Almost everyone has heard of Benjamin Franklin. What they might not know is that they use phrases from his almanac and lessons from his autobiography nearly everyday in their lives. Three things that stood out to me from “from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” and “from Poor Richard’s Almanac” were the aphorism “The doors of wisdom are never shut,” and the virtues “frugality” and “cleanliness.” “The doors of wisdom are never shut” was the first thing to stand out to me from Benjamin Franklin’s literary works. To me it means that there is always more to learn no matter how much is already known. Someone could have been learning as much as possible since the day they were born and still not have leaned even close to everything. People
Just this small page revealed more to the reader than many other articles about Franklin can. A perfectionistic attitude within the usually glorified hero of America. He was very hard on himself, and clearly tried to live a frugal lifestyle. As a historic character who is often glorified, this human perspective was
Ben Franklin became famous for being a scientist, an inventor, a statesman, a printer, a philosopher, and a librarian. Today, we honor Ben Franklin as one of the men who founded America and as one of America's greatest citizens.
The visionary outlined his plans for the institution in a reading titled, Proposals relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania. As a means of resolving public health issues and providing care for the physically or mentally ill., Franklin constructed the idea for the first map for a public hospital in Pennsylvania. The final bit of philanthropic advice given from Franklin outlines a list of the 13 virtues necessary to live a virtuous life. Franklin mastered all of the virtues on his list and felt that others could benefit from his system “not [by] attempting the whole at once, but [by fixing] one of them at a time” (Franklin, 96). As a philanthropist, Franklin continuously sought after ways to improve his community. With the help of his Junto, Franklin succeeded in leading new undertakings of social advancement. “He expressed his hope to produce something for the common Benefit of Mankind” (Franklin, 6).
Franklin also gave many examples to the reader of his autobiography to practice diligence in minding the company they keep and gave much advice about keeping away from questionable establishments and having nothing to do with scoundrels. He made points to make friendships with people that were of good reputation, men who as himself had interest in education and industry and in his youth many older men whose advice he regarded before many life altering
Benjamin Franklin was one of the most successful founding fathers of our nation and helped establish American independence from Great Britain. He was a key member in the development of the political backbone that has shaped this country into what it is today. Benjamin Franklin was one of the most humble and inspirational figures of that time. He was a major factor in the outcome of the war of Independence and in his selfless actions of leaving his family, won the help from the French to assist America in the fight against England. Although Benjamin Franklin never made it to be president he was a leader among his peers. He invented many things that we still use today such as the library, bifocals, and the postal service. He helped
Benjamin Franklin was born January 17, of the year 1706, in Boston, MA, which was the
Brands, H.W.. The first American: the life and times of Benjamin Franklin. New York: Doubleday,
Benjamin Franklin’s work The Autobiography uses his life experiences to show the model life and beliefs every man should live by. Franklin wrote his autobiography to give a model to live by for his son and future generations.
Equally important to Franklin’s quest of his and other’s self-improvement is his use of personal illustrations as a means of educating his readers. He frequently points out the errors of his life, which he trusts will serve to benefit others by their not making the same mistakes. One example of Franklin’s humble admissions is concerning the woman his friend James Ralph was involved with. Upon Ralph leaving her, he recommended her to Franklin’s care. The woman, Franklin writes, was often in trouble and asked to borrow money from him. He recounts, “ I grew fond of her company, and being at that time under no religious restraint and presuming upon my importance to her, I attempted familiarities (another erratum) which she repuls’d with a proper resentment and acquainted him with my behavior. This made a breach between us.” (Franklin, p.42) Franklin realized that the mistake he made not only cost him the money Ralph owed him, but it
Thesis: In his autobiography, Franklin is undoubtedly concerned with developing virtue and self-improvement, but relies on others as the primary frame of reference for his own progress, always measuring himself with others. This habit of comparison results in the development of vices as well as virtues.
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
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is a detailed account of the illustrious experiences of Benjamin Franklin. Though the cultural differences in writing has changed since the 18th century one can learn a lot about one of America’s greatest forefathers through this book. It accounts for Franklin’s life when he was born January 17th, 1706 till the year 1757. Unfortunately, he died in 1790 and was never able to finish his autobiography. However, the book thoroughly details the early life of Benjamin Franklin.
It was the year 1706 in Boston, MA when Benjamin Franklin entered the world. Birthed after fourteen other siblings, Franklin's family structure is only one deciding factor in the way that this legendary tale pans out. A hero of American Revolution, this novel depicts 18th century realism accurately while logging Franklin's personal conception on human nature and social community. Many look at Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography as your typical rags to riches tale yet, the truth and falsehood throughout the pages is unknown, raising many questions and concerns. As this book was written in segments over a stretched period of time, we must analyze this account of his life, the struggles and successes which took place, and the outcome of such
Benjamin Franklin was one of the first and most famous scientists in America. He was a man of many talents and interests. Franklin was always curios about they way things work, and he always tried to find ways to make them work better. Even though he started out as a published, he was always interested in science. However this interest soon became a passion to Franklin. He even retired from his publishing business to work in a laboratory with his mostly homemade equipment. Throughout his life Benjamin Franklin made many important discoveries and theories which greatly influenced future scientists and inventors.
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