One of the most famous historical figures in America: Benjamin Franklin
One of the most famous historical figures to have ever lived in America is Benjamin Franklin. Despite coming from a poor family, he managed to climb from the bottom and reach the top. Franklin's life is unusual in a way because he only briefly attended school before working as an assistant in his brother's printing business. Nevertheless, the reality that he received a good education did not stop him from becoming one of the most well-known Americans. The secret of his success emanates from the following lessons which he highly regarded can equally inform and influence the people of the 21st century despite the fact that he lived more than two centuries ago.
First lesson: Integrity
First, integrity: Benjamin states that this is the virtue which informed the most part of his success. There are various examples of integrity highlighted in the autobiography. For instance, the case of the American settlers who were reluctant to lend their wagons to the English army to assist them to fight the French. It took the intervention of Franklin to guarantee for their payment that they released them. Franklin anchored his leadership on integrity. He states that it is through honesty that people trust leaders and choose to follow them willingly.
Second lesson: The art of being humble
Secondly, the art of being humble: according to Franklin, humility is the second virtue which propelled him to prosperity. At the time when he served as an American ambassador to France, he built an excellent reputation among the French. From his autobiography, he postulates that this was possible because of his willingness to listen and could not insist on being right in every circumstance. Likability develops through the character of humility. People around him could feel valued because he regarded them with equal measure. The quality of humility can connect with respect which a person accords others who feel valued and respected by a prominent person.
Third lesson: The art of reading
The art of reading is the third lesson people can learn from Franklin. It is true that Franklin did not spend significant time in school but gained a lot of knowledge through voracious reading. He could use any free time he had to read. For instance, he could use a large part of his lunch during his time as an apprentice at his brother's bookshop to learn. Moreover, Franklin together with his colleagues managed to establish a library by contributing money and purchased books from Great Britain to source their library. It is through this activity that the notion of modern libraries developed. The present generation can learn from Franklin that reading grants people knowledge. In the same manner as Franklin, people of the present day can expand their horizons through reading. Further, Franklin proves that people can achieve much if they get committed because most of his learning happened during lunch time and at night and he managed to become a great personality without many years in school. A good take for people of this day.
Fourth lesson: Association
Association is Franklin's fourth virtue. It is at the young age that Franklin recognized the importance of associating with ambitious and intelligent individuals. It is through association that he formed Junto- a team of visionary and bright young men who could converge together and share lessons learned from their readings as well as debate on issues cutting across the world. Benjamin Franklin tells his authors that creativity emerges through association with other people. He challenges people that one person rarely starts big corporations, but it takes the efforts of many people with a common goal to build big companies.
Fifth lesson: Consistent self-improvement
Consistent self-improvement is the fifth virtue which Franklin held dear. When he reached 20, he composed a list of 13 attributes which he thought essential to perfect. They included: moderation, justice, sincerity, etc. He committed to perfect one in every week. Through these acts, he could complete a cycle after every thirteen weeks, thus he had four periods every year. Franklin contends that he managed to succeed and prosper by the constant urge to improve himself. Franklin teaches his followers that confidence emerges from the consistent act of self-improvement.
Loung Ung: Lucky child
The book offers a narration by a young girl who escaped her mother country in 1980 amidst war and genocide and flew into her new home in Vermont, the United States. Though the narrator is delighted with the American life because of the advantages it brings to her life like an opportunity to go to school and an opportunity to have a private closet; she does not forget her three siblings who were not lucky to escape together with them. The text is both heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time as it presents the lives of the narrator and her sister Chou with whom they reunite after fifteen years. The paper is a presentation of the lessons which readers can learn from Loung Ung's writings.
Experience of the Cambodian genocide
Ung presents the horrible stories of genocide in Cambodia and what happened afterward as she saw them at the age of five. Thus, in that situation, the worry and forecast of the future which mature people hold, the preparations and everything they do to secure a better future is absent on this account. Ung lives one day after another, struggling to understand the world, trusting that the best will come though mentally preparing for any worst eventualities. Her tender age means that after their displacement from Cambodia, she was ignorant of the events which took place, but it reveals to the audience how heartbreaking it can be for a child of five years. Parents of children of five years can try to imagine and figure out the life of the kids without their presence and worse still, in a war-torn country. The imagination of how tough life can be for a young kid who has to run away with her elder brother for a long distance and then later escape to a foreign country, the United States.
Strength and endurance
The character of Ung's mother is so impressive; it is apparent that the protagonist gives little appreciation to the mother's strength at the start, but her resiliency is incredible. Ung exposes the audience to the frustrations she undergoes with her mother in the same way with all other things. Moreover, her father was more robust and impressive in inspiring hope. In entirety, Ung's entire family is stronger and enduring than what the reader can expect at the beginning. It is a massive lesson for human beings that it is possible to hope and endure amidst great adversities like war and genocide.
Understanding the Cambodian genocide
Further, the book advances a sad story on how people can suffer on the face of the world mainly because of civil war and how people from other countries can be ignorant about it. The events presented in the book are real; it is not only for the family captured in the plot but for so many other people who possibly go through worse situations. The Cambodian genocide is not a usual case to many people.
The experience of women
Finally, the story presented in this context offers more experience about women than the ones given in the U.S media. It is worth noting some massive forms of activism are necessary in some parts of the world like Cambodia and other places. Furthermore, it is imperative to learn the experience of women outside the comfort zones of the U.S homes. Irrespective of the perspectives of some opponents, feminism is an extensive part of the human rights activists across many regions globally, not necessary by name but by action. Finally, the book is a recommendation to anyone looking forth for non-fiction encounters. However, it is more important for feminists to understand the struggles of women and it provides a platform for working for the good of all females.
Persona in Benjamin Franklin
It is interesting to note that Benjamin Franklin wrote down his epitaph at only 22 years old. Apart from the fact that the writing of an elegy was more of a suffering and pessimistic thing to do, the best thing about Franklin is the imagination of his legacy. Franklin postulated that after his death his body would serve as the top cover of a big old book whose contents are tattered but though they will reappear in the future in a more presentable form. Benjamin meant that at 22 years, he was imagining his life in a written way in books. In this context, he likens his body to the binding and pages of a book and his soul to the insights it was carrying. He represents his soul as capable of being re-written, thus giving him a particular form of immortality.
In the autobiography, Franklin offers a precise picture of his life at a young age and the vision he held, telling the audience about his massive contribution to the community and the nature of the experiences he gained in the process. At the start of his writing, he states that he is recollecting his entire life because he has no chance of living it again. The approach Franklin is applying in this situation is an elegant form of prose; he gets himself in literature instead of heaven. The persona which he develops in the autobiography is that of a mature person as the genre reveals throughout the plot.
Personal in Loung Ung: Lucky Child
The story of Loung Ung is a precious resource for broadening a learner's knowledge of events across the world and how they affect their personal lives. Moreover, the book is abundant in the construction and appreciation of biographies and narratives. For instance, Loung stands in the position of a person in a horrific situation where she was absent. Her stance acknowledges the interpretation of episodes enriched by memory.
The style which Loung utilizes immediately catches the attention of the reader. She has made critical choices in presenting the story; the first-person narration is a precise strategy, and the application of the present tense makes the reader feel that the events are taking place at present. It reveals the separation of the siblings, some living in Cambodia while the two escape to the United States. The author represents the persona of an individual alienated from her people and her country. The persona of a refugee who longs to get back and see her people after many years of alienation.
