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Showing posts from September, 2009

Benjamin Franklin

For reasons I can't seem to attain, I've struggled extensively on writing this Benjamin Franklin assignment. I'm wrestling with transforming my thoughts of the Benjamin Franklin I've learned of long ago as the father of our country, to Benjamin Franklin, the esteemed writer. Without ever coming to a conclusion as to what I want to say, Im just going to let my thoughts take me through. After reading Franklins autobiography several times I can conclude that he is a brilliant man of many acccomplishments, and in my opinion was the catalyst to a "new America". This "new America" consisted of a renewed 19th century thoughts and actions and left the American 18th century thought with no action behind. Reading through excerpts of his work, often I was required to read three and four times in order to comprehend the point Franklin was making. His use of words and grammar were extraordinary. There was an excerpt that I found entertaining that seemed to show

Annabel Lee Explication

It was many many a year ago, in a kingdom by the sea, that a maiden there lived whom you may know by the name of Annabel Lee; and this maiden she lived with no other thought than to love and be loved by me. This seems to be a representation of a woman that the author felt very positively about who happens to reside near a waterway OR: could he be speaking of a ship that he is very fond of? I was a child and she was a child, in this kingdom by the sea, but we loved with a love that more than love—I and my Anabel Lee—with a love that the winged seraphs of heaven coveted her and me. The author seems to be showing that the love between he and Annabel Lee was more than love, even though they were very young, perhaps too young to fall in love? OR: could he be discussing his love for his ship, the Annabel Lee? And this was the reason that long ago in this kingdom by the sea a wind blew out of a cloud by night chilling my Annabel Lee so that her highborn kinsmen came and bore her away