Book Review over “The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin” by Gordon S. Wood
Do not use slang, colloquialisms, first or second person, and keep passive voice to a minimum.
You must use parenthetical citations each time you refer to the book or use a direct quote.
PAPER ORGANIZATION
Thesis: Identify the thesis or theses of the book. NOTE: The thesis refers to the author’s argument, and generally goes beyond the topic or subject matter. What point is the author trying to make? Demonstrate that you understand the author’s purpose in writing the book.
Synopsis: Respond to all synopsis questions. The purpose of thisis to present a brief overview of the book. Discuss the methods, sources, strengths and weaknesses of the book. Did the author propose new approaches, use any major new documents, propose new interpretations, challenge existing interpretations, rehash old information in new ways?In your synopsis section, please do not jump from topic to topic, but have a smooth transitions between paragraphs. For more information on how to do this, visit this site.
Evaluation: Did the author accomplish what he/she set out to do? Was the thesis adequately supported? Was the evidence powerful enough? Of what value or use is the book? Did you enjoy or like the book? Give your judgment of the book: interesting, boring, provocative, significant, or whatever, and explain how or why you came to that conclusion. If you did not like the book, say so, and support your opinion with solid evidence.
In the SYNOPSIS portion of your book review be sure to specifically address the following points and questions.
1.Describe the factors that made Franklin “the man of many masks.”
2.What role did the class divisions that existed in the English-speaking world have on Franklin’s development?
3.Describe how Franklin managed to rise from a lowly station into the ranks of gentlemen.
4.How did Franklin’s exposure to London during the 1750s shape his outlook?
5.What factors made Franklin “a thoroughgoing imperialist and royalist” by the early 1760s?
6.Describe how, by the late 1760s, Franklin had become too English in America and too American in England.
7.How did Franklin’s treatment by English officials in the early 1770s turn him into an ardent patriot?
8.How did Franklin, to the French, come “to symbolize America as no single person in history ever has”?
9.How did Franklin become “indispensable to the success of the Revolution abroad”?
10.Why was Franklin so unappreciated by so many of his contemporaries of the revolutionary era?
11.How did Franklin, after his death, become the ideal for both workingmen and businessmen, especially in the northern states? How did this reflect changes in (northern) culture?