The Difference Between Benjamin Franklin and Phyllis Wheatley

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 â€Å"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 optimism and idealism. One example of such a poem by Wheatley is â€Å"On Imagination.† In the poem, Wheatley uses metaphor to think of imagination as an â€Å"imperial queen.† In language that would be considered artificial and stilted today, she writes, â€Å"Thy wond'drous acts in beauteous order stand†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . 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 â€Å"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 â€Å"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. The differences in their writing highlight the fact that although they both grew above their position at birth, Franklin was able to elevate himself more than Wheatley could. Part of this difference undoubtedly lies in their racial differences, and part of it their gender differences. Franklin was an active inventor, a highly imaginative use of creativity. He invented bifocals, a development that resulted in dramatic changes in the manufacture of eyeglasses. He invented the Franklin Stove. Homes were often heated by fireplaces during that time, and only one side of a fireplace released heat into the room. The Franklin Stove stands in the room and is not built into the wall. The result is that heat is released from all sides, providing more heat for the home. 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. The differences between Franklin's and Wheatley's writing may reflect a difference in formal education. Wheatley must have had a formal, classical education to write in the style she did. Her poetry includes references to Greek mythology. We know that Franklin had little formal education. During the 18th century this did not have to interfere with advancement and a high level of education was not required for most jobs. As a printer, it seems likely that skill with his hands would be at least as important as the ability to read and write, skills Franklin clearly developed. But since he was apprenticed to his brother at age 12 and fled to Philadelphia when he was 15 it seems very unlikely that he had an opportunity to study Greek myths. Franklin advanced himself by developing skills that had real market value. He became a very good printer and actually created a franchise for his skills. His writings were widely read. He had a trade, he was very good at it, and because of that he could support himself and his wife well. His wife helped. She ran the store they owned. But she did not start businesses on her own, and while she was certainly entitled to share in her husband's wealth, she would have had a very hard time accomplishing what he accomplished on her own. For instance, Franklin began his first real successful printing enterprise by getting a loan. It seems unlikely that such a loan would have been given to his wife. Wheatley, of course, had the added obstacle of being Black. 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. It also appears that Wheatley was very religious. This is revealed in another of her poems, where she expresses thanks for being brought to America as a slave, because it brought her to Christianity. However, her religious beliefs go well beyond the simple concept of salvation. In â€Å"On Imagination,† she views imagination as God's residence, and writes, â€Å"From star to star the mental optics rove, measure the skies, There in one view we grasp the mighty whole, or with new worlds amaze th' unbounded soul.† She sees God in everything she views, and grasps the enormity of creation. By comparison, Franklin talks about religion in practical terms. In his letter â€Å"Advice on the Choice of a Mistress,† he says that taking an older woman for a mistress is less of a sin than â€Å"debauching a Virgin.† While he mentions sin, most of his letter witty and clever but completely ignores the issue of whether taking a mistress is against God's law or not. His argument is moral: don't ruin a young girls' life just because you don't want to marry – it's not necessary. Franklin wrote directly, and without metaphor, especially the extended ones Wheatley was fond of. He used short sentences that got right to the point, such as â€Å"A stitch in time saves nine.† Wheatley, however, wrote more elaborate expressions. When she admired the paintings of a young African-American, she wrote a 34-line using iambic pentameter – the same meter often chosen by Shakespeare. However, although we know from reading her poem that she admired the paintings, we don't get any clear image of what the painting might have looked like. She spends a good part of the poem in good wishes for the poet: â€Å"Still may the paint's and the poet's fire to aid thy pencil, and thy verse conspire~ And may the charms of each seraphic theme Conduct they footsteps to immortal fame!† By comparison, Franklin gives very specific and practical advice to his friend who does not wish to marry, including 8 reasons he should take an older mistress if he does not marry, including the final one: â€Å"and lastly. They are so grateful!!!† Such earthy humor is not present in the poems of Wheatley's examined here. He also gives humorous advice such as to cover the upper torso of an older lover with a basket, because the head and upper body suffer the ravages of age first. Even when giving intensely personal advice, Franklin is practical as well as entertaining. Franklin seems to enjoy bawdy humor based on this example. However, it should be noted that Franklin may not have intended this letter to be published and may have written in a less graphic style for public consumption. Benjamin Franklin lived a remarkable life. He was apprenticed to his older brother and worked hard for him, only to make his brother jealous of Benjamin's abilities. Benjamin managed to keep his brother's paper operational while the brother was in jail for expressing his beliefs, and wrote a column for it anonymously, slipping his work under the door at night. When he finally revealed to his brother that he was â€Å"Silence Dogood,† his brother only scolded him. Defying the norms of the day, he ran away at age 15. He arrived penniless in Philadelphia but not only created his own fortune, but won the hand of the young woman who first saw him when he arrived in Philadelphia looking quite disreputable. He then parlayed one success into the next, ended up a leader in the emerging new country, and served as the new country's ambassador to France. Franklin seems to have succeeded at everything he attempted to do. With almost no education, he became a famous writer, a founding father of what became a great nation, and an ambassador. He had no advantage of class; upper class youth were educated and not apprenticed to a trade. He seems to have had a talent for recognizing opportunity when it was presented to him, because running away was illegal. Such an action could have begun a serious downward spiral. Instead it was the start of the first of many opportunities Franklin created for himself. Along the way he developed concern for the common good. He organized Philadelphia's first hospital and first fire department. Wheatley's circumstances were quite different. Kidnapped and brought to the U. S. as a slave, she was fortunate to be purchased by a family that educated her. However, she could not have had the opportunities to create her own fortune as Franklin did, both because she was female and because she was Black. One has to wonder how Phyllis Wheatley fit into Massachusetts society as an adult. It would have been difficult for her to find an African-American husband who had her level of education. It just have been quite a shock to many to discover that the beautiful, elaborate poetry had been written by a former slave. It would have been very difficult for her to get a college education. Perhaps she could have been a teacher, maybe for African-American children, but genteel women of the time were not brought up to have some kind of career or trade. That was the province of young men such as Benjamin Franklin. 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.