The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin · Chapter
IV: First Visit to Boston explained
Franklin returns to Boston after seven months, bearing a letter from Governor Keith recommending that his father set him up in the printing business.
What happens
Franklin returns to Boston after seven months, bearing a letter from Governor Keith recommending that his father set him up in the printing business. His father refuses, judging him too young. Franklin then returns to Philadelphia, but not before a falling out with his brother James and a troubling incident involving money entrusted to him by Mr. Vernon. Governor Keith then promises to finance the venture himself, proposing that Franklin travel to England to select equipment.
Themes in this chapter
Social Mobility and the American Dream
Franklin's return to Boston with a fine suit, watch, and silver demonstrates his rapid rise from apprentice to a young man of means, embodying the promise of self-made success.
Practical Wisdom and Common Sense
Josiah Franklin's refusal to support his son's premature business venture reflects practical wisdom, while Franklin's later rationalization for eating fish shows his pragmatic reasoning.
The Value of Networking and Reputation
Governor Keith's patronage and the letter of recommendation illustrate how strategic relationships and a good reputation could open doors for advancement.
Characters to notice
- Benjamin Franklin
Returns to Boston after seven months, better dressed and with money, seeking his father's support for a printing business.
- Sir William Keith
Governor of Pennsylvania who writes a letter to Franklin's father recommending he set up Franklin in business, and later promises to finance the venture himself.
- Josiah Franklin
Franklin's father, who refuses Governor Keith's proposal, judging Franklin too young to manage a business.
- James Ralph
Franklin's companion who decides to go to Philadelphia, but later abandons him after a quarrel and leaves for Barbados.
- Samuel Vernon
A friend of Franklin's brother John, who entrusts Franklin with collecting about thirty-five pounds in Pennsylvania, which Franklin later misuses.
- Deborah Read
Mentioned indirectly as Franklin's future wife; she is not directly involved in this chapter's events.
Key passages
“So convenient a thing is it to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do.”
Being rational is very handy because it lets you justify whatever you want to do.
Franklin humorously reflects on his own ability to rationalize breaking his vegetarian principles.
“He said I appeared a young man of promising parts, and therefore should be encouraged; the printers at Philadelphia were wretched ones; and, if I would set up there, he made no doubt I should succeed.”
Governor Keith praised Franklin as a promising young man and encouraged him to start his own printing business in Philadelphia, predicting success.
Keith's flattering assessment sets the stage for Franklin's ambitious return to Philadelphia.