Benjamin Franklin

From the Autobiography

Summary

Benjamin Franklin is concerned with self-betterment. Because he strives for Moral Perfection, he

creates a list of 13 virtues. Franklin’s virtues include Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution,

Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, and Humility.

He creates a plan for acquiring these virtues. Franklin hopes to develop one virtue each week.

He keeps track of his progress in a small book. He also develops a daily planner, which assists him in

acquiring Order. He discovers that he has many faults at first—but he manages to correct most of

them. Order is the most difficult virtue for him to acquire because his good memory makes Order not

as necessary as some of the other virtues.

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Franklin ends up being pleased with his inability to perfect all his virtues. Franklin admits that even

though he never became perfect, he did become a better and happier man.

Answers:

A) MCQ

1. What reason did Franklin have for placing Temperance first?

B) Mastering it would make the others easier to achieve.

2. Why did Franklin make a book with a chart for each of the virtues?

F) to keep track of how well he was doing

3. What did Franklin think of the endeavor, once he realized he would not achieve his original

goals?

C) He was better and happier than he would have been if he hadn’t tried.

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Analyze the Text

Possible Answers :

1. The print feature, the list of virtues, helped me understand Franklin’s goals. The first graphic helped

show how he tracked his progress toward achieving those goals. The second showed how he used a

plan for organizing his day to achieve his goals.

2. As a result of his project, Franklin recognized humans could never be perfect , though they could

make improvements in their moral behavior in the same way people aiming for “ perfect writing”

might “ never reach the wished-for excellence” but find “ their hand is mended by the endeavor.”

3. They are unlikely to have benefitted fully, as people generally need to learn their own lessons in life.

4. Although Franklin’s exacting goals may make him seem self-righteous, he is also able to criticize

himself in a direct and honest way, as when he admits he “never arrived at the perfection” he hoped to

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 attain. While his plan may seem superficial, it has the result of making him feel like a “ better and

happier man.”

5. Answers will vary , but should cite examples of Franklin’s uncompromising language and the results

of his attempts to achieve this goal. One may note the difficulty of trying to “ conquer all that either

natural inclination, custom, or company might lead” a person into, and Franklin’s characterization of

himself as “ incorrigible.”