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As an American, Franklin sought to improve the country through the creation of institutions and the development of personal moral and financial success for its citizens. GENRE:Autobiography, Personal Narrative In the first part, Franklin is speaking to his son, describing the past. He talks about his childhood, family, upbringing, and general manner in business and life. In the second part, he is more conscious of the larger audience and there is a definite change in tone. He seems more pretentious as he discusses his quest for "moral perfection" through thirteen self-defined virtues, library system, religious views, and more. Franklin was influenced by Enlightenment thinking and writers such as Cotton Mather whose book Bonifacius: An Essay Upon the Good discusses coexistence between different groups and going out to good in society. In many ways, the autobiography work can be seen as the first self-help book. Franklin wants to be seen as a normal everyday kind of person who, through hard work, perseverance, and luck, brought himself up to a high level of personal achievement. This contrasts the styles of Mary Rowlandson and Frederick Douglass who prefer to lay out their experiences and allow the reader to react to the situation. There are some interesting postings addressing these issues: one by me on Franklin, one by Tony comparing Rowlandson, and two comparing Frederick Douglass, also by Tony and I. 1.) Religious Pragmatism: Franklin develops his own morals based on what he feels will bring the most good to society as a whole - doing good to your fellow man. In this way, he sees religion not as an abstract or other-worldly social concept but as a function of society for its utility and usefulness. He does believe in G-d and thanks him for all that he has received but, similar to Frederick Douglass, is aware of the falsehoods being taught in mainstream religion. For instance, he describes a local ministers sermons as "their aim seeming to be rather to make us Presbyterians than good citizens." Although he did not believe in any one religion, he did feel that they were good for the community and actively supported the Presbyterian minister, Jewish temples, and other groups. 2.) Industry/Self-Improvement: Franklin often can be seen assuming that any effort will be successful if the proper amount of hard work is applied to it. He was, however, aware that he had been very lucky and that few efforts would reach fruition without some effects of luck. It is interesting to see how at every turn Franklin had some sort of system or method laid out, followed it step-by-step, and achieved the intended result. Many people today can think of what it would take to be successful at something (say a sport or skill) but few know so thoroughly the correct path to take and actually walk down it to its end. We observe this ability even in his childhood. At the time, these attitudes toward self-actualization were unheard-of. Societies the world over were still mired in deeply entrenched class structures and rejecting ideas about Arminianism (the doctrine of good works) and the Enlightenment. As mentioned earlier, this is essentially the first self-help book. Franklin taught Americans and many others the belief that they could do what he had done - come from virtually nowhere to world popularity with hard work and belief. 3.) American Identity: At the time that this work was written, Americans still thought of themselves as Englishmen who happened to be in the America colonies. Franklin was one of the first people to recognize and promote a separate existence. He did this by encouraging the improvement of all citizens through every means he could: the library system, abolition efforts, never obtaining patents for his inventions so that others could profit from them and access them more cheaply, religious institutions, Poor Richard’s Almanac, his experiments and inventions, acting on behalf of the citizens as a diplomat, and on and on. Strategic Conversation: This is my term for the many different techniques used by Franklin throughout the book and his life to move people and overwhelm opponents using logic, reason, and traps. For starters, his ideas are thought out so clearly and methodically that at each step any rational reader would accept them. As he nears the crux of the issue at hand, however, the reader is in a position where they must accept the whole of the argument or retract all the previous steps they have just affirmed. Also, his self-effacing common-man style lulls the reader into a sense of trust with Franklin, allowing many of his ideas to be accepted more readily with less deliberation. This is similar to the technique he learns from Socrates for drawing people in and breaking down their argument. "Modest diffidence," the practice of not stating anything as certain or definite, seems to have also served him well. When considering the autobiography critically, the reader should keep in mind that we are all vulnerable to Franklin’s devices and he surely uses them to influence how we will view him as a person and how we will see his points. Bibliography: Word Count: 917
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