from The Autobiography

by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Born into poverty, one of seventeen children

By the age of twenty-four, Franklin was a prosperous merchant
Franklin had numerous accomplishments
Owner of a print shop
Publisher of The Pennsylvania Gazette
Helped found the University of Pennsylvania and the first public
library in America
Helped found the first public library in America
Invented the Franklin stove, the bifocal, a rocking chair that swatted
flies, and a type of harmonica
Diplomat
Member of the Constitutional Convention in 1787
Deplored by Herman Melville (Moby Dick)
 from The Autobiography
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

What do you think Benjamin Franklin meant?

The Pennsylvania Gazette

http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/past/past.html
 from The Autobiography
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Who was Benjamin Franklin? What did he believe?

How can I discover who he was and what he believed?

Inference (noun): An educated guess based on what you

already know and what you learn from reading a text.

Infer (verb): To make an educated guess based on what

you already know and what you learn from reading a text.

What do you infer about Benjamin Franklin’s beliefs after

reading his autobiography?
What inferences can you make about Benjamin Franklin’s
beliefs after reading his autobiography?
 from The Autobiography
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Discuss after reading The Autobiography:

From paragraph one (pg 68), describe Franklin’s condition

upon arriving in Philadelphia.
He was “dirty from his journey”; “fatigued with traveling, rowing,
and want of rest”; “very hungry”; and rather poor.

What does Franklin’s introductory statement imply about the

type of figure he has made of himself since the time of his
first visit to Philadelphia? How is this idea “American”?

He includes this vivid description of his first visit to Philadelphia so

“that you may in your mind, compare such unlikely beginnings with
the figure I have since made there”
 from The Autobiography
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Discuss after reading The Autobiography:

“Thus I went up Market Street … when she [my future

wife] … saw me, and thought I made, as I certainly did, a
most awkward, ridiculous appearance.”

In the middle of paragraph two, Franklin describes passing

the house of his future wife. Infer what Franklin’s self-
description of his younger self tells the reader about
Franklin’s character? (How does he look back on his
younger self?)
 from The Autobiography
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Discuss after reading The Autobiography:

What happens to Franklin at the Quaker meeting

house? Infer why it happened.
 from The Autobiography
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Discuss after reading The Autobiography:

Franklin says that simply a desire to correct one’s faults
is not enough. Why? What causes failure? (pg 69)

“…habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination

was sometimes too strong for reason.”

“I concluded at length, that the mere speculative

conviction that it was our interest to be completely
virtuous, was not sufficient to prevent our slipping; …”
 from The Autobiography
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Discuss after reading The Autobiography:

What does Franklin say must happen before people

can depend on correct moral behavior?
(pg 69 middle of column on the right)

“I concluded at length, that the mere speculative

conviction that it was our interest to be completely
virtuous, was not sufficient to prevent our slipping;
and that the contrary habits must be broken, and
good ones acquired and established, before we can
have any dependence on a steady, uniform rectitude of
conduct.”
 from The Autobiography
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Discuss after reading The Autobiography:

Why does Franklin place temperance first on his list

of virtues to attain? Review and discuss the rest of his
list of thirteen virtues and why he lists 2-7 in that
order of importance. (pg 70-71)

“Temperance first, as it tends to procure that coolness

and clearness of head, which is so necessary where
constant vigilance was to be kept up and guard
maintained against the unremitting attraction of
ancient habits, and the force of perpetual
temptations.”
 from The Autobiography
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Discuss after reading The Autobiography:

Discuss Franklin’s chart (pg 71) and his ideas for its
use.

Which of Franklin’s virtues would be most difficult for

you – personally – to tackle? Why? You will answer
this question in Blog 4, which will be due by Monday.
 from The Autobiography
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Discuss after reading the excerpt from

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten :

Discuss the meaning and relevance of some of Robert

Fulghum’s list on page 72.
 from Poor Richard’s Almanack
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Aphorism: a brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a

wise observation about life. They entertain and instruct.
(Maxim)

Satirize: the humorous

use of words to hold up
human vices or follies to
scorn. To ridicule or
attack with humor in
order to improve human
behavior.

Who was “Poor Richard”?

Discuss the meaning of some of his aphorisms on pg 74.
 from Poor Richard’s Almanack
by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Go to Mrs. Heller’s school site, access the English III-

American Lit. link on the left side of the page, download
and complete the Freshmen Aphorism Worksheet,
and submit it to Turnitin.com according to the
directions on the assignment.