The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin, a founding father, scientist, politician, and diplomat, has been etched into the minds of Americans for generation after generation. His moral template, life stories, and vision for the newly founded America highlight the major themes of his work, “Autobiography,” which still influences many people to this day. Although many Americans still place Franklin on a pedestal, there are some critics who question the moral foundation that Franklin laid out in his work. Steven Forde…

A more perfect me Benjamin Franklin once wrote an autobiography detailing his efforts to become a better human being. Franklin listed 13 virtues which he needed to improve on and intended to follow and he reflected on his experience. Being human means being able to improve; an author of one of my favorite books, Anthony Burgess, once wrote that humans are not like a clockwork orange, meaning due to our capability to change, we do not have to follow a deterministic mechanism; we have…

Experiences are like a priceless possession that teaches an individual the value and esoteric essence of his own existence. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is an account of Franklin’s life experiences that taught him a deal of self-righteousness, virtue, self-actualization, knowledge and wisdom. Franklin recalls many past, powerful instances of his life that have influenced the ethical and intellectual development. The memoir also represents various events that built his keen interest in…

Apprenticed to his brother, a Boston printer, a young Benjamin Franklin was writing for his brother’s newspaper. He never got anything published under his name, and he would often compare his writings to those of other published writers. Benjamin wrote a submission and slipped it under the door. Finally, his submission was published in The New England Courant under the name of Silence Dogood, a minister’s widow. Under the pseudonym he wrote satirical comments about the Boston society, politics,…

works have is their obsession with is the parent to child relationship of Britain to America. The hope and drive for freedom from Britain encouraged, symbolized, and fought for throughout Benjamin Franklin, Phillis Wheatley, Washington Irving, and Nathanial Hawthorne’s works. Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography expanded over a period of nineteen years starting in 1771. He accounts for how high esteem he holds his father “He had an excellent Constitution of Body, was of middle Stature,…

Benjamin Franklin in writing his autobiography showed in his life what he thought was a model character. Franklin was not a very religious man himself. He found value out of religion because it tended to help people become better than they were and gave them virtues to live. Franklin tells readers that he lives his model life by living thirteen virtues that he has picked out himself to be the most important. These virtues if done correctly could lead to a morally perfected person. By going…

People everywhere have a story to tell. We have our own perspective on what’s important in our life. Benjamin Franklin is one of the most prominent figures in our history. In his Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, this story tells about his life from his own point of view. A couple of things he mentions are his mistakes and the accomplishments he has established. For this essay, I’m going to discuss on what I think Franklin’s most important accomplishments are. There are quite the number of…

When Benjamin Franklin is mentioned, generally his several contributions to United States Society come to mind. It is interesting to find then, that someone who so willingly gave up his time and put in effort to help society, in reality, admittedly had a big pride issue. Plainly, this pride can be seen throughout The Autobiography that Franklin wrote as he recounts his accomplishments. Additionally still however, through Franklin’s writings, it is clear that his pride leads him to build himself…

Unlike Franklin and Winthrop, whose views were either very pro-religion to ambivalent towards religion, Jefferson was far less optimistic about religion and actively sought to marginalize its role in society. Like Franklin, Jefferson was a Deist in his personal beliefs, but unlike Franklin he was very cagey on discussing his religious beliefs to the public. Another commonality between Franklin and Jefferson was Jefferson’s deeply Enlightenment view…

Benjamin Franklin was one of the most influential and well-respected men of his time. Through his autobiography, he shared the many methods he used to live his life as well as several suggestions for how others should live theirs. One of the most important and still-relevant methods that Franklin put forward was his concept of virtues: thirteen specific traits that, if practiced, would increase that person’s happiness and quality of life. He practiced his own virtues and stated that this helped…