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Essay on the autobiography of benjamin franklin
Benjamin Franklin's 13 virtues explained
Essay on the autobiography of benjamin franklin
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Benjamin Franklin wrote an autobiography and he shares his thoughts and ideas on how to live a life without any fault. He creates a list on the thirteen ways to do so and his story trying to live them out. Believing he could not master the thirteen virtues he comes to be at peace with the fact he tried and believes he has becomes a better and happier man because of it. Benjamin Franklin’s goal at this point in life is to master all thirteen virtues. He decides to make a discipline sheet showing his progress and what he didn’t do on those days “I might mark, by a little black spot, every fault I found upon examination to have been committed respecting that virtue upon that day.” (Pg. 271, Franklin). He is determined to give a week’s strict
attention to each of them. Overall Benjamin Franklin put his undivided attention on mastering the thirteen virtues for the time he tried. Benjamin says “I was surprised to find myself so much fuller to faults that I had imagined;” (Pg. 273, Franklin). He learns that a man should have a few faults to himself to keep his friends accepting of him, believing a perfect man might be hated. Though unfortunately Benjamin Franklin was never able to master the thirteen virtues he was able to benefit from the lessons he learned which he states “with all that knowledge that enabled him to be a useful citizen” (Pg. 274, Franklin), and he was able to do this while he was on an unstable state of mind. Throughout this process of self-discovery franklin learns a lot about himself and one thing he learns is there is no perfect man, so you can only preform to the best of your abilities allow you to. Therefore, franklin hopes to leave his imprint on history so that his descendants will be able to follow his examples and reap from the benefits.
Robert Fulghum’s list of things learned in kindergarten and Ben Franklin’s list of virtues both apply to morality and relationships. They both show how to live with good morals and conduct. Fulghum’s list applies more to the relationships of people today, while Franklin’s applies to relationships at any age. Franklin's scheme for arriving at moral perfection relates to self-help books because both benefit people and help them to better themselves in life. To summarize, Robert Fulghum’s list of things learned in kindergarten and Ben Franklin’s list of virtues both apply to morality and relationships
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
Franklins in his Autobiography, composes the idea of a “self-made-man” by depicting his experiences of his hard work ethic to go from poor to rich. Throughout his writing he explains how he made himself successful. He took chances and was proactive.
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
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.
American success history recognizes the contributions made by two of its renowned leaders. The two are regarded as heroes despite the obvious differences between them abound. The two figures are regarded with comparable amounts of reverence even though they lived their lives in different ways. Nevertheless, both Benjamin Franklin and Fredrick Douglas gained their status through treading pathway of hard work. This paper, therefore, seeks to discuss the experiences that shaped the lives of both Franklin and Douglas. It also seeks to analyze the life of Fredrick Douglas as presented by John Stauffer. In comparing the two personalities, I will lay much emphasis on the role education played in making better the lives of Franklin and Douglas. In this regard, it is worth noting that although their education was not that formal, it shaped their lives immensely. Franklin education, for instance, came while working under his brother James as an apprentice printer during his teen years. On the other hand, Douglas’s tale is much bleaker, but it depicts the use of wits coupled with natural talent to pull oneself to a respectable stature (Zafar 43). It is clear that Franklin persuasive rhetorical skills, which came in handy, in writing and oratory skills were natured by induction to printing apprenticeship as well as a great access to a variety of books. Critiques in later years would argue his love for books and learning made Franklin become an accomplished speaker, thinker, author, and a statement. In a nutshell, access to books and love for learning shaped Franklin’s Character to a great extent.
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
Benjamin Franklin is one of the most profound individuals in American history. He is a Diplomat, Writer, Inventor, a founding father, and holds the title as the “First American.” In 1706 Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He is the fifteenth of seventeen children that his father, Josiah Franklin, had. At the age of 8 years old Franklin attended school, here he learned literacy. In spite of his successes in school, he had to drop out at the young age of 10 to assist his father with his business. Franklin did not enjoy working for his father’s business, however he had to work at his father’s shop for about 2 years. Josiah then had Benjamin apprenticed to his little brother, James, who was a printer. James is the founder
...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.
“I wished to live without committing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that the natural inclination, custom, or company might lead me into” is the mission statement he begins this discussion with, using such forceful terms as conquer to characterize this goal as a battle his perseverance can win. The thirteen virtues which he tries to commit to habit also reflect his belief in making one’s own life; order, industry, moderation, tranquility, and humility each hinge on the notion that a person can control their emotions and live in a constant state of productivity to accomplish any possible goal. Even after he abandons this pursuit, Franklin believes that his efforts have made him a better person more likely to succeed in life, claiming that “I was by the endeavor a better and happier man than I otherwise should have been.” This example and several others from his autobiography show that Franklin wholeheartedly felt that any person could improve their state of being and material affairs by the pulling of their own
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 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.
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
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.
The basis of political views of Benjamin Franklin is the concept of the natural and inalienable rights of an individual. Franklin attributes life, liberty, and property to such natural rights. According to Benjamin Franklin, a man is simply “a tool-making animal,” a creature, whose freedom and, thus, independence is limited (Houston 45). In his Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain, Benjamin Franklin put the statement that every...