Franklin Reading Part 1

In reading Part 1 of Franklin’s autobiography, the presence of great adoration and admiration for his father is strong. “He was ingenious, could draw prettily, was skilled a little in music, and had a clear pleasing voice…very handy in the use of other tradesmen’s tools…sound understanding and solid judgment in prudential matters…”. The laundry list of praises to his father was quite extensive, most likely for him to demonstrate why he had the values he had. There was not an extensive list like this for his mother, which I found rather interesting. I suppose because of the times; women did not have much say in household matters or what the future of their sons would be. All throughout Part 1, he attributes his success and many of his character traits to his father’s words of wisdom. It seemed as if he felt an overwhelming duty to continuously praise his father for everything he did, whether good or bad. I found this pattern to be rather over the top, because it seemed as if Franklin was beating this admiration for his father on the top of his readers’ heads. “At the table he…always took care to start some ingenious or useful topic for discourse, which might tend to improve the minds of his children.” Here Franklin’s father reminded me of my own, because my father is not a fan of idle conversation, he is a believer in enriching the mind at all times. At times I felt as if Franklin sounded like a father himself. Franklin himself also reminded me of my father, when my father tells me that I should listen to him, not only because he is always right, but also because he only has my best intentions in mind. Franklin did this a considerable number of times when he was discussing all of the diversions and vices he does not engage in, because they will not benefit him.
I found a lot of things that occurred in his life to be ironic. It was ironic how as pure, driven, and determined of a person he was he always seemed to attract a lazy and drunk crowd, like Ralph, Collins, and Meredith. These were some of his closest friends, yet they seemed so opposite from him, either by their drunkenness or their lack of drive. Franklin preached so much about staying focused and doing the right thing, however the company he kept sometimes served to hold him down. With all of the advice that Franklin was giving to the reader one would have expected him to not attract such company or worse, keep it. There were many occasions when Franklin was trying to advance his business or social connections and network, yet one of his friends would have professional people of high status to be suspicious of Franklin. The entire situation is ironic, because on one hand he attracted a crowd of guys who loved to read, write, and debate and who were also fruitful in the work, however it seems his closest friends were always the ones, who were not quite as determined or destined for success as he was.

Jefferson Writings

Even though some people believe that the main reason for Thomas Jefferson’s defense of Native Americans lies in his defense of America, he pointed out many valid points to assist in the understanding of the Native American people in light of the many stigmas placed on them by many Europeans, like Count Buffon and William Byrd. Jefferson dissects each piece of the critics’ argument against Native Americans and justifies them and places them in a positive light. Jefferson’s motive behind this was most likely to continue to promote his idea of natural equality (which was a thematic phrase in his argument) and in promoting that idea, he most likely realized that he could not exclude different ethnic groups. Jefferson took an educational/scientific approach to argument; he used intelligent and rational reasoning to prove his points, such as the numerous charts. He wanted to clearly distinguish his argument as being one of careful and intellectual foundation as opposed to the many opinionated arguments (which he disdainfully compares to Aesop’s fables) of his peers.
It was interesting to see how the Jefferson and Buffon differed in their belief of how the Native Americans became the way they are. Buffon that it was nature, while on the contrary, Jefferson preached circumstance. Buffon says, “Nature, by refusing him the power of love, has treated him worse and lowered him deeper than any animal.” Buffon has personified Nature into making it seem as if it is of some Godly force, which has the power to dictate whom gets what characteristics. In his eyes, Nature has dehumanized the Native Americans . Buffon’s view also matches up to Byrd’s description of his travel through Carolina. In Byrd’s more intimate account of his travel (The Secret History of the Line), there are continuous examples of the lusts and sexual ardor of the Englishmen as they encounter women. These are the examples of the fervor that Buffon calls natural to the European man and believes sets the Europeans apart and above the Native Americans. He says “They lack ardor for their females…their heart is icy…they look upon women as beasts of burden…and this indifference to the other sex is the fundamental defect which weakens their nature…”

