The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin has many things, but maybe more than anything else about Benjamin Franklin it explains about him being a politician, and there is no more reason to look out for an unbiased autobiography from Franklin than from any other politician. This Franklin is a persona, a conscious literary creation bestowed for our contention One of Franklin’s virtues is humbleness, and his humbleness comes out in the form of his book. His narrative is extremely informal, not only in the first part, which was seemingly addressed to his son, however in the later sections the autobiography was controlled upon four separate occasions. The informal nature of the book exhibits Franklin’s intended humility, and for Franklin, seeming to be so is nearly as significant as actually being so. For part of the function of the virtues in an individual is not only to make that particular person moral, but also to function as an example to others. This opinion of his being an illustration to other people is one of the dominant themes in his book. His life, he under...
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.
In The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin we see the way Franklin carried his life from being just a boy to a great business man. He states how things were in his opinion. He was a man that started from nothing, worked his way up in the social hierarchy as an important figure and also a financial figure. In his autobiography we see differences in gender take place. Men were the highlight of social construction while females were underestimated as a role in society in education, family and work.
When analyzing Benjamin Franklin’s “The Autobiography,” two opposing personality traits battle during many situations in his life, his humility and his vanity. Although Franklin vainly brags to his son about leading
In Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography, Samuel Keimer is a character who represents the antithesis of Franklin. The development of Keimer not only improves the reader’s understanding of the minor character, but also of Franklin, the major character. Franklin makes a point of showing the reader each of Keimer’s faults and contrasting them with his own merits.When Keimer is first introduced to the reader, he is in very much the same circumstances as Franklin; they are two young men trying to make a fresh start in a new town, the only difference being Keimer’s economic, and thereby social, advantage. In comparison to Franklin, however, Keimer is a flawed and immoral man; this difference is what makes him the ideal model for Franklin to scrutinize. As Benjamin Franklin consistently moves up the social and economic ladders, more than surpassing Keimer’s achievements, Keimer quickly falls into poverty and loses everything. “With the rest I (Benjamin Franklin) began to live very agreeably; for they all respected me, the more as they found Keimer incapable of instructing them, and that from me they learned something daily.”1 Franklin goes into great detail to teach the reader how one should live one’s life in order to avoid the same fate as Keimer.
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.
Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 in Boston. He had many brothers and sisters in which he had to compete with to accomplish anything. He was sent to school to become a clergy member but was withdrawn by his father after only to years because the great cost it was to send him. Benjamin’s short time in school opened him up to reading. And he became a phenomenal reader. He loved to read and wanted to write his own works. His father sent him to work with his brother at a printing press factory. Working at the printing office inspired...
Later, Franklin admires his initiative to change and improve in his language and pride was fruitful as he states “I soon found the advantage of this change in my manners. The conversations I engaged in went on more pleasantly” (Franklin 530). The second characteristic of enlightenment Franklin illustrates is the autonomy of reason, where one has the ability to think logically and reasonably and not rely upon someone to think for them. Franklin grew up to become a virtuous and an ingenious individual; from young age he had great work ethics, passion toward books and printing and always ambition to become a better person. During his whole successful career Franklin worked independently towards his individual goals. Mostly, Franklin learned to independently work and think since his early age and working in the printing shop. Franklin mentions, “I bought it, read it over and over... possible to imitate it”, “I took some of the papers, and making short… in any suitable words that should come to hand” Franklin demonstrated many of his action that required no opinions of others. He solely worked independently throughout his career, which gained him the ultimate respect and
The Autobiography and Other Writings, written by Ben Franklin, is a book dedicated to Franklin’s accomplishments, and a trace of his intellectual growth. Franklin’s goal was to reach Moral Perfection. Vanity is defined as having too much pride in one’s appearance or accomplishments and is viewed as sinful by many people. Morality is defined as principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. For him to reach that goal, he must have good morals. There was a clear relation between virtue and vanity, Franklin created a list of thirteen virtues that he would follow later. Franklin’s dedication to being truly moral was nearly impossible; he knows that man cannot be perfected, but that does not stop him from pursuing greatness. His vanity and morality would lead him to his successes in the future. Franklin’s autobiography should inspire his readers to follow his footsteps, in the direction of self-dedication to be successful.
In The Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin recounts the many paramount experiences throughout his life that shaped him into great American figure he was known to be. On the opening page, Franklin reveals the book’s epistolary format by writing, “Dear Son,” going on to admit that he’s made some mistakes in the past and to recollect that past is a way to relive it. By divulging his desire to “change some sinister Accidents & Events” (Franklin 3) the author indicates how important it is for his son to observe as he amends his mistakes. Pride, virtue and vanity play a pivotal role in Benjamin Franklin’s life and the way he portrays himself to others. Instances occur where the author is shown gloating about his great accomplishments and he puts emphasis on his need to live a virtuous and morally perfect life. Throughout his story, Benjamin Franklin tells his son of his many virtuous acts and momentous achievements, motivating the question as to whether he seeks his own approval more so than the approval of his peers.
Benjamin Franklin led an influential life. He was a master of creation. He was a literary genius. Also he became a president. His invents are still used today and everyone loves them. Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. He was the 10th son of Josiah Franklin and Abiah (Folger). Franklin’s father was a soap and candle maker.
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.
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin, a man who is considered one of the first “Americans” (many consider him as the first) where he had a great role in the establishment of the independence of the United States of America. He had a great deal of major and minor professions, which were of vital significance during that period of time. These professions include being a politician where his theories were remarkable, a scientist where he himself was an inventor, a postman, a diplomat and last but not least a man responsible for a lot of discoveries in the field of physics. Early Life The early stage in Franklin’s life was entangled with meandering where his family were facing a number of issues including poverty where his father Josiah Franklin was a mere soap maker, in addition to scarce financial support due to him being one of seventeen brothers and sisters.
In my opinion Ben Franklin was the most influential of the founding fathers. He did a lot more than just help found our nation though. He was also a scientist, diplomat, businessman, and philosopher. I can't think of any person who is more quoted than he is, and he lived 200 years ago!
Benjamin Franklin’s entire life, which lasted almost the entire eighteenth century, was based upon order and systematic discipline in addition to his dependence on wisdom and intelligence. Franklin was sincere, honest, and was apt to self-examination. He acquired long lasting friends from persons of every age.
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...