nvention of fictional characters, certainly can be traced in part to the hectic conditions in which he lived and had to survive psychologically as a child. In addition, although the Franklin household was hardly poverty-stricken, matters of economy were an important consideration of his parents. A tallow-chandler and soap-boiler, Franklin's father had to watch every penny in order to provide his huge family with the basic necessities of life
As Lopez and Herbert write in their biography of Franklin,
The concept of history has changed. . . . The family has at last become a legitimate historical topic. . . . The case of Benjamin Franklin is exceptional: There is a rare richness of material . . . that invites one to essay a reconstruction of his family relationships (xi).
The wise leader Franklin's writing reveals was a product of his childhood and family life:
Franklin's own family [that is, his family as an adult and father himself], numbering only two living children, was more like the nuclear unit of the present day than the teeming hearths of his contemporaries, but he compensated by taking on quite willingly the responsibilities of a virtual "extended family"--brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, cousins--as the obligation of wealth and prominence (Lopez and Herbert xi).
From the earliest recollections of others, Franklin is shown to be a child and young man who sees himself and is seen by others as one to look up to, one who uses his time well, one who is always busy working or discovering:
Benjamin was in effect the oldest child of the last cluster of three, made up of himself and two younger sisters who looked up to him and contributed to the self-confidence that was to be one of his prime assets. The earliest stories . . . are stori
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