39 pages • 1 hour read
Robert LawsonBen and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1992A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Ben’s Fur Cap
Ben’s fur cap is a motif that highlights The Humanity of Heroes. Amos hides and rides in Ben’s hat, giving Ben directions on everything from how to avoid mud puddles to how to thwart his political enemies. Amos says, “Ben soon became so dependent on my advice that he seldom ventured abroad without me. The fur cap, which formerly he had used only in inclement weather, he now wore constantly” (20). Ben’s reliance on Amos and the extent to which Amos’s instructions guide him is suggested by the mouse’s location in Ben’s hat, as close to Ben’s brain as another creature could get. Ben then begins to wear this hat everywhere, another indication of how much he relies on Amos. In fact, Amos’s intelligence and advice are so crucial to Ben’s success in France that Ben admits losing him would pose a “grave” danger. In many ways, Amos is as instrumental to Ben’s thinking and decision-making as is possible.
At the same time, Amos’s descriptions of the alterations Ben makes to his hat demonstrate that Ben could be more capable than Amos believes. Amos admits that Ben is “well-skilled with the needle” and “contrive[s] many ingenious little improvements in the fur cap” (18). Ben sews a small compartment in which Amos can keep food, creates a pocket in which Amos can sleep, and opens a small peephole so Amos can view their surroundings as Ben moves. Ben conceptualizes these changes and makes them a reality in a way that even Amos must concede is clever and creative.
The Franklin Stove
The Franklin stove is a motif that emphasizes both The Benefits of Collaboration and The Importance of Innovation. Amos and Ben work together to produce the technology that would become known as the Franklin stove. Amos explains that his parents and their 26 children could all warm themselves around one roasted chestnut because it was “OUT IN THE OPEN, not stuck in a hole in the wall” (10), like traditional fireplaces. This idea inspires Ben to begin building a freestanding stove that functions similarly. While Amos is responsible for the stove’s concept—including the pipe that conducts its smoke outside and the combination of bricks and sand that protect the floor—it is Ben who procures the necessary materials, draws up a plan, and builds it. While Ben needs Amos’s help with the idea, Amos needs Ben to do the heavy lifting, literally. Their collaboration allows each to use his skills and strengths to create something that will benefit many.
This benefit is what points to the significance of the pair’s invention. This innovation means that colonial families will be able to warm their homes more quickly and thoroughly, and they’ll be able to do it by using less fuel than ever before. Prior to inventing the stove, Ben’s fire burns weakly and barely improves when he adds three more logs. However, within minutes of its use, the Franklin stove warms the room “like a summer afternoon,” and within an hour or two, “the room was sizzling warm” (14, 15). Ben is “happily writing” amid the warmth when, the day before, he was so cold that his sneezing prevented him from getting any work done.
Ben’s Maxims
Ben’s maxims—those he uses to guide his actions as well as those he prints in Poor Richard’s Almanack—are a source of pride for him, though Amos quickly grows impatient with them because he thinks they are not nearly as wise as Ben believes. Thus, Ben’s sayings are a motif that highlights The Humanity of Heroes because they show that Ben’s so-called “conventional wisdom” is not actually all that wise. Ben’s first words to Amos are “WASTE NOT, WANT NOT” (9) when Amos suggests that Ben add more wood to his fire. Ben’s response, one of his most famous aphorisms, implies that he believes using more wood would constitute wastefulness. However, Amos retorts that getting sick for weeks from the cold would be a waste, as would the money Ben could spend on doctors’ bills. Ben quickly sees the wisdom of the mouse’s arguments rather than of his own adage.
Ben proudly boasts of his maxims’ inclusion and dissemination to the public via Poor Richard’s Almanack. He says to Amos, “Consider the maxims it contains—think of the lives that have been molded by their wisdom!” (31). Refuting Ben’s argument, Amos asks, “Have they molded your life? EARLY TO BED AND EARLY TO RISE, MAKES A MAN HEALTHY, WEALTHY AND WISE. Bah!” (31). He alludes to Ben’s apparent health, asking when Ben has ever gone to bed or gotten up early, and Ben admits that this is not his practice. He concedes that he might achieve wisdom if he did live by this rule, though Amos argues that such a change “would require more than a maxim: a miracle, more like...” (31). In short, just because one says something in a pithy or memorable way doesn’t mean it is true or that it applies to every situation. The wisdom to know when such a rule does apply is just part of the wisdom that the rule cannot convey.
