Ben+Franklin,+The+Whistle

Benjamin Franklin takes us back to his childhood when he was 7 years old in The Whistle. He went to a shop where they sold childrens toys and was just in awe when he heard the sound of a whistle. He gave all his money for the whistle. When he returned home he was ridiculed by his family because he had indeed ripped himself off. He had paid four times as much as he should of for the whistle. He became so chagrined that he cried: and after the experience the whistle gave him no more pleasure than it did grief. After this encounter whenever he wanted to indulge himself in a particular item he would tell himself that he would not pay too much for it. In the letter he talks about when he grew up how he came across many people who payed too much for their whistle. He talked about people fond of popularity, wealth, and material items who paid too much for their whistles. Franklin states that he believes these hardships that weigh down man are brought about by their over-estimation of the value of things. As a result they pay too much. He says that he pity's all the unhappy people he has cross paths with but there are always certain things in the world that tempt even the wisest of men; but he has learned from experience that some things are just not worth it.
 * __Background:__**

Throughout the letter Ben Franklin, after describing all the different people he has observed says that they paid too much for their whistle. When he had gone through the whole ordeal with the toy store and paid too much for the whistle, the meaning was literal. When it comes to the actions of the many that he observed the meaning of "he paid too much for his whistle" comes as a metaphor. The whistle is a symbol of a temptation or desire. These temptations include popularity, wealth, ambitions to be greater, fondness for material things and "love." With great pleasures comes great consequence. The one who was too ambitious for court favor sacraficed time, his liberty, friends and his state of being at ease. The miser who lives in wretched conditions in order to save and hoard wealth loses a social life and many friendships. There are people who are soo wrapped up in thier own appearance and having material things that they wind up in debt. Finally, there is the sweet-tempered girl who marries a man whom she believes she is head over heels for only to find out that he is an ill-natured husband. The wisest of men even fall for the trap of some temptations so all you can do is try to change your ways like Franklin did.
 * __Correlation:__**

One of the people that Franklin described kind of reminds me of Sonny's dad. When I think of Homer I think of the guy who was too ambitious. Homer was the understudy for the guy who previously ran the mine. He worked all his life towards procuring that job and that time finally came. He was devouted to the mine and it had come before all other aspects of his life. When the black phone rang he would immediately answer it and be off to the mine leaving everything else behind. He had no relationship with his son Sonny and the relationship between he and his wife was dwindling away. His desire to become a devout company man and get on there good side caused him to have a disconnect with the people around him. It finally came to the point after the bullet whizzed past his head and his wife threatened to leave that he realized it was time for a change. After this change it has been noticed that he is smiling more often and the relationship between he and his wife is drastically improving. I believe Franklin's words about temptation to ring true. I realize that I like to buy all the name brand clothing and technology that is cool. On the other hand there is always mom, who is always saying why buy this when this is cheaper; and why buy this when you already have an mp3 player. It is mostly the desire for material things that teens like me experience. Every time I want to indulge is some particular item that voice whispers in the back of my head, why,why? I am somtimes still careless when it comes to spending my money because i love to have the latest things; but for the most part I have learned from past experiences and try to spend my money more wisely by sometimes being cheap. In the end you still cant escape the trap of temptation, and you eventually fall. All i can do is just try to fall in that trap fewer times.
 * __Reflection:__**