1.In his ________ Benjamin Franklin creates the image of a boy’s rise from ________ to riches and demonstrates his belief that the new world of America was a land of opportunities which might be met through hard work and wise management.(天津外國語學院2008研)
Key: The literary form of autobiography: An autobiography is a person’s account of his or her life. It is generally written in the first person, with the author speaking as “I”. Autobiography presents life events as the writer views them, and offers insights into the beliefs and perceptions of the author. Representative writer: Benjamin Franklin and his work: The Autobiography.
IV. Essay questions
1.Analyze The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.
Key: The book is probably the first of its kind in literature. It is the simple yet immensely fascinating record of a man rising to wealth and fame from a state of poverty and obscurity in which he was born, the faithful account of the colorful career of America’s first self-made man. The book contains four parts, written at different times.
It is, first of all, a Puritan document. It is Puritan because it is a record of self-examination and self-improvement. It is also a convincing illustration of the Puritan ethic that in order to get on in the world, one has to be industrial, frugal, and prudent.
It is also an eloquent elucidation of the fact that Franklin was spokesman for the new order of the eighteenth-century enlightenment, and that he represented in America all its ideas, that man is basically good and free by nature, endowed by God with certain inalienable rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Through telling a success story of self-reliance, the book celebrates, in fact, the fulfillment of the American dream.
The style of the book is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision. The lucidity of the narrative, the absence of ornaments in wording and complex, involved structures in syntax, and the Puritan abhorrence of paradox are all well graphically demonstrated here and in the whole of the book. Taken as a whole, it is safe to say that the book is an exemplary illustration of the American style of writing.
2.Analysis of The Poor Richard’s Almanac.
Key: Benjamin Franklin created a character, Poor Richard, in whose name the work appeared, and whose real existence was debated humorously and seriously. For almost a quarter of a century, he kept publishing Poor Richard’s Almanac, expanding its literary part to the intense delight of its readers.
Apart from poems and essays, he managed to put in a good many adages, and commonsense witticisms which became household words and many mottos of the most typical kind. He did not always write the maxims himself. He borrowed from others and made good use of his own wit and wisdom to simplify and enrich their axiom. There are many similar statements filled almanac, and taught as much as amused. The practical wisdom of Franklin shone forth rays of grandeur from its pages.