Sociological Analysis: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin – B. Franklin

Name:

Tutor:

Course:

Date:

Sociological Analysis: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin – B. Franklin

Introduction: Synopsis

This book Is Benjamin Franklin’s recapture of his life as he says he cannot live his life again. Generally, the book talks of his life in Boston, his passion for reading, and training for jobs. The setting begins with him in Philadelphia working for a Printer who intends to set him up with his own. He sent to England for supplies and on arrival, he realizes he has been duped. He has no money or means to get back to America, so he works hard at another printing job where he gets to understand the craft better and achieve connections, He returns to America after saving up enough money and is offered a job by a friend. He afterwards quits and starts his own business.

 He now talks of his personal work and virtues of modesty. He confesses to not going to church but accepts that he is prayerful by himself. He talks of how pride is the hardest thing he had to overcome but reconciles with his brother. His business continuously expands and along the way, Franklin develops ideas about religion following meetings with two preachers, and he likes both their perspectives. Further, he expresses how Pennsylvania is in need of better higher education and military sectors. There are consultations on the problems facing the Assembly and in the dispute; he takes the side of the opposing attorney. The autobiography ends with a celebration of the firing of Governor Denny and an attempted suit by the colonists instituted against him but fails.

Sociological Perspective

The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is a collection of various societal relationships and the institutions that make up the environment of connection. The author, Benjamin, incorporates the different divisions that are constituent of human nature, among them; religion, wealth, education, visions of the future, principles and choices. Franklin as set out to show that these aspects arte of value to him in one way or another as they provide him with a good standard of living and a measured ambition in his day to day life. 

In the topic of Religion, Franklin’s attitude on believing in the existence of God and going to church are separated. In that, he portrays that him acknowledging God makes the readers detach him from any misconception that he is a nonbeliever because he does not attend Church. He shows that he is a doer of good and a prayerful soul and his understanding of other religions as well differentiates his beliefs from any of them. His communication with God by following his own systems is quite similar to the practices seen in the American society today among many other places. The connection with the societal beliefs therefore gives this book a strong sociological background.

Education as an institution plays a major role in the society and Benjamin has emphasized on how it is a privilege and not a right in anyone’s life. In addition, his concern on provision of higher education in Philadelphia shows that he shares his perspective on the importance of the value gained. He learns the French language to improve his level of language acquisition just for the mere fact of continuing with study and personal educational goal. He chooses Philadelphia because it was raw and brand new and is far behind compared to the likes of London, which at the time had developments. This is a sociological factor as education unifies both the people and the organizations concerned.

Benjamin further pinpoints the importance of principles and values in a personal’s growth. He shows how such virtues combined with diligent hard work can help reconstruct and develop a society. In his opinion, he shows just how much virtuousness can be helpful because they provide no restrictions as the religion does and hence he is able to approach matters. He further illustrates how viewing only the good side of things in a way that he does has helped in creating a vision of America. Eventually, his ideology did indeed play a great role in shaping various city works and functions in Philadelphia and America in general.

The attempt to connect both the public and his initiative is therefore, another sociological factor that is in play in this book. The vision behind the constructing of Philadelphia and America also shows that it being a collection of colonies required baby steps to achieve a greater civilized society. From Franklin’s view, the population of America has been structured to show that they are able to realize the needs and wants possible for their own achievement. He conducts experiments and earns money that he considers enough for his projects which he uses to improve the facilities relevant in the society. The whole initiative therefore qualifies yet again as another important contribution to the sociological aspects of the book.

Lastly, there is conflict depicted in the ending of the book due to a disagreement between him and Governor Denny as well as, the colonists who sue him without success. Sociology here comes into play because it explains the various interpersonal conflicts that arise due to societal disagreements and deviant behaviors. Similarly, the notion of political goals, drives and disagreements that are key components in understanding sociology are incorporated here. Overall, this sums up that the sociological perspectives are indeed satisfied above and that Benjamin’s autobiography is a key example of all the events that affect the society.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the understanding of the sociological context in the book has been made possible by the writing genre of the book, which has complied with the standard style of a written autobiography. The lack of radical changes in the text and style used by Benjamin also creates a sociologically relatable environment to any reader of the book.