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Benjamin Franklin - The Way to Wealth - Coggle Diagram
Benjamin Franklin - The Way to Wealth
Biography
Benjamin Franklin - 1706-1790
•One of the Founding Fathers (signers of the Declaration of Independence)
• At the age of 12, Franklin became an apprentice to his brother who was a printer
• In 1726 Franklin set up his own printing press
• In 1732 he launched the widely read Poor Richard’s Almanac
connection to the era of enlightenment
he exemplifies the spirit of reason and enlightenment in many ways
He made scientific experiments and made them useful for the public —> the Franklin stove
He was aware that a democratic society needed informed citizens —> he participated in debating societies and was a founder of the Public Library in Philadelphia which became later the University of Pennsylvania
He came from a Puritan family but wasn’t interested in dogma —> he saw the usefulness in organized religion
He was political active: served in the Continental Congress and was among the committee that ordered the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and signed the Constitution in 1787
Autobiography
His autobiography became an important model for American of life writing
It is witty in style and didactic in purpose: is meant to encourage imitation of his lifestyle in order to be successful
It is a version of a spiritual autobiography with emphasis on success in this world
He demonstrates that he was a self-made man, deciding about the course of his own life without having to rely on God's election
He served in the Continental Congress and was among the committee that ordered the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
He signed the Constitution in 1787.
General facts
In the frame, the first-person narrator overhears someone else citing from Poor Richard’s Almanac, “I have hard that nothing gives an author so great pleasure, as to find his works respectfully quoted by other learned authors”.
The one repeating the narrator’s own words is Father Abraham, “a clean old man, with white locks” (208/236) --> Father Abraham appears as wise and venerable, but this description can also be read ironically. Father Abraham is not an ancient patriarch, after all, but may just be a senile man blabbering common phrases. --> This indecisiveness between seriousness and self-ironic wit is characteristic for Franklin’s writing.
Liberty in all its forms, the self-made who could decide for himself how to lead his life, also in a greater political context, is about to become one of the keywords not only for Franklin but for the whole revolutionary era.
God is neither rejected nor denied; nonetheless, he has lost his central position. First come the human virtues, divine power is just an afterthought.
The text ends with directly stating its didactic purpose. The anachronistic use of the personal pronouns may serve to underline the ancient underlying wisdom. The key term “profit” shows the usefulness of adhering to positive virtues. Reward will be granted in this life.
Franklin signs with the pseudonym Richard Saunders, a persona, i.e. mask, that he often used. Using a pen name proved to be a politically sound strategy when confronting British authorities with revolutionary ideas.
Genre
The almanac was a popular genre since medieval times (Mittelalter)
It contained all kinds of calendar information and additionally also all kinds of advice such as proverbs (Sprichwörter
“The Way to Wealth” refers to Franklin’s widely read Poor Richard's Almanac
Quotes
“It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth of their time, to be employed in its service. But idleness taxes many of us much more, if we reckon all that is spent in absolute sloth, or doing of nothing” --> Taxes already were an issue for middle-class Franklin and his readers two decades before the revolution. Industry is one of the main virtues for them.
“Leisure is time for doing something useful”. Again, this is a witty aphorism. It is ironic for << if you do something useful you are engaged in a productive activity >>, the opposite of leisure.
“we must add frugality”, another middle-class virtue; its antonym is spending too much --> debt. Franklin fears negative consequences in this life (not in the afterlife) for one’s own well-being. With being indebted, “you give to another power over your liberty”
“Reader, if thou wilt do the same, thy profit will be as great as mine. I am, as ever, thine to serve thee, Richard Saunders, July 7, 1757”
“God helps them who help themselves” is one of the many proverbs in the text. It shows the spirit of secularization during the Age of Reason and Enlightenment. Man is the agent and determines his own fate; God does not directly interfere in people’s lives anymore.
Era of Enlightenment represented in his almanac
God as a clockmaker --> he does not interfere with ones life
rational values --> not religious
Secularization
“God helps them who help themselves”
Virtues
Franklin wants to convey certain virtues in his text which everyone should have in order to achieve wealth
Most importantly: industry and frugality
but also: trust, pride and debt, liberty —> do not depend on others, knowledge, self-discipline
Didactic purpose of his almanac
“Have you somewhat to do tomorrow, do it today” (p. 209) --> make the best out of everyday he encourages his readers to adapt to his lifestyle —> “if you follow my advice you will profit as I did”
He gives instructions —> that’s the way I did and maybe you want to do it too