The Influence of Puritan Virtues upon the American Mind-- A Case Study on Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography.docVIP

The Influence of Puritan Virtues upon the American Mind -- A Case Study on Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography Abstract It is generally acknowledged Puritanism is one of the most significant shaping influences in American mind and American literature. It has formed, to some extent, a state of mind and a national cultural atmosphere which the American live in. rather than a kind of religion .We could say without some understanding of Puritanism, one can never understand the America and its literature deeply. This paper aims to study the influence of puritan virtues on the American mind with Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography as a case study. It mainly analyzes how the Puritanism influenced the American mind such as American people’s political view, pioneering spirit, working ethic and their fortune value. As a national hero and mould of the American people from generation to generation, we could say Franklin’s Autobiography is not only a literary work but also a reflection of the American mind. Although living in the time when Enlightenment is prevailing, we could still find the strong puritan hint on Franklin himself. And this puritan influence has lasted for many centuries on the American people even in today. This paper is divided into four parts and is mainly to study how do the puritanical doctrines and method influent the American people’s characters with Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography as a case study. The first part is mainly focused on the background introduction, and the second one mainly deals with the forming of American’s puritan virtues with Franklin’s Autobiography as a text study. The third and the forth parts mainly study the embodiment of these puritan virtues in Franklin’s life and the American mind as well.By using a national idol to study the American mind from the perspective of Puritanism is a workable task. It not only avoids the dullness of religious study but also put the religious study into the real life. However, for