The Influence of Puritan Virtues upon the American Mind-- A Case Study on Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography.doc

the influence of puritan virtues upon the american mind- a case study on benjamin franklins autobiography abstractit is generally acknowledged puritanism is one of the most significant shaping influences in american mind and american literature. it has formed, to some extent, a state of mind and a national cultural atmosphere which the american live in. rather than a kind of religion .we could say without some understanding of puritanism, one can never understand the america and its literature deeply. this paper aims to study the influence of puritan virtues on the american mind with benjamin franklins autobiography as a case study. it mainly analyzes how the puritanism influenced the american mind such as american peoples political view, pioneering spirit, working ethic and their fortune value. as a national hero and mould of the american people from generation to generation, we could say franklins autobiography is not only a literary work but also a reflection of the american mind.although living in the time when enlightenment is prevailing, we could still find the strong puritan hint on franklin himself. and this puritan influence has lasted for many centuries on the american people even in today. this paper is divided into four parts and is mainly to study how do the puritanical doctrines and method influent the american peoples characters with benjamin franklins autobiography as a case study. the first part is mainly focused on the background introduction, and the second one mainly deals with the forming of americans puritan virtues with franklins autobiography as a text study. the third and the forth parts mainly study the embodiment of these puritan virtues in franklins life and the american mind as well.by using a national idol to study the american mind from the perspective of puritanism is a workable task. it not only avoids the dullness of religious study but also put the religious study into the real life. however, for it is an autobiography of a single person, some puritan virtues do not appear in this book, so we could only study some puritan virtues in this paper.key words: american mind, puritanism, benjamin franklin, autobiography 摘要我们都知道清教主义对美国精神及美国文学产生了极其深远的影响。从某种程度来讲，清教主义已经成为了一种思维模式 ，一种民族的文化，而不仅仅是一门宗教。因此，我们可以说，如果一个人想要真正地了解美国文化和美国文学，那么他必须要对清教有一定的了解。本文旨在用富兰可林的自传为案例来分析清教美德对美国精神的影响，阐述清教对美国人政治观、创业精神、职业观以及财富观的影响。作为几代美国人的民族英雄及国民偶像，富兰克林自传不仅仅只是一部文学作品，它也是美国精神的真实反映。虽然生活在一个启蒙运动盛行的年代，我们仍能在富兰克林的身上找到清教的影子，时至今日清教精神仍对美国民众产生着巨大的影响。这篇论文分为四个部分目的在于以富兰克林自传为例来阐述清教主义对美国人民的影响。但论文的第一章是背景介绍，第二章是研究清教美德形成的过程，第三章及第四章是以富兰克林为例来阐述清教主义在美国精神中的体现。从这个角度出发，用美国国民英雄做案例来分析研究美国精神的影响是可行的。它不仅避免了纯粹宗教研究的枯燥，还能将宗教研究与真实生活融为一体。自传是对某个人的单独描写，因此它不可涵盖所有的清教美德，所以此篇论文只是择其中几个具有代表性的美德加以研究论述，以期贡献出本文论述的积极价值。关键词：美国精神、清教主义、富兰可林、自传 contentsintroductionchapter one background introduction1.1 the status of benjamin franklin and his autobiography in america1.2 the influence of puritanism on the american peoplechapter two the main factors in forming franklins virtues 2.1 being the offspring of those flit puritans2.2 living in the colonial time2.3 puritans asceticism2.4.puritans callingchapter three the main puritan virtues embodied in autobiography3.1 franklins rebellion against the “authority”3.2 franklins pioneering spirit3.3 franklins thriftiness3.4 franklins diligencechapter four the main influence of the puritan virtues on the american mind4.1 puritans puritans worship for democracy embodied in the american politics4.2 puritans puritans pioneering spirit embodied in the american entrepreneurship4.3 the americans theory of fortune4.4 puritans puritans ascetic view embodied in the american work ethicconclusion introductionin the past two hundred years and especially since the end of the world war two, the united states has emerged from a colony into a super economy, which enjoying unique advantages in various sectors, such as economy,finance and military force. since the end of the cold war, the united states has become the most influential country on the earth with an unshakable status. it has formed an international financial system with us dollar at the center of this system. the leading role of the united states is unanimous acknowledged by the rest countries in the world. however, i think the prosperity of the united states could not be achieved without its own citizens that are the american who are reputed for their pioneering spirit, diligence, thriftiness and worship for democracy. they have made great contribution to their countrys growth. after a further looking into american peoples characters and their mind, we could find there is a strong spiritual pillar to support them. that is puritanism. being one of the most important factors in the american culture, puritanism has long been rooted in american values since the first butch of puritan immigrants came to this barren land with the idea to build “a city upon a hill.” the puritans are a group of english in the religious reform movement which is an activist movement within the church of england taken place in the 16th century. the arriving of these english settlers began in early seventeenth century, after the accession of elizabeth i of england in 1559, thus those people become the forefathers of the america. when the first group of puritans arrive in the america, they face up severe weather conditions and they have to fight against these natural disasters. upholding the spirit of pioneering, diligence and frugality, they finally conquer this land, become the master of this virgin land and then turns this barren land into a hot land for the capitalism. worshiping for democracy, the united states has become one of the most democratic countries on the earth.the influence of puritanism on american mind has always been the subject of research carried out by many scholars in and out of america and many of