Benjamin Franklin's "Arriving at Perfection"

956 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ben franklin's plan for perfection essay

Perfection? Can any one person be perfect? Benjamin Franklin believed that he could accomplish this task. Benjamin Franklin was known for being a cognizant and diligent perfectionist. During his lifetime, many people were concerned with correcting themselves of any fault that they may have had. Benjamin Franklin did have an interesting way to proclaim how he, could show everyone how to be perfect. He believes that he can make himself perfect. Even though his ways of being perfect are not the same as everyone else's ideas, he still tries to show them he can be perfect. In his essay "Arriving at Perfection" Benjamin Franklin tries to tell everyone how he will be perfect and how he is going to actually accomplish this task.

The tone of the essay is pretty straightforward. Benjamin Franklin means what he writes and thinks. There is no pun or sarcasm in this piece. He does however seem to put an apostrophe where the "e" of the past participle goes. This is something that they did during his lifetime. It is something that the audience can recognize right away because it catches your eye right off the back. An example of this is "...that I conciev'd the bold and..." Benjamin Franklin lists his virtues in a numerical order of their importance. A person could also think by looking at Benjamin Franklin's essay that it could be more of a science lab report. The way it is written could look easily like that because it has a list and a table and steps on how to be perfect.

Benjamin Franklin begins his essay with the following statement: "it was about this time that I conciev'd the bold and arduous Project of arriving at moral Perfection." Reading this sentence, a person could wonder what the word "arduous" means. According to Merriam-W...

... middle of paper ...

...rtue. He made columns for the days of the week and for the virtues on each page. If he broke a virtue he would put a black dot in that column for that day. He was only concentrating on that particular virtue that week. After that week, he would concentrate on that virtue and the one(s) previous until he mastered them all. His final sentence, "I should be happy in viewing a clean Book after thirteen Weeks daily Examination..." We finally heard what his method was.

After carefully reading Benjamin Franklin's "Arriving at Perfection," the audience can see how he wished to accomplish the greatest feat of all, to be perfect. If any one person could be perfect, then that would be a miracle on its own. Anyone would like to be perfect, yet no one is. Benjamin Franklin had a good idea though to try and see if he could indeed be perfect. Did he ever accomplish this feat?

Show More
Related

  • How Does Ben Franklin Use Satire In The Trail Of Miss Polly Baker

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    In early American History Ben Franklin was known for being a different kind of person. He never followed the rules like everyone else and always “marched to the beat of his own drum”. This difference from everyone else made Franklin a prominent figure in early American society. Franklin also used this to help get his beliefs across subtly. One way he does this is in “The Trail of Miss Polly Baker”. On the surface, this story is just about a women pleading to a jury about the punishments she has been given. People in this society saw this as a little hearted story that was created for entertainment purposes. But if you dive deeper into the text you can see that Ben Franklin is actually using satire to take jabs at how society and the judicial system treats women. In this story he uses satire with a sarcastic tone to help get his point

    Read More

  • The Americanization Of Benjamin Franklin Book Summary

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Silence and the Notion of the Commons

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    Franklin addresses her audience personally. She speaks to them about something not necessarily of her interest but of the audience’s interest. Her audience is perhaps mature but may have some people that English may not be a language the understand, therefore by emphasizing very drastically on the important words in her essay by saying them frequently. It is a psychological tact that the more times you repeat a word the better the chance there is of the audience remembering it.

    Read More

  • The Struggle Of An Indentured Servant By James Revel

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    While writing a letter to his son, he begins to explain his reasoning for writing in a somewhat formal fashion, stating what he felt was the purpose of his life. His light hearted nature would show through when he lightly mocked previous statements he had written. He shows a lot of pride in all of the accomplishments he had made in his life. He refers to his past mistakes as ‘errata’ which is a term used for correcting printing mistakes. This suggests that he simply viewed his errors in life as easily replaced with the greater things he has gone on to do. He stressed the importance of hard work and that it would certainly lead to greatness and wealth. In part two, a seemingly older Franklin focuses his tone away from entertaining himself and his son. He goes on to explain a series of models and virtues that would lead to a happy and fulfilling life. Lastly in part three, a slightly older Franklin encourages people so stop thinking in self-interest and to join together to encourage social

