Final answer:
Benjamin Franklin's writing often used literary devices like metaphors, irony, and allegory to convey deeper truths. Similar to critiques on Twain or Thoreau, identifying these devices through close examination of language can illuminate the thematic messages of a text.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is seeking to understand the literary device or devices used by Benjamin Franklin to convey a deeper meaning in a given passage. In literature, authors often employ various strategies such as metaphors, irony, allegory, and imagery to enhance their writing and communicate complex ideas in an engaging way. For instance, in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, the contrasting river and shore scenes are a metaphor for the American ideal's true expression.
Similarly, Franklin's use of these devices serves to provide factual evidence for a claim, to include historically significant language, or to serve as a passage for analysis, possibly comment, or critique. An example of such usage might include providing a concise yet vivid sentence to convey a profound truth, much like how Thoreau's activities at Walden were summarized and quoted to reinforce the theme of simple living allowing for freedom of mind.
Close examination of language and textual evidence, summarization, and direct quotations, all contribute to providing a balanced and convincing viewpoint, as observed in literary critiques on works of authors like Chopin and Garrison. These tools of literary critique facilitate a deepened understanding of an author's intent and the thematic resonance within their work.