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...
Gordon S. Wood delves into Benjamin Franklin’s philosophical, political, and personal legacies in the biography, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin. The book travels through Franklin’s experiments, his travels in Europe, and his role in the American revolution. The book begins when Franklin retires from business and becomes a gentleman. It was when he became a gentleman, it allowed him to analyze the world around him. “Indeed, he could not drink a cup of tea without wondering why the tea leaves at the bottom gathered in way rather than another,” a quote from Edmund S. Morgan’s book, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin spent a great deal of time in Britain before returning to America. When he returned, he threw himself into the American revolution, which sent him to France. After he accomplished his duties in France, he returned back home to America where he ran for public office.
Benjamin Franklin, through hard work and perseverance, transformed himself into a philosopher, diplomat, inventor, writer, and scientist. (SOURCE) Franklin’s contributions and ideas significantly encouraged major progress in the development our country and improvements that continue to affect society. He showed that with a strong desire and honest and hard work anything is possible. Unlike most politicians, he was a common person. He is also a hero in that he symbolizes hope and possibilities for many Americans. However, Franklin was not a perfect human being, and for that reason, some believe that his face should not grace the $100 bill. His legacy is undeniably a major part in our history and as one of the key “founding fathers” to our society; the fact reminds Benjamin Franklin is distinct figure in our history. I will present my argument in favor of keeping Franklin on the bill.
Benjamin Franklin is one of the most well-known men on earth! Everyone knows who he is, but not a lot of people have read about him. Mr. Franklin has an Autobiography that was published to us. In pages 411 through 417 of Benjamin Franklin Autobiography there is three topics Benjamin Franklin touches on when writing these five pages of his Autobiography. To begin with the first topic was about a library he opened up, the second topic he spoke about was about how he respects religion but doesn’t like religion controversy, and last but not least he wrote about thirteen virtues.
...eek. These virtues include temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquillity, chastity, and humility. The Autobiography is not the full story of Franklin’s life. It terminates approximately in his fifty-third year, before he became America’s greatest diplomat.
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 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.
"Of two things you can be certain; death and taxes," quoted Benjamin Franklin. Having a humorous outlook on life, Franklin tried to make others' lives better. Benjamin was a man who served others and tried to make the world its best until his death. Benjamin Franklin had many accomplishments. He had a busy and eventful life, he played a major role in defending his country, and he was known for his quotes. Franklin was always working to make something better.
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.
Franklin wrote his autobiography for his son. His journey was very important to him. His son would benefit from this. He says “I sit down to write them for you”. (Franklin (473) This signifies all of the effort he is putting into his writing. Franklin had a strong belief in God. He says, “And now I speak of thanking God, I deserve with all humanity to acknowledge, that I owe the mention’d happiness of my past life to his kind providence…” (474) This quote shows that he is thankful for all that God has done for
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
This paper also seeks to compare the autobiographies of Benjamin Franklin and Fredrick Douglas. In an e...
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.
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...
Houston, Alan. Franklin: The Autobiography and other Writings on Politics, Economics, and Virtue. New York: Cambridge UP, 2008. Print.