Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography Benjamin Franklin's story is that of the American dream, building his way up from nothing to prestige and influence through his own hard work and skill. Still he reveals that he made some errors in his life that make him less than perfect. It is this fact that he appeals to the reader in a very average and common man, not that of a hero. According to Franklin, when in the company …showed first 75 words of 905 total…

…showed last 75 words of 905 total…higher standard of living, life was not so bleak in Franklin's day as it was when Winthrop first delivered his speech before landing on shore. People began to enjoy life and to want to get as much out of this life as they could, rather than seeing temporal life as merely a path to the eternal life. Thus in the enlightenment, modern thought's ideas of rationalism and humanity as we know it had already begun.