I've also posted this essay here: www.zinch.com/student/orochigenocide
The following essay I've written below analyzes how The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin exhibits the characteristics of Rationalism, a philosophical movement that encouraged seeking truth through reason rather than faith and religious dogmas. There's some discrepencies in his character in The Autobiography such as the fact that he was a womanizer and his hilarious sense of humor. You probably wouldn't have guessed this man wrote an essay referred to as "Fart Proudly". However, his autobiography established groundwork for secular literature about the American Dream and becoming a self-made man in future generations.
Excerpt of The Autobiography: An Analysis
Benjamin Franklin in The Autobiography displays his desires for self-improvement through the sequential narration of his trek to Philadelphia. Written in a concise, easy-to-follow language, he establishes his reflections on past behaviors, but his actions truly speak of his character. In this self-examining manner, Franklin exhibits examples common to the characteristics of Rationalism, including reason, people’s innate hospitality, and human progress.
First, the apparent trait of Rationalism evident in the context is reason. Through his self-examining narrative, Franklin points out the faults of his actions and interjects his thoughts to explain for his past behaviors. For instance, he defends his brother’s abrupt temper in the midst of their contention because “he was otherwise not an ill-natured man” and perhaps Franklin “was too saucy” for him; in attempts to absolve himself to his audience, he even admits that “this was one of the first errata of his life”. In addition, the author uses aphorisms to convey general truths in a pithy manner, a product of his experiences. As another instance, he acknowledges the trial and error processes he used to develop his own system of daily examination in his terse statements (in “Arriving at Moral Perfection”), including “habit took the advantage of inattention”.
Incidentally, Franklin depicts the hospitality of people he encounters as he travels to Philadelphia in addition to his own generosities. On a boat heading for Amboy, New Jersey, he grabbed a sinking passenger onto the boat, who was not surprisingly drunk. Then during his journey to Burlington by foot, he encounters Dr. Brown, a sociable proprietor of a local inn, and an old woman who provided a place for him to stay after he reached the town and found the boats to Philadelphia had already left. Furthermore, the old woman insisted on only a pot of ale as a token of Franklin’s appreciation, a sense of modesty similar to the boatmen he paid to thank them for helping him travel to Philadelphia. Because of the seeming appearances of general goodwill, readers may doubt whether these impression are true accounts on Franklin’s part or if he only conveys the ideals of Rationalism in the 18th century.
Moreover, “Arriving at Moral Perfection” exemplifies the Rationalism ideals of human perfectibility in the 18th century. Franklin introduces his desire to live “without committing any fault” and elaborates on how he created his own system of virtuous daily examination and why he structured his order of which virtues to check subsequently. Before he explained this system, Franklin mentioned his findings of The Pilgrim’s Progress, a book he found in the pocket of the drunken passenger after saving him. This book written by John Bunyan explores the discovery of salvation through the experience of its story’s protagonist. Although the contrast of the book’s theme and the fazing appearance of the drunkard, Franklin incorporates the concept of progress and his reflections on self-improvement to contribute to the purpose of his autobiography: becoming a self-made man.
In conclusion, The Autobiography shares a written style with Puritans, particular utilizing self-examination without the religious attributions. Additionally, Franklin applies the tinkering and experimenting nature of the American colonies ranging from John Bunyan’s mixed narration and dialogue in The Pilgrim’s Progress, Franklin’s own scrutinies to practice his thirteen virtues, and his departure from Boston in search of a better future. Implementing many characteristics of Rationalism, this founding father provides a template to be used for many generations in order to express the American Dream.
Source (the excerpt of The Autobiography):
Beers, Kylene. Elements of Literature: Fifth Course: Literature of the United States with Literature of the Americas. Ed. Ian Lague. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2000.
