Week 4 Discussion - Consider these paintings of Benjamin

Week 4 Discussion

Response to the following discussion activities.  Use  specific references and  direct quotes from our readings this week to illustrate and support your view/s.

· Consider these paintings of Benjamin Franklin. What different images of Franklin do these representations provide? If Franklin were choosing among them for an image for the cover of his Autobiography, which of the representations of himself do you think he would choose? Why? Be sure to provide short examples from Franklin's autobiography to support your selections.

Franklin's first entrance into the city of Philadelphia as described in the Autobiography is one of the country's founding myths. Compare the story to Smith's account of Pocahantas saving him from death and Bradford's account of the Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving. Why do Americans believe so fervently in the story of Franklin's arrival in Philadelphia? What cultural work does it accomplish that is similar to the Smith and Bradford myths?

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