If Franklin had stuck to his plan of seeming humble, perhaps he could have avoided the mistake of disputing with his brother. The final section spoken about in Franklin’s autobiography is about him winning his first skirmish while serving as Pennsylvania’s agent in England. Ben shows signs of a keen intellect from an early age as evidenced by the diligence with which he copies sections from the Spectator and other works with the intent of learning how to write himself. Perhaps, also, Josiah was partial to his youngest son. He was the last son of a huge family. In 1757, the Autobiography breaks off. He claims to write only so that his own life may be an example for his son of how one can live well and how one can get through hardships. Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team. Most of Benjamin's brothers became apprentices in various trades, as was the custom in the 18th century. Here we see Franklin improve and educate himself through imitation. He would make charts around these virtues, tracking all of his failures within each realm of virtue with a dot. Perhaps out of desire to emulate Denham, Franklin attached himself to the merchant as his clerk. As Franklin thrived, Keimer’s business suffered, eventually abandoning the colony. Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography is broken down into two main halves, with the first part written as a letter to his son, William. He was hoping to open a party that would initially just be open to young single men who could declare their assent to the creed and exercise themselves with the thirteen week virtue-cycle spoken of earlier. Franklin’s Shift Away From the Family Work, Franklin’s Passion for Writing and Debating Emerges. His profession and his passion for reading inspired him to write his own anonymous paper and stick it under the door of his brother’s printing house by night. StoryShots: Bestsellers in Minutes. It’s unlikely Franklin would have agreed to the enterprise if he didn’t think he could transform the experience into a good laugh, and, perhaps, Franklin gratified his vanity by showing Keimer up. He "married" the girl whom he had courted before leaving for England, Deborah Read, and the two prospered. Leo Lemay states, “Franklin gave us the definitive formation of the American Dream.”. He mentions that he was the tenth son born to his father, and his father tried to set him on a life towards the clergy as a means of a "tithe." The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Summary. For Franklin it is always a better idea to say yes to an enterprising idea. He deals with his childhood, fondness fo… He had no idea what kind of man or governor Keith might be, but, nonetheless, and unsuspectingly, he appreciated Keith’s attention and favors. Collins possessed great quantities of both, but drowned them in debts and alcohol. We see how Franklin’s future humanitarianism is prefigured by an incredible empathy (uncommon in Western civilization at the time) for all animal life. what significant historical event does franklin recount in part 3. Notice how Franklin carefully draws out throughout the book how he rose up with help primarily from hard work and skills. Franklin criticizes both Bradford and Keimer for their abilities as printers, one gets the sense, less out of a desire merely to criticize, but more as a lament. Naturally, what follows is an admission of the vanity involved in loving oneself and one’s life enough to think others will gain pleasure and learn from reading about it. Mark Twain had a few gently mocking words about the “affliction” pervading young boys who picked up the work. Once again Franklin describes a hardheaded bad habit he developed early on, a habit he was able to break himself of by assiduously applying his effort and will. He notes that a strong character capable of civic achievements may run in the family. Upon finding out Benjamin was the author of these essays, James was extremely angry. This passion culminated in a plan to attain perfection in 13 weeks, by unlearning bad habits and acquiring the 13 virtues Franklin felt most important, one each week. Perhaps Keith’s role in getting Franklin back to Philadelphia (with an eye to setting up Franklin’s own business) was more instrumental in getting the young Franklin back to Boston than the urgings of Holmes, his brother-in-law. Once again the Autobiography takes one of its more narrative bents. He believed that there was a God and, as he had stated for most of his life, the best way to serve this God is to do good to man. As famed Franklin scholar J.A. As nations get corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”. Franklin may have derived some personal motivation from the fact that his father briefly set him aside for an intellectual vocation. Franklin’s natural generosity seems to have won him the respect of the well-meaning Quaker matron. It is difficult, even in hindsight, to fathom Governor Keith’s mind—surely Keith knew his promises were empty, so why go through the trouble of getting Franklin passage on a ship to London? It is ultimately left unfinished, but its contents and the actions spoken of still have a significant impact today. Struggling with distance learning? We see Franklin’s entrepreneurship and ingenuity at work, as well as the application of the lessons he describes learning from watching other craftsman