Benjamin Franklin

When Benjamin Frankilin was 22 years old, in 1728, he wrote his own epitaph: "The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer (like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding), lies here, food for worms; but the work shall not be lost, for it will (as he believed) appear once more in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the Author" (Bartletts 117). Clearly, he has not been forgotten. Benjamin Franklin is in fact one of the most famous names in American History. He was born in Boston in 1706 and when he was 17, moved to Philadelphia to work as a printer. In the course of his life he was a statesman, printer, publisher, scientist, writer, and one of the Founding Fathers of America.

His reputation in Philadelphia grew because of his wit and commonsense philosophy, especially as expressed in Poor Richard's Almanack. Also interested in science, Franklin is credited with a famous experiment which proved the presence of electricity in lightning -- he flew a kite in a thunderstorm to test his theory. Dedicated to expanding human knowledge in all areas, in 1751 he helped establish the present University of Pennsylvania. During this time he also served as deputy postmaster general of the colonies (from 1753 to 1774).

Also while serving as postmaster general, Franklin proposed a plan of union for the colonies at th

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er to state that Benjamin Franklin was a precocious child, and inteneded for the church rather than a trade apprenticeship like his brothers. The main effect this has on the reader is that the first impression of Benjamin Franklin's "words" is that he used too many of them to express otherwise simple ideas. Granted, Franklin was writing in a different period when formal and restrained writing was accepted. But the constant interaction of "fast thoughts" (Fleming) and "slow thoughts" (Franklin) tends to make the reader skip over the slow and stick with the fast. This suggests a basic problem Fleming faced. Does the fact that Franklin was world-famous (inventor, publisher, politician) necessarily mean that everything that he says is worth sharing? Fleming obviously decided that each word was important. But then that poses a secondary problem. What if Franklin's "important words" are a mystery to the modern reader? Or, for that matter, the phraseology? Consider this discussion that Franklin makes about words: But I found I wanted a Stock of Words or a Readiness in recollecting and using them, which I thought I should have acquir'd before that time, if I had gone on making Verses, since the continual Occasion for Words of t
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1850
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)