Essay on Benjamin Franklin
HIUS 221
Hunter Lewis III

For this assignment I chose the first question, which was “One of the over-arching themes in Franklin’s Autobiography is that of self-improvement. Franklin intends for his own experience to serve as a model for others. Discuss key ways that Franklin presents his story as an illustration of self-improvement. Is he successful in the attempt? What motivates him toward this attempt? Does he strike you as a self-promoter or a genuinely benevolent man desirous of helping others? In your answer, use specific examples from the book to illustrate your points.” First off, Benjamin Franklin was an amazing man whose kindness, compassion, and love for his fellow man knew no bounds. He was and is the embodiment of self-improvement. History is filled with great men and women that have done amazing and remarkable feats to better mankind. In my personal opinion, Benjamin Franklin is up there with the best of them. This man spent the majority of his life being a model of self –improvement, so that others would emulate his actions.
I know one would think that Benjamin Franklin had an easy life after reading my first paragraph, but thinking that is far from the truth. Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, Ma. Everyone knows that life in Colonial Times wasn’t the easiest of living. The early settlers had no idea how to survive in the wilderness, and they had no experiences in preparing for the bitter winters that lye ahead. They didn’t know how to hunt, fish, or farm the land in order to survive. As a result, many died from diseases and malnutrition. “By the 1700s, small cities and towns were established. The colonists slowly developed their own customs and lifestyles. Eventually they began to feel that this new land was now their true home. Life in colonial America centered on the family.” (1).