at work before he was apprenticed to James. This function of the narrative (entertainment) increases the utility of the work as an educational tool, and, perhaps, the educational elements make the narrative more engrossing. Franklin’s satire proved effective (or Keimer was simply incapable of producing a good newspaper) and Keimer’s paper failed. Franklin’s father had moved to New England in order to escape religious persecution. Instant downloads of all 1360 LitChart PDFs His brother and his friends praise this paper and decide to publish it in the Courant. This tongue-in-cheek humor comes up repeatedly throughout the Autobiography, and it is usually presented in a subtle fashion. Lo and behold, the Quaker woman was right—the young women were thieves. Keimer, being an interesting character, filled his shop with characters no less colorful. In some ways this early, natural circle of friends became Franklin’s model for the later intellectual club he established in Philadelphia, the Junto. In fact, he is offered an opportunity to be a colonel, but he turns this down. Franklin’s newfound leisure time allowed him to dedicate more time to reading and improving his prose styling , but, not content with improving just this one aspect of his knowledge and intelligence, Franklin also took it upon himself to correct the error of having previously failed to learn arithmetic from his instructor by teaching it to himself. Franklin found a practical way, albeit somewhat mean-spirited, to make sure his paper would have an opportunity for success. He becomes a member of the Royal Society based on his experiments and theories regarding the similarity between lightning and electricity. Men of literary accomplishment, like Webb, are always fascinating to Franklin above the “country boys” he encounters, perhaps because Franklin thought they (the literary men) had something to offer his intellectual pursuits and his mission of self-education and personal moral fulfillment/accomplishment. They’re uniquely positioned to understand Keimer’s weaknesses. Part 1. From his early years, Franklin constantly struggled to improve himself. It seems some errors can be corrected before they occur. He, repents, then, the decision to publish his pamphlet for no other reason than that his religious convictions, or at least the way he felt about expressing them, changed. Keith failed to write Franklin any letters or provide him any credit, and Franklin coincidentally ended up with the letters of another scoundrel he knew. Thus his account brings the reader to the point at which Franklin's activity becomes international in scope and the proper concern of professional historians. Meredith is well acquainted with Franklin’s skill and industriousness and willing to back his faith in Franklin with capital. We see Franklin return to talk about the skill he had with the Socratic Method, and we also see something of the religious zealotry that existed in America at the time. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!”, “This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. He went to school as a child with the intent of becoming a minister, as his father, Josiah, intended. In his journalism he refused to include libel or gossip, or even private altercations. He seems not to have found it duplicitous to keep his plan with Meredith from Keimer, but given Keimer’s capricious dismissal of Franklin and generally bad intentions for Franklin’s service, perhaps Franklin never considered that he was indebted to Keimer, or that the debt had long since been paid off. He then is lied to by a governor, Sir William Keith, who offers to help set Benjamin up as a sole printer, but ends up leaving Benjamin in London with no money or means to return to America. Looking for work, he went first to New York and then to Philadelphia, where he was hired by Samuel Keimer. It is easy for Franklin to imagine that he could have passed his life happily as a swimming teacher, considering there was only an imagined possibility of it happening. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin begins with an explanation, addressed to Franklin ’s son, William Franklin, concerning why Franklin has undertaken to write his life history. The order of these virtues were also deliberate. We are going to later see Franklin rise up from his humble origins to a man of great social standing and wealth. Ben then discusses his parents. It may be that these many errors, this general attitude, not just Franklin’s escaping his brother’s service, wove themselves into his true erratum. Franklin studied languages throughout the latter part of his life, learning French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin. “Reading was the only amusement I allowed myself”. He writes Plain Truth on these topics and these ideas heavily influence the way in which Pennsylvania’s militia conduct themselves. What’s more, not only had the party failed to reach Philadelphia, they had stopped and spent an uncomfortable night only a short way from their destination. Though not a secretive man in his general dealings, it seems Franklin found it necessary to keep business ventures close to the vest. Franklin links his lineage to the colonies’ first Puritan settlers, ascribing himself, in the process, a kind of American nobility or bona fides.
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