Reflection #10: Ben Franklin vs. Other Puritan Writers

Ben Franklin, as an author, and Puritan authors are very different. From their writing style to the content in their writing, there is just a wide variety of differences. Ben Franklin was obviously not a Puritan considering we are comparing his works to those of Puritans. I enjoyed Ben Franklin's autobiography the most out of all of the stories and poems that we have read thus far. Franklin has a peculiar way of writing that made him stand out from all other authors that we have read this year.

The biggest difference between Franklin's autobiography and the previous works that we have read by Puritans is the lack of God in Franklin's story. All of the previous Puritan writers were all about God. Granted, Ben Franklin was not a Puritan. The Puritan's life revolved around God, and everything that they did was for Him. When life was bad, God was to be praised. When life was good, God was to be praised. In Anne Bradstreet's Upon the Burning of Our House, her house was burning down and she was still praising God. She was not the strongest Puritan of the Puritan writers but she still praised God no matter the circumstance (Bradstreet 91). Mary Rowlandson was being held captive by Indians and all she could think about was how this was going to help her in the end. God was doing this for a reason, and she was thanking him. She knew that God would never put something upon her that she could not handle (Rowlandson 83). Through reading the bit of Ben Franklin's autobiography, we find that he had struggles just like everyone else in life. But unlike the Puritans, he does not necessarily praise God for those hardships (Franklin 108).

Another difference between Ben Franklin and Puritan writers is the actual way that they write. Puritans did not use flowery talk and they got straight to the point. Franklin kind of beat around the bush in some cases. When referring to his stay with the nice lady, he gave description after description about what she gave him (Franklin 107). By no means am I saying that is a bad thing, it is just different from the works we have been reading. In William Bradford's narrative he firmly states how the winds were bad in his journey, and it is just very to the point (Bradford 64). Franklin was more of an actual writer in my opinion because he gave detailed descriptions in his autobiography (Franklin 106).

Overall, Franklin and the Puritan writers that we have read narratives about are very different. Franklin was more of just an everyday kind of guy just trying to get his story out there. He was not trying to really teach or inform his readers about anything besides his life. Puritan writers wanted their readers to know what their culture was and the kinds of things that they had to endure. Franklin did not praise God for every little thing that happened in his life. This is not saying that he was not a faithful man, he just did not put it out there in this small portion of his autobiography. Puritans were strictly God-focused people. Everything was about Him. Though we have read more Puritan works, I enjoyed Franklin's narrative more. He was more descriptive in his account of his life and he was not pushing God down your throats (Franklin 107). Franklin's autobiography and works from Puritans were really not similar. This goes right along with Franklin and Puritan writers.

Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 64-67. Print.

Bradstreet, Anne. "Upon the Burning of Our House." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 91. Print.

Franklin, Benjamin. "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 106-108. Print.

Rowlandson, Mary. "A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration or Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 82-85. Print.