Benjamin_Franklin

Benjamin Franklin A writer needs to adapt to many standards in order to be considered a truly American writer. This person should portray positive hopes and dreams for readers. They should also try to help readers with certain aspects in their lives, and ways to better their lives. The writer should also be involved with their country, and portray a typical American citizen. A writer that is truly American should be able to write about material never touched upon in quite the same way. In their writing, the author should provide some sort of a hero for the reader to look up and listen to. Also, this writer should be able to touch upon positive deeds that readers can act upon to better themselves and their community. Finally, a truly American writer should be concerned with the well being of others. One author that we have read this semester caught my eye as the first truly American writer. This author portrayed all of the American standards of a truly American writer. The author that I believe to be the first truly American writer is Benjamin Franklin. Franklin in many ways embodies the Enlightenment spirit, and may even be thought of as the first prototypical American. The first American standard that Franklin covers well is that he is very involved in the country and his own community. Franklin is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, and he also co-wrote and signed the U.S. Constitution. Franklin also helped draft the Declaration of Independence. Often Franklin is thought of as the revolutionary figure that led protests against the Stamp Act, and is rarely thought of a writer. Franklin coordinated the peace treaty, which in turn ended the American Revolution. With all of these accomplishments in his life, Franklin may even be thought of as the “first American”. The work that was read in class that portrayed many American standards was Franklin’s work, “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”. This work proved to be distinctly American because it establishes in literary form the first example of the fulfillment of the American Dream. The Autobiography also presents Americans today with a great hero from the past that helped establish the tradition of the American Dream. This work of Franklin’s demonstrates the possibilities of life in America through his own experiences from raising from lower to upper class, which is by definition, the American Dream. In his autobiography, Franklin explains that he achieved his success from a solid work ethic, which is strongly agreed with by many American people that have to work to get ahead. Franklin proved to readers that even undistinguished people in America could, through work, become great figures of importance in America. When readers think of the American Dream today- the ability to rise from rags to riches through hard work- they are usually thinking of the model set forth by Franklin in his autobiography. This work is also truly American because it remains an important look into the history and sociology of the 18th century America. Franklin embodies many of the American standards to get by being considered an American writer, but Franklin’s work also has many good reasons to be called literature. The Autobiography is one of the premier autobiographies in the English language. This work also tells people today what life was like in the 18th century America. Any surviving documents of this autobiography are of value to historians who wish to learn how people lived from day to day. The Autobiography is the preeminent work that mythologizes a hero of the American Revolution. There are also a number of “firsts” in Franklin’s autobiography. It is considered to be the first popular self-help book ever published. Also, it is the first and only work written in America before the 19th century that has retained bestseller popularity since its release. The next first for Franklin’s autobiography is that it is the first major secular American autobiography. Finally, the Autobiography is also the first real account of the American Dream in action as told from a man who experienced it first hand. With all of these “firsts” connected to Franklin’s work, it should be routine to think of Franklin as the first truly American writer. Franklin also portrays the American standard of writing about material that has never been touched upon in quite the same way. The Autobiography is different from everything else that we have read in many different ways. First of all, it is not written in a continuous stretch, but it is rather pasted together out of separate fragments that were written years apart from one another. It is also a self-help book for readers to better their lives, which no other writer touched on in the readings. Franklin also touched upon 18th century idealism, which he ascribes to. Another way that Franklin’s work is different from everything else is because the Autobiography concentrates on the lighter, positive aspects of humanity. In most of the other readings we read in class, the authors concentrate on the darker and brutal aspects of humanity. Franklin does the opposite of that, which is a good thing for readers so they can concentrate on more positive things in life, which in turn will help them better life. The Autobiography defines a secular literary tradition that establishes the autobiography as a work that is meant to not only tell about a person’s own life, but also to educate the reader in ways to better live their own life. Franklin is very optimistic in his work, which is different from other authors who have a chip on their shoulder about America. Yet another way that this work is different from others is that it has parts that with a complete list in which one can achieve virtues, which has influenced millions of readers over the last two centuries. Another way to show Franklin’s uniqueness and American qualities is to show his impact on subsequent writers. There are a few other writers that count on Franklin’s writing in order to write their own stories. It is safe to say that such classics such as Frederick Douglass’, “Narrative”, and Henry Adams’, “The Education of Henry Adams”, owe much of their style and format to the tradition established by Franklin. The fact that Franklin could influence at least one other writer proves that fact that he is truly an American writer. I believe that Benjamin Franklin is truly the first American writer for many reasons. He wrote a self-help book for the good of people, and that shows how much he is concerned with the well being of the society. Any writer can write something about their life, but if a writer goes the extra mile and tries to write for the good of people, to me, that is a more exceptional writer. The Autobiography was the first self-help book, and that proves that Franklin is a truly original writer. Franklin was obviously heavily involved with his own community and country, and that proves to me that he is truly American. A writer that can count on his own experiences in American and have that affect his writing in a good way is a truly original quality. Franklin is the definition of “American” because he has used his so much of his time and strength to work with America and better everyone’s life. Franklin also possesses the superb quality of truth and sincerity. He is truly concerned with others’ well being, and he is truthful in the way that he communicates with the readers. Many other writers just write what readers want to hear just to get ahead in the game. They are not concerned with their readers and how they will interpret the writer’s ideas, and that is something that Franklin stressed in his own writing. Another quality that I admire about Franklin is that he stresses that progress is the most important thing, not perfection. This is an admirable quality because he isn’t trying to instill a false hope in American’s by telling them to be perfect, he is truthful and tells people to work hard and progress in life. Ultimately, the most important quality that Franklin possesses to be truly American is that he portrays the ultimate American Dream. Franklin experienced the American Dream first hand, so who better to write about it and give hopes to readers than Franklin. When I think about American figures in history I think of Franklin as the most truly American figure around. In my opinion Benjamin Franklin portrays the most truly American writer that we have read about this semester. He has many qualities that other authors do not possess that make him a truly original American citizen as well. Franklin proves to be a good candidate to be the first American writer, and I believe that he is the only one that comes close to being the most American writer this semester. Bibliography: