The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Franklin's paper was tedious to read. I know that it's the product of the time in which it was written, but my god is it wordy. He takes an awfully long time to say something. By the end of the sentence, I was no longer interested, I was just wondering WHEN it would be over. lol. His vocabulary is broad. He supplies examples and anecdotes to draw the reader in. It is interesting to see the style of writing and some of the grammatical differences the paper has, as compared to the proper style of writing today.

In contrast to Malcolm X's paper, this paper is not user friendly. While he does include anecdotes and such, the paper is still pretty stiff. Which I guess is par for the course for that time. Casual was different then, if it existed at all, I don't know. Or maybe that just represents who he was as a person. Maybe he was just a super formal guy. Malcolm's paper has a much more casual tone to it, regardless of the fact that it's a serious topic.

Beyond the fact that both are about learning to read and how they used that to their benefit, there aren't too many similarities between these papers. They both feature the use of a large vocabulary. They both provide examples to paint a picture. For example, Malcolm tells the reader about reading during the night and pretending to be asleep when the guards came around. Franklin tells about how he secretly borrowed books and returned them before anyone noticed they were missing.

Overall, each paper serves as a good example of an educational narrative. Despite my personal preference for Malcolm's paper over Franklin's, neither paper is "bad". Franklin's paper is simply a product of his time, and as such, it's harder to read and relate to.