I found Benjamin Franklin's narrative intriguing in a variety of ways. First, simply what he came from and how far he got is very inspiring. The idea of being a "self-made man" is so admirable because he was literally poor and some how rose to be one of the most remember people in U.S. history. What adds to this is that he was able to step out of the shadows of his family and do things his own way. I think of this time period as very controlled and people always had to go by the rules. However, I think that Franklin had to courage to kind of put that aside and focus more on himself and take pride in the things he knew he could accomplish.
Second, I found his obsession with trying to perform his day to day tasks in meaningful ways was also very interesting. When I stop and think about my day I never take the time to think about who I have impacted and what I have done to help anyone else. It seems so selfish when I think about it in retrospect. However, I think that the ways in which Franklin was trying to control all of the things going on in his life down to the minute is unrealistic. No one can be completely perfect all of the time. I think that after Franklin's research he was able to see more closely how impossible it is to live that way constantly. He was filled with self determination and I think that is what causes him to want to be that perfect member of society all of the time.
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