Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography Of The American Dream

Words: 1200
Pages: 5
Open Document
"Early to Bed, and early to rise, makes a Man healthy, wealthy and wise." (176). Benjamin Franklin was the original definition of the American Dream. He was a hard worker who worked hard to make himself successful. His Autobiography can even be considered a map for those who want to achieve success in life. Surprisingly to me, Franklin left out almost everything past the Revolution out, the whole book was set before the revolution; it can also be used to understand the period before the revolution. Franklin proves that even a young man from the lower middle class can, through hard work, become one of the most famous and admired people of the world. When any American today thinks of the American Dream, they are usually remembering what …show more content…
The autobiography was not established in Franklin's day, so he pretty much made it himself. Not just to tell the story of one's life, but also to teach them of better ways to live. Franklin was one man who left many legacies on this world. He never asked for a patent on an invention, he simply wanted to make life easier on people. Benjamin Franklin was a man that cared for the American people and always strived to make things better for them. Franklin was the fifteenth of seventeen children born on January 17, 1706 to a Boston candle-maker named Josiah. His father sent him to a grammar to school and planned that he would go on to be a minister. However, he was taken out of grammar school and placed into a School for Writing & Arithmetic where he failed in math and was taken out, to work with his father. Throughout the Autobiography, Franklin stresses the importance of hard …show more content…
He boarded a boat to Philadelphia but got caught in a storm and he had to save a drunk man that went overboard. Eventually, the boat dropped him off and he had to walk some fifty miles to Burlington where another boat would take him to Philadelphia. He made it to Philadelphia and found a job with Keimer, the son of the printer in New York. (49). Then Franklin goes to England with his new friend Ralph because the governor said he wrote him a letter of recommendation. However the governor did not write him a letter of recommendation but Franklin gets a job at a printing house. Ralph slowly forgets his children and wife back in America while Franklin forgets Miss Read. Ralph meets a woman and they move to the countryside where he becomes a schoolteacher and they break off their friendship. They met a Quaker man named Mr. Denham who advises Franklin to go back to America. Franklin takes a manager job at Keimer's and fixes the printing house. Eventually Franklin took a partnership with Keimer in New Jersey. He then quits there and starts a new shop in Philadelphia with Meredith. Eventually, the shop does well and Keimer's shop goes bankrupt, so Franklin buys it and turns it around. About this time Franklin finally marries his long time crush Miss Read on September 1,
Show More

Related Documents: Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography Of The American Dream

The Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin And The American Revolution

Context The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin spanned across the 1700s and draws references to important events during the formation of the United States of America. The American Revolution is arguably the most important event during Benjamin Franklin’s life and Franklin himself was a key component of the revolution. Franklin helped form the basic principles of the United States of America while being one of the five members chosen to draft a declaration of independence for the American citizens.…

Words 959 - Pages 4

Benjamin Franklin Gender Roles Essay

In The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, we are reading the path that one man took to go from a middle class child to a well respected adult. Benjamin Franklin created what we know today as the American dream. Today we understand the American dream to be that one can go from rags to riches with a little hard work. The autobiography is based around the age of reason and a time man was thought to be able to be perfected by means of science and invention. The Autobiography of Benjamin…

Words 967 - Pages 4

Benjamin Franklin Research Paper

The concept of the American dream is not one that has been formed from modern times, but instead is believed to be a creation of one of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin lived a life in where work ethic and character lead to accomplishments and success which was a modern thought process in comparison to the 18th century’s general ideas. Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography and Information to Those Who Would Remove to America, clearly exemplifies the average life of those who lived in…

Words 1020 - Pages 5

Essay on Early America

Benjamin Franklin was the first American. Franklin’s autobiography written for his son demonstrates the American dream. The American dream: The traditional social ideals of the United States, such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity. The essence of the dream is that any man can earn prosperity, economic security, and community respect through hard work and honest dealings with others. Anyone who works hard and uses his opportunities wisely can assume that wealth will be the reward. Franklin’s…

Words 686 - Pages 3

Essay on Steeping in One's Shoes

Stepping in one’s shoes Benjamin Franklin and Samson Occom use literacy in order to further their goals. Occom uses literacy as a communal goal and Ben Franklin uses it as a self-fulfilling tool. Together, they are extremely diligent and determined to surpass the difficulties that lay before them. Deprived of many fortunes, they found the motivation to enhance themselves as students of literacy. Although their motives may be different, literacy furthered their realization of their goals and persuaded…

Words 870 - Pages 4

American Literature Comparison Essay

Short Paper Assignment #1 American literature is not studied because it is related to any one occupation, but instead because it boosts our ability to understand the world and how we impact and interact with the world. Literature reflects human ideas, beliefs, and societies, and studying it allows us to discover common human ways of understanding life. Additionally, when we read literature we are able to determine significant differences between works which allows us to explore another’s lifestyle…

Words 1109 - Pages 5

Benjamin Franklin Influence

The Life and Influence of Benjamin Franklin and His Impact on America Today. By David Jacobson As America’s population reached 300 million people last year, experts predicted the three-hundredth million baby was probably born to a mother who was an immigrant or a son or daughter of an immigrant. While Americans reflect on all the people who have helped shape this country into what it is today and the billions of people who have lived here at one time or another, it is impossible…

Words 4886 - Pages 20

All About The Benjamins Essay

History 1301, Benjamin Franklin Essay 30 September 2014 All About The Benjamin Throughout his journey, Benjamin Franklin exploited his gains and failures through the promising successes that shaped his life. During his early life, his father Josiah owned a candle making business, his mother Abiah looked after his siblings at home, and Benjamin was left with no choice, but to attend grammar school at the young age of eight. His father could not possibly afford to enroll little Benjamin in long-term…

Words 1057 - Pages 5

Founding Fathers Essay

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin was one of our greatest founding fathers and has impacted our country more than you can imagine. What sets Benjamin Franklin apart from the other founding fathers was that not only was he instrumental in the founding of our country, he also invented many items that have been perfected and are still used today. Benjamin Franklin played a key role in the founding of our country through his actions in congress, his civic leadership in Philadelphia, and his ongoing…

Words 1477 - Pages 6

Benjamin Franklin Essay

Morgan Atchley Dr. Prchal English 2773 October 8, 2014 The Importance of Writing and Literature In The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin, we get a good representation of the American Dream in literary form. Franklin was the first person to write an autobiography in a non-religious way and it’s a good representation to readers today, of what life was like for people during the time of the 18th century in America. Although intellectualism was flourishing during this time, it wasn’t common for…

Words 1489 - Pages 6