Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin's story is that of the American dream, building his way up from nothing to prestige and influence through his own hard work and skill. Still he reveals that he made some errors in his life that make him less than perfect. It is this fact that he appeals to the reader in a very average and common man, not that of a hero. According to Franklin, when in the company of his friend's wife, "I grew fond of her Company, and being at this time under no Religious restraints, and presuming on my Importance to her, I attempted Familiarities, (another Erratum)" (552). In retrospect, an older, wiser Franklin can gloss over this event as something in the far away past when he was young and foolish. He can present himself as flawed in the past without hurting his acknowledged vanity because he has learned from his mistakes and is a better person when he writes his autobiography. This self-representation is still very limited in its details of what he actually did, perhaps lessening the appearance of wrong on his side. First he makes excuses for his actions, saying he was "under no Religious restraints." It does not seem to concern him that the lady, Mrs. T., was under religious re
Franklin also believed in education for progress while the Puritans believed in literacy to read and understand the Bible. Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac gave advice for farming and was a proper Vehicle for conveying Instruction among the common People, who bought scarce any other Books" (587). He interwove advice that would better daily life rather than advice about spiritual matters, as a sermon would. Franklin's education was again focused on bettering humanity rather than finding a path to God. here are many more examples that contrast the mindset between Franklin and the Puritans. Because of a rise in population, religious diversity, and a higher standard of living, life was not so bleak in Franklin's day as it was when Winthrop first delivered his speech before landing on shore. People began to enjoy life and to want to get as much out of this life as they could, rather than seeing temporal life as merely a path to the eternal life. Thus in the enlightenment, modern thought's ideas of rationalism and humanity as we know it had already begun. Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography is also filled with examples and illustrations of Enlightenment thought, which show further insight to his own self. The values and morals that he stresses in his autobiography differ greatly from those of the Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet. While the Puritans' philosophy stressed the significance of the oth
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Approximate Word count = 943
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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