I believe that high school students should have to read Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography because it can inspire you to trust people, also to become educated on the many accomplishments of Franklin, and to teach you self-respect and motivation. There are some arguments against having to read the book such as, it is hard to comprehend, and also that there are a few irrelevant facts in the book. The book is an important piece of history and should be read by everybody. This book is a must read Autobiography because it will help people appreciate Franklin as does Robert Sayre. Sayre mentioned in his essay titled The Worldly Franklin and the Provincial Critics that the “portrait of Franklin is still etched in the minds of many educated and emancipated Americans” (313).

The first reason why people should read the book is because it helps to inspire people to trust others and not to distrust them just because someone else has done you wrong. Franklin loaned his friend Vernon some money until he got his business started, however; Franklin said that “ He left me then, promising to remit me the first Money he should receive in order to discharge his Debt. But I never heard of him after”(27). Franklin did not let this get his trust for others down, as a matter of fact, he trusted the Governor to get him some letters of recommendation and a letter of Credit that would help him to fund his business. Franklin stated in his autobiography that “I was to take with me Letters recommendatory to a Number of his Friends, besides the Letter of Credit to furnish me with the necessary Money for purchasing the Press and Types, Paper, etc.”(31). Franklin later found out that the Governor was not going to give him the letters because when he walked up to the governor his secretary approached him and said “that he could not then see me being engag’d in Business of the utmost Importance, but should send the Letters to me on board, wish’d me heartily a good Voyage and a speedy Return, etc. I returned on board, a little puzzled, but still not doubting.” This shows how he has been lied to twice, and never gave his trust for others up. He still has trust in the governor to give him the letters, so if these two incidents did not get Franklin’s faith in others down, then everyone should be able to keep trust in others that did not do them wrong.

Another reason that people should be required to read this book is to become educated on the many accomplishments of Franklin. Franklin was an intelligent man; he was so determined to draw electricity from the clouds that he flew a kite with a key on it, during a lighting storm, just to see if the lighting would strike the key. His experiment was confirmed when Canton verified it on July 20, 1752 with the lighting rod (133). This shows how determined Franklin was to achieve his goals and to never quit trying. Franklin was so smart and helpful that at ten years of age his father took him out of school and brought him to assist him in his business as a “Tallow Chandler and Soap-Boiler” (6).

The final reason people should read this book is to learn self-respect and for motivation. Franklin has developed a chart of rules for him to follow and uses it in everyday life. The chart was found on page 291 in D.H. Lawrence’s essay titled Benjamin Franklin. A few of his rules involved Silence, Order, Industry, and Temperance. This helps in self-motivation by allowing the person to set guidelines for themselves and follow them. For example; if the person uses the step on Resolution which says “Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail to resolve” then the person is motivated to do their task without failing(291). The way it helps with self-respect is pursued with the step listed as Cleanliness which states “Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.” Which will help the person to respect the way they appear in public or in the privacy of their own home(291). These steps should inspire other people to do so and it will help motivate them and give them self-respect. People with out self-respect or motivation usually result in insanity, or even worse suicide. So this book may help them to gain self-respect or motivation.

Some arguments against reading this book is that he uses many phrases and words that are hard to interpret. For example; Franklin says in the beginning “I have ever had a Pleasure in obtaining any little Anecdotes of my Ancestors” (1). This may turn someone against reading the book thinking it may be difficult to understand throughout and not giving it a chance to be understandable. People feel that if you cannot understand what you are reading then you may not get anything out of the book, therefore it would be pointless to read.

Another argument against reading this book is that it has facts in it that are not understandable and you may get tired of reading a book that has no purpose of reading. For instance, he tells about his grandfather and where he lived on page 3, which has no relevant to any of his accomplishments or anything. This could also turn someone against reading his book and therefore make others feel that people should not read this book for lack of relevant information.

In conclusion, people should read or should be made to read the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, because it can help in making people become educated on important facts in history, help them with self-respect, and also encourage people to have respect for others and always do so until that particular person does them wrong. It could help against fatalities such as suicide, and it can also make people appreciate what Franklin has done in his life with helping discover electricity. So high school students should be made to read this book, because it will benefit them significantly.

Works Cited

Franklin, Benjamin. Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography. New York, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.,1986

Lawrence, D.H. “Benjamin Franklin,” London: Martin Secker, 1924, pp. 15-27.

Sayre, R.F. “The Worldly Franklin and the Provincial Critics,” Texas Studies in Literature and Language, 1963, pp. 512-24.