • Imperial Self In Franklin And Thoreau Analysis

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    On the very first page of his writings Franklin notes that what follows will show him “having emerged from the poverty & obscurity in which I was bred to a state of affluence & some degree of reputation in the world” (Franklin Penguin 1). He brands his tale as the original rags to riches story, the fulfillment of the American Dream. The lengthy sequence of anecdotes which makes up his autobiography carry this theme forward. Whether they are stories centering on his autodidactic upbringing or his long career as a printer, Franklin repeatedly bangs the drum of hard work leading to

    Read More

  • The Failure Of Money In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel wealth plays vital impact on the lives of the characters, money defines social stature, in my perspective middle class was practically nonexistent, established wealthy individuals

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Andrew Carnegie's The Gospel Of Wealth

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main problem encountered by the Gilded Age era was the administration of wealth, at least according to Andrew Carnegie. In his piece, “The Gospel of Wealth,” he proposed a solution for the abuse of wealth, and assigned duties to the rich in regards to how they should handle the responsibilities brought on by excessive wealth. However, he also addressed the concerns of the working class. He stressed the welfares of individualism and argued that it was: contemporary and innovative, enabled the affordability of luxuries to all classes, and thus ensured that money controlled by a few people would be more effective for the prosperity of the economy than it would to equally distribute national wealth amongst citizens. Carnegie intended to clarify the reasons why the newly industrialized economy and the new administration of wealth were ultimately for the benefit and harmony of both rich and poor.

    Read More

  • American Dream in The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is believed that every person has a dream to accomplish in life but only those who believe can achieve them. ?No man e`er was glorious who was not laborious. Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it? (Franklin). Franklin believed that you can only spoil yourself if you can afford to.

    Read More

  • Benjamin Franklin: Privilege and the American Dream

    301 Words  | 1 Pages

    It’s common for people who are successful in life to look down on other’s who haven’t ‘made something of themselves’ in their eyes, but it is also common for these successful people to come from privilege. It isn’t often they they will factor in this privilege when setting themselves up as a model, and this can be said for even Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of our country. While some people read Benjamin Franklin autobiography and put him in the place of the ‘perfect American self-made man’, it can be argued that Benjamin Franklin only accomplished everything he did because he started out with privilege that most people could only dream of in the time. When Benjamin Franklin makes a switch from

    Read More

  • Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography Wisdom

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    Benjamin Franklin was probably the most important man in the development of the United States. He was a very influential figure. Benjamin Franklin, however, was also a man of great wisdom. Like his book The Way to Wealth, where he outlines his financial wisdom, wisdom could be attained from his autobiography. In The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin outlines thirteen virtues which he believes to be moral. Although Benjamin Franklin's thirteen virtues may not be all the wisdom found in his autobiography, it is a start for a successful life.

    Read More

  • The Historical and Cultural Aspects in The Plague

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    “.everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits. Our citizens work hard, but solely with the objective of getting rich. Their chief interest is in commerce, and their chief aim in life is, as they call it, ‘doing business’” (Camus 4). Citizens’ unawareness of life’s riches and pleasures shows their susceptibility to the oncoming plague.

    Read More

  • A Modern Division of Labor and Gender Norms

    1069 Words  | 3 Pages

    Smith, Adam. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. 4th Edition. Edited by R.H. Campbell and A.S. Skinner. 1776. Reprint, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979.

    Read More

  • Separation of the Working and Middle Class Child

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...d by a difference in wealth. The difficulty to provide for a family, much less make more money to rise above the working class, caused children born into working class families to feel like they were “stuck” because they did not have the extra time or money to devote to an education. Instead of being able to learn and grow during childhood, children in the working class focused on the survival of themselves and their family. This contrasts the middle class where children had the possibility to earn an education before working in the future. Horatio Alger argued that anyone can change their situation by a little extra work and by improving their behavior, but Ragged Dick was an unrealistic character. Children born into poverty often faced a cycle, where guidance and luck could not even help the escape the working class because they were committed to their families.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Benjamin Franklin's 'The Way To Wealth'

    1823 Words  | 4 Pages

    In “The Way to Wealth,” the 1758 essay included in Poor Richard’s Almanac during its first few years of publication, Benjamin Franklin recounts a story whereby locals were gathered outside a merchant auction and complaining of “the badness of the times” to Father Abraham, an elderly man. “‘…[W]hat think you of the times? Will not these heavy taxes quite ruin the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them?”

    Read More

  • Wealthy or Rich in Andrew Carnegie's Essay, Wealth

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    Carnegie’s essay contains explanations of three common methods by which wealth is distributed and his own opinions on the effects of each. After reading the entire essay, readers can see his overall appeals to logos; having wealth does not make anyone rich, but using that wealth for the greater good does. He does not force his opinions onto the reader, but is effectively convincing of why his beliefs make sense. Andrew Carnegie’s simple explanations intertwined with small, but powerful appeals to ethos and pathos become incorporated into his overall appeal to logos in his definition of what it means for one to truly be rich.

    Read More

  • Materialism In A Raisin In The Sun

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the beginning of the play, Walter is foolish and quarrelsome, with his heart set on becoming affluent. As he grasps how hard work his father worked and how hard his family works, he reasons that living by his standards is more important than gaining wealth, and he stops feeling resentful towards them. This play highlights how many members of society focus more on making money than living by their ethical

    Read More

  • Impact of Poverty on the lives of Raskolnikov, Gregor Samsa, and The Samsa Family

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    Poverty on social conditions affects everyone in every part of the world, no matter if they are rich or poor. First of all, everyone is divided into some sort of social class. The most known classes are the economic classes- the lower class, the middle class, and the higher class. The lower class goes through arduous labor all day and night to earn decent amounts of money to provide for themselves and their families. Most likely, they are the only source of income for the entire family. The higher class works hard to keep up or raise their high social status. They also work hard so they don’t loss their social rank, which permits them to hold a higher power over the middle and lower classes. Similarities of decisions made by characters in these two literary works will analyzed to understand the meaning behind the actions and influences of the social classes on each other.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Can Money Buy Happiness?

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some people find happiness in buying electronics, clothes, and toys. It’s true, materialistic things can bring an abundance of happiness to an individual. However, investing in life makes people happier, and makes their life more significant. According to Robin F. Brancato, in the book Money, “The real happiness comes from social relationships, enjoyable work, fulfillment, a sense of meaning in life.” For example, Nora is a woman who has money, and she’s always trying to buy dresses and shoes to make herself happy. However, she just needs to do something significant with her life (qtd.in Wiseman). In fact, according Williams, “It’s not a name brand that will lead to happiness. It’s a person ability to make their lifestyle what they always fantasized and imagined it to be.” In other words, happiness does not come from being able to buy expensive things; it comes from being able to use money to make one’s life better. In fact, according to Rachel Berl, “a certain amount of wealth relieves financial stress and its associated hardship. But the absence of such worries brings about happiness.” For instance, using money and investing in real estate and life insurance. Doing this, one can live happily knowing their kids can live comfortable when they are grown. The point is, investing life makes people happy and brings happiness to the

    Read More

More about What Is Benjamin Franklin The Way To Wealth Analysis

Open Document