More handpicked essays just for you.
Personal narrative writing short story
Reflection on writing personal narrative
Personal narrative writing short story
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is a representation of the new prospect of upward mobility in colonial America during the 18th century and the development of the Age of Reason, which assisted in the conception of the idea of the “American Dream”; a dream that includes fundamentally social ideals such as democracy, equality, and material prosperity. Furthermore, Franklin’s autobiography exemplifies a significant shift in focus from religion to enlightenment and reason. Additionally, there were forces specific to Benjamin Franklin's Philadelphia, that played an important role in his perspectives and the changes that occurred within colonial America during the 18th century.
The newly evolving opportunity for rising to a higher economic and social position is one of the most important changes we find in Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography. As Americans became significant purchasers within a connected Atlantic world of goods and services, the expansion of a consumer economy became the basis of a society that was further removed from plantation life and now allowed for the development of commercial opportunities for self-advancement.
One of the more important developments that arise during Benjamin’s youth is the creation, by his brother James, of The New England Courant in 1720, the second newspaper in America. (Franklin 23) While the newspaper was not as commercially successful as James projected, it did provide an opportunity for Benjamin to develop his skills as a printer and encouraged him to improve his ability to communicate in writing. The growth of Benjamin Franklin’s writing abilities is very important because it allows him to pursue new avenues for success as he later finds that his writing and his intelligence can b...
... middle of paper ...
... of religion. Also, the newly evolving opportunity for rising to a higher economic and social position, and the greater variety of trades and occupations that were generated during the 18th century, were extremely influential factors in creating opportunities for upward mobility. Ultimately, one of the most important themes in Franklin’s Autobiography is the beginning of the ideal of the “American Dream”; a dream that has goals of equality and material prosperity at its core, goals which have become important and influential to all citizens of the United States of America, and remain influential for generations to come.
Works Cited
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty: An American History.3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. Print.
Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Ed. Max Farrand. Berkeley:University of California Press, 1949. Print.
In “Becoming America: The Revolution Before 1776”, Jon Butler argues that there was massive economic and a political transformation occurred in the era of 1680 and 1770 which had been less examined to the American colonial history. In this book, Butler makes a strong argument for the early modernism of American society which helps to define the growth of American identity. The transformation improved the American socioeconomic character and demonstrated itself almost in every aspect of colonial life. I totally agree with the Jon Butler’s argument that the victories and defeats of the revolutionary war would not define America; it was the middle years of the colonial period that would. And his arguments in this book also challenge the existing history. Butler supports his argument from his own note which he collected from by researching huge amount of specialized history books.
In marked contrast to his famous father, who worked diligently on his autobiography until declining health would no longer allow it, William Franklin spent the years following the Revolutionary War wandering without purpose, the quintessential man without a country. Like many prominent loyalists to the Crown of England, William had suffered the confiscation of his property and the loss of his good name. William Franklin spent the first years of his English exile arguing in front of British Parliament for recompense on behalf of his fellow loyalists, with varying success, and for himself with none whatsoever. This endeavor having proven unfulfilling, William attempted to reconcile with his father and his son, Benjamin Franklin and William Temple Franklin, who had replaced William as Benjamin’s heir. For his efforts, William was rebuffed and made to suffer the indignity of virtual disinheritance.
Franklin’s accomplishments arose from the influence of family, friends, education, and personal experience with being African American. He had a difficult task as an historian as he was writing about the neglected history of his minority group while being an advocate for the rights of this group. This could be perceived as a conflict of interest, but he thought of it as being beneficial. His method of writing was not to promote African Americans, but to interpret their involvement in the framework of American history. This was not something that had been done extensively and thoroughly before. Franklin set the stage and helped to create a widely accepted field of history.
In summary, I believe colonial society had changed greatly from Winthrop's days to Franklin's. This is beneficial because we see how society is able to stray from the path of religion and venture onto other ideas that would have otherwise been discouraged. Benjamin Franklin was able to detach himself from traditional religion to expand his ability to experiment with science where as John Winthrop remained narrow minded because of his dedication to his religious beliefs.
