Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Social Background
● freedom from restraint;
● age of revolutions
● experimentation in science;
● the prence of the frontier;
● growth in nationalism;
● growth in materialism;
● the age of the gifted amateur;
● belief in progressivism.
● His life:
黄帝内经原文及译文
Born into a poor candle makers family; the 15th of his father’s 17children
Had very little formal education
Was apprenticed to his older brother at 12
Ran away to Philadelphia to make his own fortune at 17
A printer, postmaster, almanac maker, essayist, scientist, orator, statesman, philosopher, political economist, ambassador
The only American to sign the four documents that created the US
One of the makers of the new nation
● Poor Richard’s Almanac:
containing witty maxims for achieving wealth as a result of hard work and thrift.
● “Lost time is never found again.”
“A penny saved is a penny earned.”
“God help them that help themlves.”
“Early to bed, and early to ri, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wi.”
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
☆ A record of a man rising to wealth and fame from a state of poverty and obscurity.
☆ The book demonstrates Franklin’s confident belief that the new world of American was a land of opportunities which might be met through hard work and wi management.
☆ The book celebrates the fulfillment of the American dream.
☆ It is a Puritan document of lf-examination and lf-improvement.
☆ The spirit of lf-reliance, originating from Puritan ethics, bloomed in the next century into Emerson’s Transcendentalism.
● Franklin's Autobiography has received widespread prai, both for its historical value as a record of American’s first lf-made man and for its literary style.
● It follows the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision. (the plainness of its style, the homeliness of imagery, the simplicity of diction, syntax and expression)
存货盘点● It is often considered the first American book to be taken riously by Europeans as literature.包子怎么做好吃
鼓足勇气● William Dean Howells asrted that "Franklin's is one of the greatest autobiographies in literature, and towers over other autobiographies as Franklin towered over other men."
“To His Son”
● The Autobiography opens with a salutation to Ben Franklin son, William Franklin, who at the time was the royal governor of New Jery.
● Franklin is writing in the summer of 1771 on vacation in a small town about 50 miles south of London.
Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?
● He assumes that his son might be interested in knowing the circumstances of his life.
● He claims to write 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.
● He has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it. But since he cannot repeat life, he can instead recollect it.
● He admits that he wants to gratify his own vanity.
● His motive for writing, as well as Franklin's mention of correcting some errors were he to relive his life, both indicate Franklin's constant interest in lf-improvement. This is perhaps the most important theme in the Autobiography.
A Summary of “To His Son”:
● Franklin says that he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to rec与信仰对话
学渣逆袭学霸
ord his past for his son.
● He states his motives for writing his autobiography.
● He thanks God for allowing him to live a good life.
“The Arrival in Philadelphia”
Ben and his brother:
侧平举
● Ben and James, often fought over trifling matters.
灵巧反义词
● When James was jailed for political reasons, Ben had the chance to take over the newspaper briefly,
● Ben held the job in name even after James was relead under the stipulation that James could no longer work on the paper.
● After another fight with James, Ben suddenly broke his contract and quit his job.
● James immediately instructed the other printers in Boston not to hire his brother, and as a result, Ben realizes that he would have to travel to a different city if he wished to find work.
One of His First Errata
● Franklin mentions his "first errata," when he quits his job with his brother.
● His mention of his errors blends in well with the overall theme of lf-improvement.
● He wants to make it clear that he has never acted perfectly in all situations, and he wishes to indicate that he recognizes the mistakes he has made during his life.
