Analysis of Benjamin Franklin's The Way To Wealth Essay Example

Self-sufficiency is important in everyday life, and it plays a vital role in each individual's success. In the past, hard work was really hard, money was scarce, and people were worried about what may happen to their lives if they couldn't continue to earn enough money to survive. Throughout Benjamin Franklin's article, "The Way to Wealth," he provides specific scenarios that help lead to the main focus of how saving money and hard work portrayed self-sufficiency in American culture at this time.

The article focuses on two people who are named Father Abraham and Poor Richard. When talking about the significance of saving money, Father Abraham often quotes Poor Richard's sayings. During this period, the government isn't fair to their citizens with their money. Everyone is forced to spend more for the government's needs: "The taxes are indeed very heavy" (The Way to Wealth page 1). The audience that Father Abraham is speaking to explains that everyone is displeased with the heavy taxes they are facing. This shows the importance of saving money because it leads to his point of view on spending money. Father Abraham mentions, "If you would know the value of money, go try and borrow some; for, he that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing as Poor Richard says" (The Way to Wealth page 4). This reflects the value of money and how Father Abraham tries to help his audience understand why it is crucial. He conveys that spending money is way easier than saving it. It may benefit someone for the time being, but in the long run, it will only bring sorrow and regret when that person owes money in return. Learning how to manage money spending at this time was important, but how to earn that money depended on how hard-working each individual was.

Hard work played an essential part throughout this course of history. It played a crucial role in defining each person's financial success within their society. Many were viewed as lazy and unmotivated to do their work. In the article, Father Abraham addresses, "The sleeping fox catches no poultry, and that there will be sleeping enough in the grave" (The Way To Wealth page 2). This is a saying from Poor Richard that expresses the theme that hard work pays off and laziness can be harmful. Sleeping while others work and accomplish specific goals can lead to a lack of success in life. He also mentions another scenario when, "We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly" (The Way to Wealth page 1). This once again shows the displeasure with the heavy taxes that they are all facing. However, it also shows that these negative character traits like idleness, pride, and folly are much bigger problems than high taxes. People who don't intend to do the work will not benefit from succeeding if they choose to live that way.

In conclusion, self-sufficiency was viewed very differently in Franklin's day. The lack of hard work and earning money indicated that the people would most likely not be successful. Though Father Abraham hoped his audience would listen to his sayings, it was obvious that people's lack of motivation and the impact of taxes prevented them from following his advice. They tend to learn through experiencing the consequences of their negative behaviors versus learning through the teachings of Abraham. This writing by Franklin helps demonstrate how hard work and motivation go a long way towards financial success and the enrichment of one's own life.