Benjamin Franklin The Autobiography (1771)

Franklin wrote the first section of his Autobiography in 1771 at the age of sixty-two while vacationing in England. At the urging of friends, he wrote three more sections, the last shortly before his death, but only brought the account of his life to the years 1757-1759, before his diplomatic successes.

The first section is written as a letter to his son, William, then ages forty and Governor of New Jersey. Franklin begins by suggesting that William may be interested in how he rose from poverty to his current state of affluence. This letter of fatherly advice is a way for Franklin to tell his remarkable 'rags to riches" story without seeming to flaunt his accomplishments.

One of the most famous parts of the Autobiography is Franklin's description of his earnest attempts to improve himself. This "project for arriving at moral perfection" has sometimes been cited as an example of Franklin's perhaps simplistic fraith in the perfectibility of man the powers of human reason. Look for a recent parody of this in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Franklin, however, writing at the age of seventy-nene, seems to be smiling a little at his yourthful vanities and enthusiasm. In many ways, his methods are no different from those recommended in popular self-improvement books today.

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. What does Franklin's willingness to join a group of strangers at worship reveal about his personality?

2. How successful is Franklin in his attempt to achieve "moral perfection"?

3. Look over the list of virtues. Out of his 13, pick five that you feel you violate the most. For each of those, give one example of how you have managed to violate it in the last month or so.

4. What additional virtues would you add to make Franklin's list more complete? List five of your own virtues.

5. What does Franklin's methodical approach reveal about his character?

6. Read the paragraph that begins "In truth, I found myself incorrigible with respect to . . ." toward the end of the reading in the book. Do you think Franklin's description of himself here is an accurate one?

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