Epigraph explained

What happens

Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Themes in this chapter

• Education and Self-Learning

  Franklin's bequest underscores his lifelong commitment to education and the value of schooling.

• Public Service and Civic Duty

  The endowment reflects Franklin's sense of civic responsibility and desire to benefit future generations.

Characters to notice

• Benjamin Franklin

  Dictates a bequest to Boston's free schools in his will.

Key passages

• “I was born in Boston, New England, and owe my first instructions in literature to the free grammar-schools established there.”

  Franklin credits the free grammar schools of Boston for his early education.

  This statement connects his personal history to his philanthropic gesture.

• “I therefore give one hundred pounds sterling to my executors, to be by them … paid over to the managers or directors of the free schools in my native town of Boston, to be by them … put out to interest, and so continued at interest forever, which interest annually shall be laid out in silver medals, and given as honorary rewards annually by the directors of the said free schools belonging to the said town, in such manner as to the discretion of the selectmen of the said town shall seem meet.”

  Franklin bequeaths £100 to Boston's free school managers, to be invested perpetually, with the annual interest used to purchase silver medals as yearly student awards, as the selectmen see fit.

  This detailed bequest demonstrates Franklin's methodical approach to philanthropy and education.