I've been on a biography kick this year and this one is worth mentioning. It's interesting for a number of reasons, the first being that that it was written at three distinct points in his life and really has three distinct voices and narrative styles.
The first part, written in 1771 explicitly for his son to read is absolutely the most interesting and compelling. It covers his misadventures as a young adult and his struggles with his family who he seemed to think underestimated him at every turn. It's pretty interesting as it details the evolution of the printing and newspaper industry in the 18th century. It also gets into his love life which is pretty interesting too. He developes his own moral philosophy and gets involved with another printer who tries starting his own Christian sect, honestly fascinating.
The next voice, being written in 1780-81, seems quite a bit more circumspect and self assured. He talks about advertising contracts for the English army, financial concerns and a bit (really not enough) about the American revolution. At this point his voice seems thoroughly self aware, he is no longer willing to admit any mistakes or defects or character. He developes a system for perfecting his morality, and his only flaw is that he is disorganized. Certainly states to seem like an unreliable narrator in my opinion. This is the point in his life that others claim to be characterized by his whore mongering and general unseriousness. He doesn't hint at it at all.
The last voice, parts 3 and 4 in the book were written in 1788-89. He basically ceased being a character altogether in my opinion, this section attempts to use his lifetime as a textbook in civics and public administration. The narrative is completely absent. Others claim he's infected with syphilis at this point in his life. He never admits a single sexual act in the entire book, let alone with a prostitute, but the cognitive decline is evident.
He dies in 1790, book is published in 1793. Pretty interesting book in my opinion. Anyone else read this? Any other autobiographies has similar discrepancies in voice?
by SouthSouthBay
1 Comment
read this one a few years ago and the shift in voice is so stark it almost feels like three different books. the first section is genuinely the best part, young franklin is way more candid and self aware than older franklin ever lets himself be. by the end he’s basically writing a civics manual and all the personality is gone. if you want something with that same kind of unreliable narrator energy, give Grant’s memoirs a shot. he wrote it while dying of throat cancer and somehow it’s one of the most honest and readable things any american public figure has ever put out.