On the other side of the spectrum is Ben Franklin 's vision. His vision of America was practical. Stating that wealth, respect, prosperity, is earned through hard work. In Franklin
Benjamin Franklin is one of the most profound individuals in American history. He is a Diplomat, Writer, Inventor, a founding father, and holds the title as the “First American.” In 1706 Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He is the fifteenth of seventeen children that his father, Josiah Franklin, had. At the age of 8 years old Franklin attended school, here he learned literacy. In spite of his successes in school, he had to drop out at the young age of 10 to assist his father with his business. Franklin did not enjoy working for his father’s business, however he had to work at his father’s shop for about 2 years. Josiah then had Benjamin apprenticed to his little brother, James, who was a printer. James is the founder
Lorimer’s home, Clithero begins to rise within her household. He “enjoyed, equally with [her son], all the essential benefits of education” (37). Unlike most treatment of a servant in this time period, Clithero is given the opportunity to better himself and learn alongside the heir of the estate. He does acknowledge “there were certain accomplishments, from which I was excluded, from the belief that they were unsuitable to my rank and station” (37). While he is being educated, he still “knew the duty of [his] station” and what is acceptable and unacceptable to his station (38). He knows he is not of the highest echelons of society and his place is in service to Mrs. Lorimer and her family. Brown begins challenging classism when having Mrs. Lorimer educate Clithero in a very much American ideal. She is breaking one of the barrios between the classes by educating her servant. The idea of education and bettering himself follows the ideas Benjamin Franklin presents in his 1784 essay “Information to Those Who Would Remove to America.” Franklin’s essay presents ideas that are the complete opposite of classism, representing truly specific American ideals. He believes to succeed, young men need to be willing to work and apply themselves to make a name for themselves. According to Franklin, only those who are willing to work and strive for a better life are the American ideal. In American, there is the opportunity to better one’s self and rise within the hierarchy “which Europe does not afford” (Franklin
In Benjamin Franklin’s The Autobiography, he ornately and distinctly portrays each of the characteristics of the enlightenment. First characteristic of enlightenment Franklin presents is perfectibility and progress, a belief that one has the ability to improve and change. Whilst, Franklin was working on his list of virtues to improve himself to accomplish his goals, he came to add the thirteenth virtue as one of his Quaker acquaintance confessed about him, “But a Quaker friend having kindly inform’d me that I was generally thought proud; that my Pride show’d itself frequently in Conversation” (Franklin 530). After being informed, Franklin immediately convinced himself to improve his pride by adding one more virtue in his list “Humility”. In
The early 1800’s were an unusual time in the history of the United States. A country in its infancy, growing, turbulent, and filled with intrigue where political and economic fortunes were made and lost overnight. While the country was founded on noble ideas---and no doubt these powerful ideas were taken seriously---how such ideas were to be put into practice created fertile ground for personal ambition and interest to be a stronger motivator than the “common good”. In fact, at times it appears that the ideas were little more than vehicles for the personal ambitions---and in the case of this story---the personal vendettas of powerful personalities.
Benjamin Franklin was a very prominent figure in shaping our nation. Many people look at him as a role model or just as an amazing individual. He had his faults just like every human being had, and he shouldn’t be discredited because of a few minor glitches to his character. As being the only person that had signed The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and the Treaty of Paris, this immediately separates him from all others. One of the things that he wrote about in Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings, was trying to be the ideal person, and even made a list of virtues to live by. His virtues were very important to his lifestyle, and he followed them to a great extent.
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia is a children’s nonfiction book about Ben Franklin and his life from a boy to a successful adult. This book was written by Margaret Cousins. The 141 pages in the book was published in 1952.
...ple, Benjamin Franklin developed his own style of writing which was adopted by many liberal writers who shaped Franklin’s political views a great deal. It is also worth noting that Benjamin drew a lot from his father Josiah who he viewed as all round. He was particularly impressed by his ability to make sound judgment a skill also seen by other locals.
Benjamin Franklin has been without a doubt one of the most relevant individuals in US history. His autobiography gives us a brief but detailed summary of what his life was like and how society worked in the eighteen century. This autobiography gives us many details of how the colonies where and offers and an overall image of the development of British North America which later turned into the United States. Due to the fact that this book was originally written for Franklin's son, the book concentrates in personal information and has very little information about other topics. However, there are some topics that can be extracted from his writings; one of them is gender. Even though, Franklin never talks openly about gender, we can observe how in his writing these roles are clearly assigned. In this paper, we will analyze how Benjamin's Franklin autobiography showcases the importance of gender in the early eighteenth century. Gender can be analyzed in Franklins book by looking at different topics. This given to men and women by society can be seen in the workspace, in the education of each individual, and in the family and family structure.
Throughout history and in current times, Benjamin Franklin has been greatly revered and admired by a large majority of American citizens. In the attempt to achieve prosperity, a multitude of people have strived to emulate Franklin’s lifestyle. Accordingly, this emulation was the source of Mark Twain’s disdain toward Benjamin Franklin, which Twain expresses in his satire, “The Late Benjamin Franklin.” Correspondingly, in “The Late Benjamin Franklin,” Mark Twain displays hostility toward Benjamin Franklin through the utilization of a derisive and mocking tone as well as the elements of satire. The ridicule and degradation of Franklin that is displayed in Twain’s satire highlights Twain’s belief that Franklin’s accomplishments are exaggerated upon, placing unrealistic expectations on all males, including Twain.
A general theme in Franklin's writings is the differences between the private and public self and how the two interact. Parts One and Two of his Autobiography were written at different times and intended for different audiences. In Part One Franklin is speaking to his Son, (who was then the Governor of New Jersey) a public figure. It was started in 1771. Part Two was begun...