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Benjamin Franklin established the model for the American self made man in his Autobiography Define the characteristics of this paradigm for success and explain how Rip Van Winkle Henry David Thoreau in Resistance to Civil Government and Huckleberry Finn actually depart from it What is the alternate model for success implied in these works

Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of our country and the first to make of his own life history an American best seller, set the standards for the modern self-made man. His Autobiography shows a man who found the best means to develop himself intellectually and use all the knowledge he gained to serve his fellow people in the purest sense of the capitalism. Max Weber and DH Lawrence were two of the numerous attackers of his pragmatism, but despite all those who found faults in his virtues, he stands as the symbol for a life achievement through hard work and trust in the American dream.
Compared to Franklin, Rip Van Winkle, the main character in the short story written by Washington Irving, is an idealistic person who although most beloved by those around him, except his wife, never does anything out of the pure drive to make life for him and those around him materialistically better. He is described as a man whose hart was made of gold, but only in the eyes of those near him. His greatest fault is found in: an insuperable aversion in all kinds of profitable labour (Irving, 10). Unlike Franklin, Rip Van