Ben Franklin’s Autobiography Essay, Research Paper

Ben Franklin’s autobiography was an interesting piece to

read. In the form of a letter to his son, it is challenging

for readers to understand every aspect. The language, to

agree with Jill and Jamie, takes a bit of getting “us’d”

to. In the beginning, I had to read many of the lines

several times over, but towards the end of the piece, I

found myself reading and understanding his words much

better.

Since this was originally a letter, there are countless

names throughout the writing, and this makes it hard for

the reader to keep track of all of them. The way Franklin

jumps from event to event often confused me at the

beginning of the autobiography. Franklin’s language, as I

mentioned already, also posed a challenge.

As with the other postings, the thing I enjoyed most about

this reading was what I learned about one of the

forefathers in American history. The majority of this 57

page biography dealt with little known events that occurred

in the early life of Franklin. It was informing to learn of

the hardships and events that faced Franklin while he was

still a young man. I also enjoyed reading about his travels

both in America and England.

I found the second part of his biography very compelling.

Here, he names the 13 virtues. When I read these virtues, i

took time to reflect on each one. The most helpful thing

was the descriptions at the end of each one. I also enjoyed

seeing how Franklin related the virtues with his life. The

book he kept track of his virtues in resembles his

committment. It was also interesting to view Franklin’s

daily schedule. He seemingly had the entire day planned,

and his daily questions provided inspiration.

Although Franklin’s autobiography was not the shortest or

easiest to comprehend, I enjoyed the reading. I believe it

gave us insight into a great leader and what made him what

he was.