them have made fruitful achievements in this field. most of their studies are conducted by putting the subject in the context of society, politics or religion. however, from another perspective, my thesis focuses on the influence of puritan factors on american mind from the prospect of literature of benjamin franklins autobiography. although living in the age of enlightment, we could still trace the roots of puritanism in franklins books, such as the autobiography and the poor richards almanac. among his books, franklin always mentions about the two value standards which are diligence and frugality and these are the embodiment of puritans dogmas of asceticism and calling. another two virtues shared by franklin are pioneering spirit and democracy which formed from puritans early settlement. these four virtues are faithfully advocated by the puritans from generation to generation.the reason why i choose franklins autobiography as my case study is that as the offspring of the flit puritans, franklin is the first example of the fulfillment of the american dream. he is called the spiritual instructor of american people in american history. since franklins own time, he has already become the prototype of the american dream and also the mould of the young people. even in today, franklin is still the mould of nowadays young generation both in america and the world at large. we could say benjamin franklin is the typical representative of the american people. hence, it is workable to use franklins life as the case study about the american mind from the perspective of puritanism.as one of the founding fathers of united states, benjamin franklin (1706-1790) is a well-known figure in his own country as well as in the world. franklin makes achievement in various fields. he is a man of many roles. he is a printer, author, philosopher, inventor, scientist, diplomat, and politician . benjamin franklin lives a wide and varied life and makes himself under the spotlight of almost every major event involving america during the second half of the eighteenth century. he is such a successful businessman that he is able to retire at the age of forty-two. what is more, he also actives in the public sectors to serve his country and his fellow countrymen. for example, he has played an irreplaceable role during the independent war and co-authored the declaration of independence.as the co-founders of the united states, franklins splendid achievement has not only been recorded into americans history, but also been advocated by many great persons such as karl. carnage (an american writer, lecturer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvements and interpersonal skills) and napoleon. franklin demonstrates the possibilities of life in the new world through his own rise from the lower middle class as a poor young boy to one of the most admired men in the world as an adult. furthermore, he asserts that he has achieved his success through a solid work ethic. he proves that even an undistinguished boy in boston can, through industry, become a great figure in america. when we think of the american dream today-the ability to rise from rags to riches through hard work-we are usually thinking of the model set forth by franklin in his autobiography. for hundreds year, benjamin franklins autobiography has influenced many generations of american young people.the reasons why people in today still read this book are several. they are it establishes the first form of autobiography in literature and it tells the story of franklins life from his humble beginning to his emergence as a leading figure in the american colonies. in the process, it creates a portrait of franklin as the quintessential american. because of this book, franklin becomes a role model for future generations of americans, who hope to emulate his rag-to-riches story. the autobiography has also become one of the central works not just for understanding franklin but for understanding america. in the words of historian henry steele commager, in franklin could be merged the virtues of puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the enlightenment without its heat.3 to walter isaacson, this makes franklin, the most accomplished american of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society america would become.4 many scholars later try to establish franklin as a carrier of american puritanism tradition, we could explore the puritan elements in franklins practices in science and public service all well as his religions and moral thought. franklins religious thinking is the key to understand franklins ambitious life thoughts. hence, many critics turn to consider franklin as the symbol of puritan ethic and material pursuits. franklins autobiography has received widespread praise, both for its historical value as a record of an important early american and for its literary style. it is often considered the first american book to be taken seriously by europeans as literature. william dean howells in 1905 asserted that franklins is one of the greatest autobiographies in literature, and towers over other autobiographies as franklin towered over other men. hence, most readers recognizing it as a classic of literature and relating to the narrative voice of the author. puritanism, the root of the american nationalism, has exerted great influence on american peoples life. the puritans are a significant group of english protestants who come to america in the 16th and 17th centuries. for a religious reform within the church of england, puritanism is founded by some marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of elizabeth i of england in 1559.the arriving of these english settlers began in early seventeenth century, and those people become the founding fathers of the united states. at the early of 17th century, a group of puritans went to the north america for their intolerance of the religious persecution placed