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:
Born into a poor candle makers family; the 15th of his father’s 17children
cumsHad 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
加法器 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.
spurt● “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.
jillian
☆ 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.
james marsters● 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)
● It is often considered the first American book to be taken riously by Europeans as literature.
● 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?
● 你也一样 英文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.
● clever的比较级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. 登时
A Summary of “To His Son”:
● Franklin says that he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to rec
ord his past for his son.
会计舞弊
pershing● 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:
● Ben and James, often fought over trifling matters.
● 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.
