from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

1. from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin from Poor Richard’s Almanack

2. Literary Analysis • An autobiography is the story of a person’s life. • Autobiography was a new form of literature when Benjamin Franklin wrote The Autobiography. • His work helped set the rules for this new type of writing.

3. Autobiography • An Autobiography presents events in a person’s life according to how that person sees them. • An autobiography can give personal views of history. Information about the politics, habits, ideas, and values of a society can be found in autobiographies.

4. Reading Strategy • Franklin tells his readers details about his life. • He explains his goals and interests. • You can draw conclusions about Franklin and his life. • A conclusion is an opinion you reach by pulling together facts and details.

5. Drawing Conclusions • Use this pattern for drawing conclusions about Franklin’s character while you read. • Details: Franklin changes his plan when he sees he is not meeting his goals. • Personal Experience: You also thought of a different way to meet a goal that was not being met. • Conclusion: Franklin makes adjustments to meet his goals.

6. Summary • Franklin is working on a plan to reach moral perfection. • He will work on thirteen virtues or qualities. • Franklin writes the virtues in a notebook to see how well he is doing. • He makes a black mark beside a virtue every time he forgets to follow it. • He works on a different virtue each week. • Franklin thinks his plan is helpful but not completely successful.

7. from Poor Richard’s Almanack - Summary • Franklin gives advice about how people should behave. • He presents his thoughts in aphorisms, or short sayings with a message. • Many of his aphorisms come from traditional folk sayings. • Sayings such as “Well done is better than well said” tell something about Franklin and what he values.