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Tuesday, 19 September 2006 16:04 |
 | | Jeremy Morrison |
Some books are timeless. Others are steeped in time. "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" is both.
Though it is more than 200 years old, the fiesty codgerës life story deserves to be pulled from the shelf and dusted off for another reading. The man known as "the original American" has wisdom to spare regardless of the century in which the reader finds himself.
Franklin began penning his autobiography late in life, at the age of 65, during the years preceding the American Revolution. The intended reader was his son, William Franklin. As the revolution got underway, father and son had a falling out over politics ÇƒÓ William was a loyalist. Thereafter, the elder Franklin addressed a broader audience, but the book maintained its candid father-to-son feel.
Though
the book details Franklinës personal experiences, it can also be viewed
in general as a glimpse into a pocket of time. The scenes of 18th
century America and England are beautifully described ÇƒÓ bringing the
story to life, not simply regurgitating stale history. When Franklin
details a Huck-and-Jim-type rafting excursion, the reader is invited
onto the vessel as the young traveler pulls a drunken Swede from the
river.
Likewise, you
can feel Franklinës excitement as he gains quasi-acceptance from the
upper class when a group of high-society gawkers watch him perform what
they considered a pecular feat: swimming.
Part of the
bookës charm ÇƒÓ as well as something a reader may have to overlook ÇƒÓ are
Franklinës odd spellings and capitializations. Lines such as "At Ten
Years old, I was taken home to assist my Father in his Business, which
was that of a Tallow Chandler and Sope-Boiler" may seem a bit hard to
swallow for the modern reader. Much of this is due to the language of
the day and the rest to Franklinës emphais. It tends to lend a
cartoonish aspect to the writing and will either entertain or irritate.
 This
autobiography works on three basic levels: as the recounting of a life,
a crucial historical record and as a rough outline for conducting oneës
business and life. The first level seems almost an inconsequential
vehicle for the second two.
These different
aspects of the book are nicely demonstrated early on, as Franklin
describes an apprenticeship at a London printing press.
Moralistically,
Frankin railed against his matesë poor work ethics: "I drank only
Water; the other Workmen ... were great Guzzlers of Beer."
Taking it a step
further, the young Franklin describes his savvy business etiquette,
allowing his co-workersë poor habits to play to his financial gain.
Because of their costly drinking, the men were often short on money.
Franklin would lend out money in order for their drinking to continue.
At the end of a work week, he collected his paycheck, as well as debts
owed plus interest.
Throughout the
book, Franklin details his strategies in business dealings. Whether it
was continuing to labor under unreasonable circumstances in order to
better learn a trade or helping a lesser fellow set up shop ÇƒÓ Benjamin
Franklin, a capitalist humanitarian, has a rhyme and reason to all his
decisions.
I found one of
the most enjoyable aspects of this book to be the Franklin trivia
sprinkled throughout. Most people know of the kite-and-key experiment,
or even that Franklin was intrumental in the formation of the postal
service, but did you know the man put a great deal of thought into
muddy streets? Eventually he drew up plans to have Philadelphiaës
streets cobblestoned, cutting down on mud and dust.
Far and away the
most disappointing aspect of this autobiography is the ending ÇƒÓ or,
rather, the lack of an ending. Franklin died before he got around to
detailing what would probably have been the liveliest portion of the
work. If supplied only with his autobiography, the reader would have no
notion of Franklinës involvement with the American Revolution and the
creation of the United States.
But even with the abrubt ending, this is a cliffhanger worth reading.
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