John Locke's Essay

John Locke’s “Book II: Essay Concerning Human Understanding Of Ideas” presents the idea of tabula rasa in which it is said that humans are born with a blank slate for a mind and that their feelings, opinions, views, and ideas are formed by the experiences they have. Locke is so self – assured in the philosophy he is presenting, despite not having any scientific evidence or proof. He uses rationality to prove that it only makes sense for a person’s opinions to be formed around the experiences and situations they go through in life. When he tells the reader to look inside themselves and evaluate the reason why they feel the way they do about certain things, it is a challenge to the reader to prove it to themselves that is philosophy is correct. Tabula rasa makes perfect sense for people who want a simple and rational explanation for their emotional reactions.
It can even serve as a possible scapegoat for people who have endured a particularly hard time. For example in today’s time, when scientists and analysts are arranging statistics for things such as poverty rate, crime rate, or illiteracy rate in certain areas, many argue that the reason why these statistics are so much higher in these areas is because of the environment and the experiences that one endures in these environments. They call themselves “products of the environments”; this can be seen as a modern and modified version of tabula rasa. Same principle applies.
Locke’s self-assurance in his philosophy is evident in his declarations of his thoughts. He doesn’t attempt to explain his principles in a scientific or formal manner, rather he let’s the reader know that this is what HE is calling these feelings and actions. This is a recurring instance in his essay. This shows his confidence in himself and what he declaring. He is admitting that these thoughts derived from him and his experiences. Locke is speaking in a tone in which he is reaching out to the common man. He wants everyone to grasp the concepts that he is presenting (he even capitalizes key words that he wants the reader to really pay attention to such as Reflection and Sensation). He makes sure he is speaking generally and explaining his vocabulary perfectly, so that there is no misunderstanding in the message that he is attempting to convey.
In contrasting Locke’s writing with that of Edwards’s writing, one gets the sense that Edwards would believe that the divine light of the spirit of God would serve to enhance the natural elements of the human mind, such as the sensations and reflections that Locke discusses. Edwards would say in response to Locke’s assertions that the Spirit of God assists the mind in all work, such as reflections, to a larger and further extent than if it was missing. Also I believe that Edwards’ would second guess and maybe even doubt the practicality and reliability of Locke’s declarations, because Edwards declares that the spiritual light reveals no new doctrine not in the Bible, however when people are examining themselves or others an incorrect conclusion not of God’s goodness or grace might be arrived at which could lead a person off the path of righteousness and into one of sin.

"A Sermon" by Jonathan Edwards

While reading Jonathan Edwards’ “A Sermon”, I originally expected to be bombarded with vehemently written sermon infused with uncontrollable emotion, especially considering how important and popular of a minister Edward’s was during that time leading into the Great Awakening. The tone of the sermon was rather professional and formal. Points were clearly outlined and he clearly stated where he was going with each point, thus leaving the audience to do nothing but listen/read the information and absorb the material, rather than drawing their own conclusions. I believe Edwards did this so that his audience would recognize the truth in his sermon as opposed to thinking that he was embellishing or over exaggerating the circumstances. Edwards wanted the people to get an realistic impression of the difference between a true connection with God and one in which the person merely believes with their mind in God’s divinity, however does not truly believe with their heart. Edwards wants there to be a clear path for the people to recognize that his doctrine is factual, thus he leaves attempts to leave out emotion which would interfere with the conveyance of the message. He even repeats that he wants people to take notice that not only is his doctrine rational, but it is also scriptural. He wants the people to be attentive to the religion behind all of the philosophy of the times. He is bringing people back to the scriptures (thus he intertwines scriptures throughout the sermon).
In the midst of the formality of the tone of the sermon, Edwards did seem to make it a point to emphasize how sweet God’s holiness and divinity was. He continuously made his way back to this sweetness after every point he made. The recurrence of words such as, excellence, sweetness, beauty, and loveliness, serve to reinforce the basic doctrine of the Lord (that He is the divine light which cannot be achieved through natural means and with the acquisition of this light, one will be blessed with the sweetness of God’s grace. From reading the sermon it seems as if Edwards feels as if the people believe in God and his holiness, however not truly feeling it in their soul. Their connection with the Lord is one built on rationality instead of spirituality.

Hello Class!

Hello Spring Semester English 122! My name is Chelsea Journigan and I am a freshman here at UNC-Chapel Hill. I am excited about this class. American Literature is a personal favorite of mine and I look forward to the reading assignments we will get.