Outliers: The Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin

Unlike what Gladwell had proposed in his theory that success is not merely dependent on individual’s hard work, Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin insists that success is solely based on that. In many of the events that are described in the autobiography, Franklin, presents the story he believes have shaped him while subtly mentioning the qualities he possessed. To Franklin, all of his success was based on himself and one quality that he implicitly states that he had possessed was his open mind. Whenever an opportunity was given to Franklin, he seized it. For example, in the beginning, he was joined his father in candle making but reveals that he was not interested in it. Later he gets a chance to join his brother’s press
company saying that he had “ liked it much better than of his father” and “had a hankering for the sea”(Franklin, 314). It is implied here that though Franklin’s interest were elsewhere, he regardless joined his brother’s business.
Though the autobiography seems to refute the ideas that were presented in Outliers: the story of success, it indeed supports it. In the example given above, Franklin presents himself as a man with open-mind because he had seized the opportunities that were given to him, However from what Gladwell states, many of the individuals that achieved success attained by the chances that were given to them based on their background. Franklin was given a chance in the press business because he had a brother that was part of it already, and had a father who pushed him towards this opportunity. If Franklin were to have neither of these men, he potentially would not have an experience in the press business and would not get the opportunity to succeed in his own press business that he later establishes. As Gladwell had stated, Franklin was given this chance due to his family and their background and was not merely based on his traits and hard
work. Franklin’s autobiography continues to support Gladwell’s theory that success is not solely based on the individual.
Throughout the novel, Franklin mentions that majority of the language he had learned was based on his reading and continuous strive to improve. He says, “ I was fond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books […] grew more attentive to the manner in writing, and determined to endeavor at improvement”(Franklin, 342). Franklin was briefly joined in a school to learn grammar but soon quit. In order to learn the language better, Franklin read and wrote his arguments to improve his language and did this with the help of his friend. Here Franklin is revealing that it was because he of motivation to do better, he was able to learn English and develop his writing skills and eventually write the autobiography that has been read by so many. It seems that Franklin had indeed made it on his own, however looking at the factors that allowed him to buy the book and eventually practice his writing skills are not due to him. Gladwell states that different situations give a different set of opportunities that are not dependent on the individual. For Franklin, he had time and the right amount of money given by his family that allowed him to read books and if Franklin had not had time to do this, he would not have gotten the chance to improve his language and writing skills. This would cause Franklin to never get the chance to write
his autobiography and become the quintessential American he is viewed as. Franklin’s success and fame are also based on the culture he was born into. Gladwell states that culture affects the opportunities that are presented to an individual. One of the reasons that Franklin was successful was due to the support that the people he had knew that allowed him to take this support and go after what he wanted to do. For example, Franklin mentions the compliments that the governor gives who said that Franklin “appear’d a young man of promising parts, and therefore should be encouraged” ( Franklin,604). The governor gives a letter that says “many flattering things of [Franklin] to [his] father” also “strongly recommending the project of my setting up at Philadelphia “ (617). The praises that were given to Franklin gave support to his ambition, which allowed him to establish a printing press of his own and led to immense success. Supporting Gladwell’s idea that culture affects an individual’s success, if people like the governor did not support Benjamin Franklin, he would have not attempted to put his own printing press at that age. Though it was Franklins choice to whether or not leave his family and establish eventually establish a printing press, It was the culture that he was placed in that allowed Benjamin Franklin to attain the success that he is known for. Gladwell’s argument becomes more persuasive when looking at this example, because as the autobiography is read, it seems that Franklin had achieved success solely based on his hard work and motivation but looking closer at the factors, reveals that factors such as culture affected the success of the self-made man.