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Franklin And Emerson

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    Franklin believed that through self restraint and development of ones temperament anyone can achieve a successful life. The process Franklin describes involves cataloging all of the bad habits you do during a period of time and gradually working on reducing each of them to the point where they are almost non existent. However he does note that it is impossible to achieve

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Gender In Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Franklin

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Thomas Jefferson And Ben Franklin's Vision Of America

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    Franklin was remembered for stating "the longer I live, the more convincing proof I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men." Franklin 's ideas that contributed to the Enlightenment is found in his Autobiography. His idea of a perfect person has 13 virtues and claims that a practical and scientific man is based on combining their values and economic values. Franklin preferred voluntarily societies over government control, all his thoughts can lead back to free opinion. In his, Almanac is reflected on his scientific interests and was popular within the

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King, My Last Duchess, and Death of a Salesman

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    Perfection is what many people attempt to achieve in there lives, yet none do. It is the ideal result to the hard work and toil each person does, in order to become greater than they are now. Within literature, characters may seem perfect but upon closer inspection, are deeply flawed. This is the case in the three pieces of literature; Oedipus the King, My Last Duchess, and Death of a Salesman. All three of these prove that fact that “Perfection is like a dream. When people finally see the flaws, they wake up and the dream ends.”

    Read More

  • Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

    1295 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Franklin

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    “My intentions were to acquire the Habitude of all these virtues, I judg’d it would be well not to distract my attention by attempting the whole at once, but to fix it one of them at a time, and when I should be master of that, then proceed to another, and so on till I should have gone thro’ the thirteen” (Franklin 93). He believes that if he masters all of these virtues that he will become the perfect individual. If humility is the thirteenth one, than it must be the most important one in his life, or at least a closure to a perfect lifestyle. He made a book in which he allotte...

    Read More

  • Benjamin Franklin Rhetorical Analysis

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the second paragraph, he questions that with an assembly of men, can a perfect production be expected to be made. Not being firm in his own opinion only combats the statements made about the faults. Readers would base their opinions off of his which may be misleading. Although he believes that the Constitution needs changes, he also presumes that it is at the highest state of perfection it will ever be able to achieve. Although, Ben Franklin wants people to see the faults through the exploitation of revealing the benefits of having the Constitution.

    Read More

  • Moral Perfection Of Benjamin Franklin

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    Moral perfection. This was Benjamin Franklin’s way of living “..without committing any fault at any time” (Franklin, 63). Benjamin Franklin was very specific about the way he intended to live his life and the person he was aiming to become. Franklin seemed to believe that since he knew right and wrong, there was no reason not to always do right and avoid the other. This might have seemed like a crazy task, even impossible. However, Benjamin Franklin was determined to try to achieve this perfect lifestyle. In previous letters that Benjamin had received for encouragement to right and publish an autobiography, men had described him in many ways that made him worthy. Men used words such as your frugality, diligence, and temperance ( Benjamin

    Read More

  • Benjamin Franklin: An Inspirational Self-Made Man

    1491 Words  | 3 Pages

    Benjamin Franklin is one of the most influential and famous figures of all time. Ben Franklin if often referred to as the "self-made man," and his philosophies and principles in the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, edited by Louis P. Masur, has served as a self-help book for millions around the world. Franklin's Autobiography is a prime example of the American dream, a rag to riches story that has inspired many people to think of themselves and the community in a different light. Franklin's moral and social philosophies are packed deeply into his Autobiography. Franklin believed that improving ones self was the key to success. Self-improvement, self-education, and self-discipline are the main factors of a self-made man. Improving yourself will ultimately improve the society as a whole. Franklin speaks of principality and inclination. His idea was to produce the principle man with the awareness of man's natural inclination. Throughout the text Franklin provides examples from his own life that contradicts his moral and social philosophies. These contradictions are mostly caused by natural inclinations. Franklin uses these contradictions to educate people to be aware of their natural inclinations and to try and overcome them. Franklin's realizes that improving oneself is a road with many imperfections. Not even the "self-made man" was completely perfect.

    Read More

More about Benjamin Franklin's "Arriving at Perfection"

Open Document