Franklin 1. The claim Franklin makes is in paragraph 1 “I wish’d to live without committing any Fault at any time; I would conquer all that either Natural Inclination, Custom, or Company might lead me into.” which explains that he hopes for a life of perfection; or to lead through a fault-free lifestyle. 2. The counter-argument is in the last paragraph, Franklin states how concentrating on one thing may cause a weakening in another, eventually leading oneself into imperfection. 3. One of his grounds are when he makes a “little Book” to record any faults made to later examine them so that he can improve towards perfection. Another ground he makes is the list of thirteen virtues that he has picked up from other writers and made into his own so that he can follow and perfect them daily. 4. An objection to his book records that he keeps is that he cannot be entirely perfect because of the daily obstacles that he does have control over which can cause him to be at fault regardless of how careful he is. 5. The rebuttal is presented after he explains how focus on one virtue can lack attention to another by counterstating that he can extend his concentration for all the virtues, which can predominantly keep him free of any faults.
Didion
1. The essay “On Self-Respect” claims how self-respect is key to guideline a responsible and successful life. She states, “Character—the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life—is the source from which self-respect springs.” Looking at one’s failures alone will cause a downfall; instead, it is important to take those failures and proceed to success by disciplining oneself and build self-respect. 2. A counter-argument that can be made on Didion’s claim is how self-respect cannot be held to a specific standard for all people since one may hold self-respect in a lower or higher position opposed to another. Self-respect can therefore not be pinpointed as to what’s right and what’s not for the general people. As individuals, we do not all agree on what should be; rather, we make our own set of standards for our own lives in terms of success and what responsibility is to us personally. 3. A ground stated in this essay, paragraph 7, is the historical example about how our grandparents’ outlook of self-respect was more ideal in their generation than today even if it wasn’t achieved. Another example is when Didion explains how without self-respect, we abhor those who would want to be with him or her along with trying to please others for desperate approval. She states, “We flatter ourselves by thinking this compulsion to please others an attractive trait: a gist for imaginative empathy, evidence of our willingness to give.” We suffer knowingly of the painful effects. 4. An objection that can be made by our grandparents having the ideal self-respect in mind is not having it at all. Those who only try to become self-respected are only those who try and do not succeed. To actually be self-respected is a different persona that is carried because of the discipline that was taken to succeed in self-respect for oneself. An objection to “this compulsion to please others as an attractive trait” is that those who please others may be unaware of this “compulsion” because it may be a feeling of self-worth rather than self-respect that they seek for. To please others is to do right by others, which can make one feel worthy of their purpose in life and not feel as if they are lost but that they are here to be beneficial and delightful to others. 5. The rebuttal for this essay would be that self-respect does not only have to come from responsibility but from confidence and pride in what does in their lives regardless of how they obtain what they wish to do. Responsibility should not be set as an obligation for gaining self-respect but of happiness and dignity.