A good answer would comment on Franklin's use of humor and his attempts to poke fun at himself so as to not seem arrogant. Moreover, Franklin's style is terse and witty. He usually makes his points using as few words as possible, which in part leads to his tendency to create aphorisms. Franklin's style is predominantly didactic as his
There are many answers to this question, some of which are mentioned here. First, Franklin shows from a sociological standpoint the possibilities for economic mobility in colonial America. After all, Franklin himself arrived in Philadelphia at 17 years old without a penny to his name, and from those beginnings he worked his way up to being a successful printer, a talented inventor and a Founding Father of America. Second, Franklin's idealism and faith in the betterment of mankind, as well as his Deism and utilitarianism, places him intellectually in the Age of Reason, a time when people often believed optimistically that the world and man could be perfected through science. Religion was also questioned during this age, and that questioning manifests itself in Franklin's philosophy. Franklin's creation of the Junto is a testament to his interest in the importance of debate, another 18th century intellectual ideal. Third, Franklin shows us how people went about their day to day lives in the 1700s. While this isn't a major thrust of the book, we learn about the way apprenticeships worked and how the government operated in the colonies, among a variety of other glimpses into 18th century life.
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