Defining the American Dream
Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography may mark the creation of the American Dream, understanding America as a place where—free from the rigid class construction and generational prejudices of European history—any person could attain wealth and distinction simply by working hard enough. The tale that Franklin creates for himself is the prototypical rags-to-riches story of a young man without a penny to his name rising to become a distinguished statesman and wealthy inventor. Inherent within Franklin’s attentiveness to portraying this theme is the underlying critique that such a story would be the exception rather than the rule if America ever moved toward a more European system of government and economics.
Secular Principles over Religious Morality
Another key theme to be found in Franklin’s recollection is his unqualified suspicion of religion and rejection of adherence to a Biblical set of ethical guidelines over devotion to common-sense principles. Franklin routinely criticizes religion for clouding judgments regarding principled decision-making. By tossing divinity out of the decision-making process the system becomes streamlined by placing ethical value on the situation at hand rather than configuring to fit some comprehensive moral code.
Declaration of Personal Independence
Franklin takes great care to imprint a literary motif to the timeline of his life as a means of paralleling his personal story with that of the creation of America. The autobiography presents the actual achievement of the American Dream as a revolution of independence over living a life of dependence. Franklin portrays his rise to statesman, ambassador, and Founding Father as a thematic transformation from slave-to-fate to sovereign of his own destiny.
Errata
Franklin engages the use of a word from his printing industry days to creatively examine the mistakes he made in life. The term errata is printer jargon for errors made in one edition which could be corrected before printing the next edition. The thematic symbolism is clear: mistakes are only mistakes when no attempt is made to correct them or, if that’s not possible, to learn from them so they aren’t repeated.
Pride and Humility
Throughout the text Franklin balances these two characteristics with varying degrees of success. He certainly does evince a great deal of pride, stating right from the beginning that he does not see many problems with vanity. His pride manifests itself in his dealings with others, his confidence in his abilities, his willingness to pursue his self-interest, and the transparent tone he takes when discussing his accomplishments. He does, however, say that he knows he needs to be more humble, and adds it to his list of virtues. It is not one that he feels that he masters, but he is pleased (proud?) that he does what he can. Indeed, Franklin's use of understatement and his avoidance of outright bragging is rather impressive given the magnitude of the man's accomplishments and accolades. A man ought to be aware of his errata, seek to perfect himself morally, and be cognizant of his gifts, ambitions, and achievements.
Work
Franklin seems to value work above all else. People are identified by their trades, and the young Franklin earnestly endeavors to find his. He labors as hard as he can to succeed on his own, not letting any obstacles get in his way. After he achieves success and wealth he does not rest or sink into idleness; rather, his work continues in the form of civic projects, scientific exploration, and philosophical musing. He thinks that men must be employed at some task, no matter how mundane, to truly feel a sense of worth. Note that he does think that love, religion, and family bring about this sort of peace; it is indeed assiduous work that gives a man's life meaning. It is also work that, of course, brings wealth and reputation. Franklin's hard work is more important than his humble origins, allowing him to ascend to the pantheon of great Americans.
Writing
From the moment Franklin details how he laboriously wrote out passages from the Spectator in order to pursue being a better writer, it is clear that writing is central to the text. There is a clear connection between writing and living. Franklin begins his text by saying writing it out is like living his life again. Instead of God writing Franklin's life story, Franklin takes the reins himself. He is in control of what is said and how it is said, what readers glean about him, and what they glean about themselves. He can elide certain details of his past (like his intrigues with women and his illegitimate children), emphasize certain contributions over others, soften his hard edges, and offer up his own errata as universal examples of what not to do and, if the deed is done, what to do to correct it. Franklin gets to control his narrative not once, but twice, as he both lives and writes writes it.