by the british authority. they hoped they could worship the god according to their own willing, so as to build a city upon the hills in this virgin land. the following words tell us the close relationship between puritanism and the american mind. professor chang once wrote in his book that:they carried with them to america a code of values, a philosophy of life, a point of view which, in time, took root in the new world and became what is popularly known as american puritanism. a dominant factor in american life, american puritanism was one of the most enduring shaping influences in american thought and american literature. it has become, to some extent, so much a state of mind, rather than a set of tenets, so much a part of the national cultural atmosphere that the american breathes, than we may state with a degree of safety that, without some understanding of puritanism, there can be no real understanding of america and its literature.（常耀信，17） from professor changs words, we could say if some one wants to understand the american literature and culture deeply, the knowledge of puritanism is a must.puritanism is one of the most enduring shaping influences in american thought and american literature. the puritans look upon themselves as a chosen people, and they came to america, which they looked as the “promised land” that god rewards to his chosen people, to restore the garden of eden the virtues of the puritanism have formed the main social spirits of that time. it became the common-shared values by the majority people at that time. for they are religious believers, they always uphold the religious and moral principles. literally puritanism is derived from the word puritan with original in latin means pure and clean. the puritans emphasize that each person should be constantly developed by the grace of the god to fight against the original sin and do what is right in front of god. they advocate that a humble and obedient life could arise every christian. puritan culture emphasizes the need for self-examination and the strict accounting for ones feelings as well as ones deeds. in the past, the word puritan is often chosen to describe someone who has a strict opinion on sexual morality, disapproval of recreation, and wishes to preach these beliefs on other american. gradually, in order to restrict themselves from temptation or being more sinful, the religious account-books in which sins, temptations and progress are used by the puritans to supervise their conscientious. this is why in the colonial time, many people had the habit of writing diary or other staff to account their daily deeds. franklin also without exception, franklins main purpose of writing the autobiography is to look intensely into his past life and carefully record his experience. bearing this in mind, he makes a self-assessment of his life and achievements. one of the spotlights in autobiography is franklins list of 13virtues. in order to be moral perfection, franklin makes this bold and arduous project. those virtues franklin seeks to cultivate his character by a plan of thirteen virtues, which he developed at age 20 (in 1726) and continued to practice in some form for the rest of his life. hence, we could say the american literature is closely intertwined with the puritanism. with franklins autobiography as a example, later many american literary works are based on the puritan related stories, i.e. the biblical myth of the garden of eden. the most famous one is nathaniel hawthornes scarlet letter. this paper is divided into three parts and is mainly to study how do the puritanical doctrines and method influent the american peoples mind with benjamin franklins autobiography as a case study. the first part is mainly focused on the forming of americans puritan virtues with franklins autobiography as a text study. i will study from the religious field and historical field respectively. we could see, from the exploration of the first batch of puritans for the america, the american pioneering spirit come into being; the puritan ancestors flight from europe lay the democratic foundation of the politic layout in nowadays america; from calvinisms doctrines of asceticism and calling, the puritans constantly examine their conscience to ascertain how much more they should do to ensure salvation. from these virtues, the most important characters of todays american come into being. they are diligence and thriftiness, which have played a great influence on the forming and development of the american capital accumulation, pioneering spirit, the worship for democracy. the second part mainly studies the embodiment of these puritan virtues in franklins life and the american mind as well. all of these puritan virtues are shared by franklin himself and his fellow citizens. the autobiography is composed in 1771, continued in 1784-5, and again in 1788, respectively. it is viewed as one of the most notable personalities of colonial time, and it is also acknowledged ranking as one of the great autobiographies in the world. reading through this book , we can figure out that franklin chooses the identity of a father as his perspective at first, because he intends to carry out his narration with his son .because he is viewed as one of the founding father of his states, the american citizens reckon his letter is written to the general public. at the outset of his letter, franklin gives us the purpose of his writing that is to make his son knows his early fighting day, how he won peoples respect and his way of success. max weber once argued, in the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism produced during 1904 to 1905, that franklin and his belief embody the spirit of capitalism .webers argumentation of the causal relationship between protestantism and capitalism convinced his readers that the legal earning of money as the core of the modern economic order expresses the virtue and proficiency in a