Sir Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to his friend Madame Brillon titled “The Whistle”. In the letter, he uses a parable of a whistle to bring forth his idealism. Benjamin believed that one should not indulge in luxuries or be a miser, but rather one should follow a middle path and think before he pays too much for his whistle. The entire letter is focused on the theme of going overboard to get what you want. Benjamin believed that one should not overpay for his wants but rather one should be focused on doing good. In the letter entitled “The Whistle”, the idealism of not indulging in luxuries is a central theme. There is one parable that the author uses constantly to strengthen the theme. The author uses this one parable to begin his central theme and then brings down many more examples to highlight his point. The parable of the whistle is used throughout the story to symbolize luxuries and wants. One such example is, “If I see one fond of appearance, or fine clothes, fine houses, fine furniture, fine equipages, all above his fortune, for which he contracts debts, and ends his career in a prison, "Alas!" say I, "he has paid dear, very dear, for his whistle." Another such an example would be, “When I met with a man of pleasure, sacrificing every laudable improvement …show more content…
The author uses an example of a man who resolves to corruption to help finance his desires, and then lands up in prison. He then refers to the original parable and states that this man has overpaid for his whistle since, it has bought him such misfortune. The author uses another example to convey this message. He tells of a man pursuing pleasure that causes him to be ill. There the author also believes that the man has gone overboard with pursuing luxuries. In this letter, one can see that fiercely pursuing luxuries won’t bring forth any