Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Synopsis

Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is one of the most influential autobiographies ever written, yet an unfinished memoir of Benjamin Franklin published after his death. Franklin written this memoir in 4 parts with authorial breaks, started to write in 1771 to till his death.

Part one was addressed to his son William, mentioning about his childhood and his association with his brother James Franklin as an apprentice. It is surprised to know, Benjamin was not courageous enough to believe in his writing skill, as his first published paper was published as an anonymous writer. In fact it was published by his brother, who came to know about his writing skill and it resulted in the separation from his brother.

Second part was written when his son was loyal to the British Crown, which made Benjamin to be with revolutionaries. He describes “Order is the hardest for him to keep” and “Although perfection cannot be attained, yet should be attempted for self-satisfaction”. Part three was written after the Revolutionary War, which made him to lose many of his papers. It is in this part he discusses about his experiments on electricity. Among all, Part four was very brief and was written when he was nearing his death.

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