Editor's Choice
Ben Franklin and Frederick Douglass write the stories of their lives, but Douglass's narrative is inner directed and reveals his innermost thoughts, while Franklin's is outer directed and he writes with posterity in mind. Douglass writes of his suffering in slavery. On the very first page, he says, "A want of information concerning my own [life] was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood." Douglass often uses metaphors and symbols to represent his yearning for freedom. For example, when he looks at the sail boats moving out of Chesapeake Bay towards the ocean, he clearly associates them with his desire to escape north and find freedom.
Franklin, on the other hand, creates a narrative in which he writes about the externalities of his life and his ascension into a higher class. In so doing, he essentially writes an allegory, a fiction in which every character and plot...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
is a direct symbol for how to behave. His work is a moral lesson resembling a traditional allegory, and he uses far fewer symbols and metaphors than Douglass does.
There are some points of convergence as well as some distinct moments of divergence in both narratives. Both works deal with attempting to display how identity was formed throughout their lives. Franklin is seeking to compose a book of memoirs about his life, while Douglass is attempting to articulate his own bildungsroman from enslavement to a life after slavery. Both narratives feature protagonists who were not born into the lap of luxury. Essentially, both protagonists are on the fringes of society. It is at this point where divergence is seen as Franklin is able to work his way through the stratified system of class and prestige in order to become part of this circle of power brokers. Only bringing more attention to the horrors of slavery, Douglass' predicament is rooted in the idea of the inability to rise through obstacles and conditions if one is born a slave. Finally, the tone of each is rather different. Franklin's autobiography extols the virtues of what it means to be in America as it was the birthplace of opportunity and advancement, while Douglass condemns it as it is the origin of the enslavement of millions. The duality of the American experience is revealed in this divergence of tone.