Benjamin Franklin and Phyllis Wheatley: Examples of Colonists with Different Backgrounds

A detailed Summary of Benjamin Franklin and Phyllis Wheatley: Examples of Colonists with Different Backgrounds

In the 18th century, the British colonies that would eventually become the United States of America contained a wide variety of types of people. America really was a "New World." It had not really completely invented itself yet. As a result, there were a wide variety of types of people living in the British American colonies. Benjamin Franklin and Phyllis Wheatley are two examples of Colonialists in America with markedly different backgrounds, lives, and gender and those differences are reflected in what they wrote.

Phyllis Wheatley was kidnapped as a child from Africa and sold to a family in Massachusetts. This family recognized her abilities and educated her. Phyllis Wheatley wrote poetry that reflected her refined upbringing in Massachusetts. Benjamin Franklin, on the other hand, essentially ran away from home at the age of 15 and made his own way. He came from a more working-class family. One thing that these very different two people have in common, however, is that they rose from humble beginnings to accomplish things that are still highly regarded today.

Wheatley's poetry demonstrates that she must have received a classical education. The language she uses is elaborate and full of symbolism. They reflect high degrees of

Interestingly, it appears that being Black was not much of an obstacle for Wheatley, given the times in which she lived. She still received an outstanding education. Instead, the differences between Franklin and Wheatley may be more one of class. Wheatley's poetry suggests an upper class education, whereas Franklin's life and writing suggests a much closer connection to the common man.

Still, both Franklin and Wheatley seem to have made the best they could of their circumstances. Franklin had an uncanny knack for business and understood the printing trade very well. It probably helped him that he entered this field just as being able to communicate with people via the printed word was going to become very important. The printed word played an important role in rallying colonists around the cause of separating from Great Britain. In spite of what must have been very restrictive circumstances, Wheatley found the perfect outlet for her education, language abilities and intellectual skills in her ornate poetry. In this way, both Franklin epitomized the United States during the 18th century, because for people with talent and determination, America truly was a land of opportunity.

In the poem, Wheatley uses metaphor to think of imagination as an "imperial queen." In language that would be considered artificial and stilted today, she writes, "Thy wond'drous acts in beauteous order stand...". The flowery and exalted language compare sharply with Benjamin Franklin's style of writing, which was much more practical and down-to-earth. Much of Franklin's writing was completely practical in nature. In "Poor Richard's Almanac" he provided information people needed at the time in their everyday lives. He wrote pithy columns for daily or weekly publications about issues that affected people right then. Franklin was a practical man, and although he displayed tremendous imagination, he put it to practical use. While Wheatley was writing about "Th' empyreal palace of the thund'ring God." Franklin debated the merits of being married vs. taking an older woman as a mistress. These differences are to be expected. In the 18th century, genteel women - and Wheatley was raised as a genteel woman even though she started her life in America as a slave - did not concern themselves with the practical realities of life.

While Franklin's work was largely practical, sometimes he applied imagination to life simply out of curiosity. He devised his experiment with a kite and a key because he was curious about lightning, not because he was looking for some way to harness lightning and use It in some practical way. But even then his approach was simple and concrete. He wrote no flowery poem extolling the wonders of lightning after he finished his experiment. It seems likely that if a woman had taken a kite, tied a key to the string and flown the kite in a thunderstorm, people might have thought she had gone mad.

"From star to star the

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Approximate Word count = 1977
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History