Reflection- Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

I am going to differentiate and compare Bradford and Rowlandson to Franklin because all of their stories have so much differences in each other. Alright well the first different thing that I am going to point out is that Rowlandson and Bradford were definately Puritan writers. Basically everything they were talking about had to be around God. Just like in Mary Rowlandson's story she was talking about how she was carrying her dying baby and how God was with her the whole time on the trip that they got taken (Rowlandson 83). She was just sitting their with her baby speaking to God saying that he would do the right thing and he would help her in any way shape or form (Rowlandson 84). Just to give you and idea here is what she said, "but God was with me in a wonderful manner, carrying me along, and bearing up my spirit, that it did not quite fail. One of the Indians carried my poor wounded babe upon a horse: it went moaning all along, I shall die, I shall die! I went on foot after it, with sorrow that cannot be expressed. At length I took it off the horse, and carried it in my arms, till my strength failed, and I fell down with it" (Rowlandson 83). There were many other instances like that one where Rowlandson talked about how God's strength helped her through this tough time. The other story was William Bradford's story which was another Puritan writing style. Just like Rowlandson's style except he did not speak of God that much as to what Rowlandson had done. There was an instance where he talked about how his men prayed to God once they got to the harbor (Bradford 65). Here is that instince, "Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm adn stable earth, their proper element" (Bradford 65). This is just another instince with Bradford talking about how his men were praying that they came to a good harbor. The Puritan writing was based on God and the Rationalist writing was based on logic and scientific reasoning which shows there is a big difference between the two writing styles. The last author I am going to talk about is Benjamin Franklin. He is a definite pick for a Rationlaist writer because he would use logical thinking and he made no relation to God in his story at all. Not one word was talked about with God in his autobiography. Here is an example of his Rationalist writing style, "passing by the door of Mr. Read, my future wife's father; when she, standing at the door, saw me, and thought I made, as I certainly did, a most awkward, ridiculous appearance" (Franklin 108). This is what Rationalist writing looks like. This is how Franklin wrote his stories, which was having to do with logical thinking and what not. Anyway this is how different the Puritan style of writing and the Rationalist style of writing could be.

Bibliography

Bradford, William. "from of Plymouth Plantation." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 15, 62-67. Print.

Franklin, Benjamin. "from 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. 104-108. Print.

Rowlandson, Mary. "A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of 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.