Benjamin Franklin Autobiography on Web - Literature review Example

The three websites that have been searched through Google search engine are The Electric Ben Franklin (http www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/index.htm), Benjamin Franklin (http://www.crystalinks.com/franklin.html) and Colonial Hall: Biography of Benjamin Franklin (http://www.colonialhall.com/franklin/franklin10.php). No authors have been mentioned for the first two websites while the third one has been authored by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich. The first website is a part of the site namely, ushistory.org and the second one has been taken from Encyclopedia Britannica. The website ushistory.org is published by the Independence Hall Association (IHA) which is a non-profit organization in Philadelphia. All their sites are copyrighted and they give historical details of famous people and facts of history. Through this website they have projected Franklin’s struggles in early life and how he managed to get into the printing business. His endeavor and experiments as a scientist have also been portrayed apart from his interest in politics. He not only served the United States while living there but even for 18 years he lived in England as a colonial representative. This demonstrates his loyalty to his nation. The websites concentrates on the international fame that electricity and lightning brought to Franklin. This is basically a quick biography and the intended audience is high school students or first timers who are not much aware about Franklin. The website gives information that England was far ahead of America during that period although corruption in politics and royal circles in England did disturb him. America had strained relations even with France and Franklin was responsible for the Treaty of Paris. The second website has collected details from the Encyclopedia Britannica. This website highlights Franklin as a person, an individual, as a child, his youth, his successes and achievements and his dedication to public service. This site also highlights critics of Franklin, his contemporaries who thought he was a fraud. His early life has been mentioned but no details of his struggles as in the previous website have been given. This website also highlights him as a philanthropist who founded academies and societies for the benefit of the society. He had an early start in politics and this website gives more details of his political involvement in England. The intended audience would be the casual readers or high school children to familiarize themselves with the life and times of Franklin. The purpose of this site is to project Franklin as an honorable person compiling all relevant details in brief. People seldom have time to read through lengthy autobiographies and such reading makes it convenient to collect an overview of the achievements. It is also intended to motivate the reader into drawing inspiration from the life of Franklin. It does not just highlight his successes but the failures have also been cited. This teaches the reader to accept both success and failure in life and not to get deterred by failures. Failures make a man complete as there is lot to learn from failures. The state of colonial America was responsible for Franklin’s political involvement at all stages till the end of his life. He served colonial America and helped sign various treaties and agreements with different nations for the cause of America. The third website authored by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich gives minute details about small events in Franklin’s life. It has a religious and pious bend as it highlights the feelings and sufferings of Franklin to arouse the same emotions in the reader. It runs into ten pages and carries a year by year account of the events that shaped Franklin’s life. It does not segregate his personal, professional and public life and has been arranged chronologically. The intended audience is more of the spiritual and pious people who derive inspiration from the life of Franklin. This site does not give much idea about the colonial America except to highlight the services of Franklin to the nation. The three websites together give an idea that the struggles in early childhood made him a righteous person. He recognized the value of labor. He was a scientist and earned fame through his invention but his interest to serve the nation and the society was paramount in his life. He attempted to do this in many ways despite having critics and people opposing his ways. He was a self-made man who took responsibility for his own actions. He also had a literary bent which was demonstrated in early childhood but he was discouraged by his father. He served the nation and other countries where he lived. He was responsible for setting up various academies and associations for the benefit of the society. His tenure in England was educative and enriching. He had a sense of humor and could get along with people of all ages. He was firm in his convictions and had perseverance. He believed that divinity guided him at every stage in life. The autobiography by Franklin was basically intended to acquaint his son with the anecdotes that influenced his life. At the same time, recollections of the past when put in writing would help not just his family but the people at large for generations and centuries. His autobiography was also an expression of gratitude to the Supreme Lord and he feels fortunate to have been blessed. It also served as a reflection of his own life where he grew up amidst adversities but then lived in affluence and with honor, having earned fame in various fields. His autobiography tells us that he was simple, hard-working, self-made man with high level of intelligence, believer in divinity, a philanthropist, who worked for his nation till he breathed last. He invented the bifocals and the armonica that works like a xylophone. He derived lessons from each experience in his life and emerged a winner even after he encountered failures. He concentrated on his negative traits and acquired the virtues through practice and self-assessment. America had settlers from different countries settled at different locations and who had formed colonies. There were the Spanish, the British, the Africans and the Indians. Colonial America wanted to improve relations with the Indians and defense against the French. Franklin suggested a Plan of Union for this. Franklin even represented the nation as a colonial agent in England. He often compared America with England and felt England had more amenities and fine thinkers that was lacking in America. Each of the three websites as cited above has different purposes. Not everyone has the time or the interest to go through all details. Some might even want to just refresh their memories with certain incidents for which these websites serve the purpose. The crystal links website gives chronological information starting from his early life. The information has been very well compiled for a new reader or for one who just wants to run through the main events in the life of Franklin. The Electric Ben Franklin has a different purpose and very nicely summarizes his achievements under different headings. They have segregated his contribution in the fields of politics, science and printing. At a glance it contains all the relevant details that pertain to his life. The website authored by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich gives an insight into the mind of Benjamin Franklin. This gives a lot more details than the other two websites and spans over ten pages. It carries chronological events but without headings of either the dates or the events. It is more like a running commentary. All these three contain authentic information although no comparison can be made with the autobiography. During his time, America was colonized by the British and Franklin went to England as a representative of four states. When the Stamp Act was opposed he felt America should break free of England. His earlier plan of uniting the colonies had been rejected and he started working towards it once again. He was disgusted with the corruption in England and being a loyal citizen, did his best to present the case to the British. Working against all odds, he led the nation to freedom from the feudal past. The autobiography of Ben Franklin is very inspiring and thought-provoking. The modern reader has much to gain from this as it contains insight into a human mind and that too the mind of Franklin. He was a self-made man not just because he learnt to fend for himself but also because he served for the nation. He even learned how to attain the ten virtues in life through a process of self-assessment and rigorous practice. He was the personification of morality and spirituality. He believed in a righteous way of life and fought for the cause, fought to free the people from the bondage that they were reeling under. The autobiography is sufficient to gain an understanding of the person but since it is too lengthy, a shorter abridged version, but on the same lines as the autobiography would benefit mankind and especially the students who are always hard pressed for time. This could be in the form of e-books which people could download and read later at their convenience. Read More