Reoccurring Redemption: a Comparison Between the Redemption in Benjamin Franklin’s the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s the Scarlet Letter, and in Tim O’brien’s the Things They Carried

Reoccurring Redemption: A Comparison Between the Redemption in Benjamin Franklin’s The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried

For all souls who have ever been haunted, America has held the tools to help reconstruct their forlorn existences. Toiling in their tasks of improvement, Americans have, through history, held their dream to be that of redemption, counting on the restorative properties of vastness and opportunity in America, as emphasized in Benjamin Franklin’s The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin when Benjamin Franklin takes advantage of the economic opportunities, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter when Hester Prynne takes advantage of the limited religious opportunities, and in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried when Tim O’Brien takes advantage of the literary opportunities; all result in redemption. Fresh starts, and the proverbial ‘second chances’ are touted as American delicacies in these texts, each hero and heroine wanting his or her own serving.

Whether the problems lie in his personal life or in his nation, Benjamin Franklin, as defined in his autobiography The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, had the resolution to walk away from the problems and begin a fresh and successful enterprise, restarting being one of his Enlightenment ideals and the form of redemption most practiced in the Eighteenth Century. While apprenticing under James, Benjamin found his leadership tendencies and creative efforts stifled. James resented Benjamin's genius, as Benjamin was well read, and discouraged it as any fearful employer (and jealous brother) might, with harsh treatment. Thus, thinking his "apprenticeship very tedious," Benjamin sought a way to extricate himself from the eight-year contract binding him to James. (88). Cleverly playing on James’s use of "Benjamin Franklin" on the heading of James's published newspaper, Benjamin was able to secure his...