An Analysis on the Pragmatism in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Abstract： The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is one of the most important autobiography in American literature. Throughout The Autobiography， Franklin brought into full play his pursuit of pragmatism. This kind of value has influenced American literature and culture from the founding years of the United States till now， and it is in predominance among all the other values in American society. This paper probes into The Autobiography first by finding out the pragmatism displayed in it.

Key words： The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin， pragmatism， American literature

1. Introduction

Benjamin Franklin， one of the Founding Fathers of the United States， was a prominent author， politician， scientist and diplomat across the world. Franklin obtained the title of “The First American” for his campaigning for colonial unity at early time. He laid the foundation of the American ethos--the practical value which advocates thrift， hard work and community spirit. He was an outstanding representative personage in American founding period. He not only made great contribution in politics and science， but also established himself in the field of literature. He was one of the few persons in the United States who have won a world reputation. French critics once said that the United States is fortunate for having such a great person --Benjamin Franklin.

Besides his contributions in politics， education， diplomacy and natural sciences， Franklins influence on the country and the nation derives mainly from his autobiography. This biography is well known for its pragmatic spirit， including many virtues that till now American people hold dear and advocate sincerely. A study of this pragmatism will surely help readers understand the American nation and the society.

2. The pragmatism displayed in The Autobiography

In The Autobiography， Franklin wrote essays to denounce the state governor， wrote bill to suggest building institutions， wrote articles to illustrate the advantages of hiring people to clean the public streets and he even drew advertisements to help the British army procure supplies. He wrote because he knew the importance and effectiveness of writing. Unlike some romantic poets and novelists， he wrote to attain some specific goals instead of simply expressing his own feelings. To acquire writing skills， Franklin imitated Edisons style in the onlookers. He translated prose into poems and then translated poems into prose again in order to exercise his writing. Basically， he wrote The Autobiography for the only purpose of practicality. He expected his successors would find suitable methods in The Autobiography and imitate them so that they may make themselves transform from the poor to the rich as well as from the unknown to the famous （Wang， 2013： 75）.endprint

Basically， the writing of The Autobiography itself is a vivid manifestation of pragmatism. Unlike other writers who write to express their own sorrows or happiness， or those who write to criticize the society， Franklin write to achieve something， whether it is to call for peoples attention to a social issue or to help the city administrators to hold some activities. Franklins single aim in writing The Autobiography is to educate his offspring and encourage them to follow suit to fulfill their goal with their own hard work and perseverance.

As a social activist， Benjamin Franklin paid special attention to education. He bravely questioned and criticized the Latin grammar school at that time for its inflexibility and detachment to the need of society. In his mind， such kind of school was totally useless to the education and development of America. Confronting the supporters of Latin grammar school， Franklin insisted that whether an education is useful or not should be decided by the need of society and the will of every member in the society rather than being dictated by some superior minorities. According to his words， the taste of luxury is indeed very nice， but what we need most in America is to teach people the virtue of utilitarianism and how to make a fortune （Wang， 2013： 76）.

As a politician， Franklin tended to analyze the benefit of every action clearly， which is mostly because of his firm belief in pragmatism. Franklin is rational in doing things and with every action he sought some benefit or profit in doing so. Everything he did was planned in advance and thus was made to prepare for his future involvement. We can find some signs in his engagement of interpersonal relationship. Except for some friends in literature， most of his friends are those holding power in local. As Franklins father always told him when he was a child， “An ambitious and diligent man would someday stand in front of the king.” Whether these words had encouraged his reverence to power we can not say， but there is one thing we know， that is when he wrote about his being summoned by two state governors in The Autobiography， he revealed a sense of respect and esteem.

References

[1]Curti. 柯蒂. 美國思想的成长[M]. 北京：人民出版社，1975：112.

[2]Franklin， Benjamin. 本杰明·富兰克林. 富兰克林自传[M]. 北京：世界图书出版公司，2010：5，58.

[3]Isaacson， Walter. Benjamin Franklin： An American Life [M]. Beijing： Foreign Language Press， 2003：491.

[4]Liu， C. S. 刘春水. 富兰克林《自传》与实用主义精神[J]. 江西社会科学2006（1）：48.

作者简介：张莹莹，1994年7月15日出生，女，汉族，河南省洛阳市人，现就读于陕西师范大学外国语学院2016级学科教学（英语）方向。主要研究方向：英语教育。endprint