Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, is a widely known public figure. In The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, he recounts his early life and describes how he, a self-made man, became what he became. He dedicates the work to his son, but in general it is for a variety of people. He writes in a way to help his general audience so they can learn through his experiences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the autobiography, Franklin points out that there are different social classes. Due to the difference in cultures, it is important to be realistic in perceiving it and be aware of it, present yourself accordingly to move forward in life. There are different types of communities and cultures around the world. Everyone comes from a different background or culture, and in turn creates different values in each person. You can't expect two people from two different communities to see things the same way, obviously they will be different. To be successful in this world, Franklin implies that this must be recognized to be meaningful. The foundation of being a realist is knowing that cultures will be different and function differently. If someone didn't take note of this, they wouldn't be able to get very far in life. To be realistic, there is a subcategory of adaptability. By being reasonable, you will not behave the same way with every single person, but you will act correspondingly to how you see which, in turn, they will react in a positive way. It is necessary to adapt because a reasonable person understands that people are different. If a person were unrealistic, they would simply learn how to behave a certain way and simply behave that way. Although, with all the variety in life, there is no way that person could successfully connect with anyone other than themselves. Conversely, if that person was practical, they would be prepared for things to be different and for any changes that might come. As a result of things changing, a realistic person would be aware that this change could occur at any time and be ready to adapt to the change. Because of this they would be successful in life. Given this variety in life, this is where you need to be adaptable. Touching on the theme of being realistic while accepting and acknowledging the assortment of people in the world, Franklin teaches the reader very important lessons. One of them is that when you enter a new community you should adapt your behavior to meet the expectations and culture of that group. When Franklin is in London, for the rest of his stay he works at Watts, a printing house (p.34). When he starts working there, he notices that the other men who worked there drank a large amount of beer, while he only drank his water. The others even called him “the American of the water” (p.34). After some work there, the composers asked him for “a new bien venu or drinking sum, worth five shillings” (p. 35). By refusing to help pay for the beer, Franklin sets himself apart from the others. They begin to play little tricks on him, such as mixing his genres, transposing his pages and so on (p.35). As a result, he states: "I found myself obliged to respect and pay the money, convinced of the folly of being on bad terms with those with whom one must continually live" (p.35). Thus, by complying with their requests, he acquires friendliness and goes so far as to acquire a certain influence on other men. Speaking about this experience, Benjamin Franklin not only wants the reader to learn from his mistake and not, 2005.
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