Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream

J.A. Leo Lamay, the author of "The American Dream", first begins to criticize Benjamin Franklin by saying that it is not put together well, structurally. He compares Franklin's autobiography to the famous works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and those of Henry James as well (Lemay). It certainly is true that Franklin did not have the same distinct writing style as these two highly regarded author, but I do not think that Franklin's goal was to write a book with a certain writing style. Instead, he wanted to express his virtues and life experiences. But most people would not read Franklin's autobiography simply for entertainment. Instead, they would most likely want to learn more about the virtues and ideas that Franklin supported.

Lemay also points out that although Franklin does detail his and others economic rises, this is not the only point of the autobiography. I think that Franklin included these small parts about economics and wealth only to contribute to the other ideas that Franklin brings to attention. Instead of acting as if his wealth was a factor that made him more important, Franklin wrote that he appreciated the advantages that his wealth gave him politically, socially, and in general. I think that Franklin was more interested in detailing his virtues than the other successes of his life, and Lemay highlights this in his criticism. Franklin writes of his early poverty several times, but does not dwell on it (Lemay).

Franklin's autobiography is obviously written in the eighteenth century, which Lemay points out. However, Lemay does not criticize Franklin for this. Instead, he says that the biography portrays the first modern world in Western literature. I think Lemay is right to say this, because Franklin's autobiography really is non feudal, nonreligious, and nonaristocratric.

Lemay most critiques the fact that most of the autobiography by Benjamin Franklin is unedited and unrevised. However, I think that while mistakes can be extremely annoying, Franklin's unediting of his autobiography showed that his ideas were all thought out and important to him- things that he thought of and wrote down, not really in order and formatted. However, Lemay also says that Franklin's works are easy to relate to and descriptive.

In his critique, Lemay mostly focuses on the idea of "The American Dream". Lemay basically reinforces the idea that the American Dream is a very important concept, and says that Franklin himself was practically the epitome of this, and was a fair representation of early American citizens (Lemay).

Lemay, J.A. Leo. "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream". Facts on File. Web.
Oct 14 2010.