The Differences and Similarities Between Malcolm X and Ben Franklin’s Autobiography Papers
Benjamin Franklin wrote in the language of the time. He spoke and wrote in an Old English text and for those of us in the new millennium, it is a language all but dead, therefore it is difficult to read and comprehend in its fluidity. However, had we been born and educated some one hundred years earlier, I believe his written texts would have been received with elegance and grace. Even in a foreign tongue, Franklin had an approach to writing that hand-held the reader through his thought process. An example of this is Franklin’s quote, “Under him I acquired fair writing pretty soon, but failed in the arithmetic’s, and made no progress in it.” Whereas, he could have simply stated that he learned to write but didn’t find arithmetic’s as easy, he took it upon himself to clarify that he not only failed at mathematics but made no progress in it what-so-ever.
In stark contrast to Franklin’s writing style, Malcolm X wrote a language easier to follow and his ‘tone’ seemed a little more raw. Where Franklin hand held, Malcolm assumed the reader had a certain comprehension level that gave credence to street smarts without diminishing those who understood better from an educated point of view. In other words, Malcolm X spoke to the heart of a person and Franklin spoke to the logic of a man.
Both Malcolm X and Benjamin Franklin were driven men and in their efforts of connecting with their target audience, they shared their experiences with the reader. I believe this was an honest effort to show that what they wrote had credence because of the merit behind the actions. It would be difficult to accept someone’s opinion if they had no previous experience to back up what they spout. IE: It would be difficult to accept Malcolm X’s viewpoint of slavery being an atrocity if we found out that he was, himself, a slave owner who mistreated his property.
Great observations and reflections!
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