Franklin: His Autobiography and the American Dream

Franklin wrote a very complex book, which most people take to be talking about the American Dream, although it can be taken in other ways as well (Lemay). There are quite a few people that consider Franklin a very boastful man after reading his book and do not like him anymore, but there are also people that are more open-minded and can read into the book to determine that he was not being boastful, he was only using his experiences to illustrate the points he was trying to communicate (Lemay). The criticism seemed very concentrated on the different aspects of the American Dream that could interpreted through the book, and the interpreter was trying to pick apart Franklin's motives for why he decided to write his autobiography. It was good for the author to write about Franklin's many abilities in writing style and his intelligent way of dealing with the problems that came to him. He explained how Franklin was an intelligent man that understood the complexities that came with writing his autobiography, that people would read into his book in many different ways, and that he needed to be careful in what he wrote, because his book may have directly or indirectly affected views on the United States and how people were changing from rags to riches (Lemay). It is also important that the author explained exactly how pivotal Franklin's book is, because it helps to paint the picture of how intelligent Franklin is. The author goes into detail about the many different ways Franklin's story of how he went from rags to riches could help people and how Franklin explained it. He told about how most of the writing flowed easily for Franklin, which is proven through the other things he had written and the many different writing styles that he had been known to write (Lemay). The author explains that many people read Franklin's book for many different reasons. Some read it because of how Franklin made fun of religions, some read it for the ethics he provided, and some read it for the lessons they could learn (Lemay). One of the most important ideas in the book, however, was the American Dream, and that was what this author chose to expand upon. The author also found it very important to show how much hope Benjamin Franklin had included in his autobiography. It was very important for everyone to understand how much hope was necessary and involved in going from rags to riches in one lifetime (Lemay). Without hope, it is impossible to make anything of oneself, because one does not think they can make it (Lemay). They will always doubt themselves, and will never be able to reach their full potential, because they do not hope and will not have faith in themselves, so they will have a hard time getting to riches. Many different things are relevant and important to Franklin's Autobiography and to the American Dream (Lemay). This author did a good job of hitting on the highlights of the two of them together and how they work well as a team. This critic did good at his job, and his criticism is a good and interesting work to consider.





Lemay, J. A. Leo. "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." In The Renaissance Man in the Eighteenth Century. Los Angeles: William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 1978. Quoted as "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream." in Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BLTTAD005&SingleRecord=True (Accessed October 13, 2010).