COTTON MATHER AND BENJAMIN FRANKLIN:
WORKS COMPARISON

2011
Outline:

A) Introduction: general overview.
B) Comparison of selected works.
C) Conclusion.

Foreword:

This essay aims to compare plot, point of view, and theme of two authors in their respective works: Cotton Mather, “The Wonders of the Invisible World”, “The Trial of Martha Carrier”, and Benjamin Franklin, “Information to Those Who Would Remove to America”, “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America”.

Thesis:

Cotton Mather and Benjamin Franklin are bright representatives of colonial literature. Their views can usefully be compared and contrasted.
American writing began with the work of English adventurers and colonists in the New World chiefly for the benefit of readers in the mother country. From the beginning, however, the literature of New England was also directed to the edification and instruction of the colonists themselves, intended to direct them in the ways of the godly. Cotton Mather emerged as the dominant intellect of New England during the last decade of the Seventeenth and the beginning of the Eighteenth centuries. The approach of the American Revolution and the achievement of the actual independence of the United States was a time of intellectual activity as well as social and economic change. The variously gifted Benjamin Franklin forwarded American literature not only through his own writing but also by founding and promoting newspapers and periodicals. Benjamin Franklin was Colonial America's famous liberal rebel. Cotton Mather was the archetypical conservative Puritan leader. Like Mather, Franklin started out in Boston. They made unlikely bedfellows, yet when Franklin was eleven, he read Mather's book, Essays to Do Good. It had a lasting impact on him, and through his vast influence it has, ultimately, touched us as well. In 1784, Benjamin Franklin wrote an informative essay titled “Information to Those Who Would Remove to America”. It was printed out as a pamphlet for people in Europe to clarify the endless rumors about America being the land of dreams and fantasy. He clearly states what’s needed and wanted in America, and what’s not welcomed there. The essay also shows us how American culture is portrayed and what they hold highly as opposed to what Europe sees. The work “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North-America,” which Franklin wrote in 1783, consists mainly of descriptions of various Native American practices, such as those concerning the reception of visitors, as well as accounts of interactions between Native Americans and whites. In 1693 Mather wrote “The Wonders of the Invisible World”, in which he defended the Salem trials in lofty theological (religious) terms, with biblical references to support his view of the Puritan mission in the New World. Best remembered in popular lore as the 'rampant hag' described by Cotton Mather, modern historical studies demonstrate that Martha Carrier was a victim of Salem's outbreak of witchcraft accusations. So, as we can see, both authors tell us about New England, precisely about people who differ from us; but Franklin just describes Savages, their style of life; he begins this work by stating, "Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs." And Mather accuses witches and hunts them; he thinks that witches were not possessed by spirits, but that they were agents of the devil. In general, the theme of religion is more pronounced in Mather’s works. The considered works are written to persuade. It is achieved by objective tone the authors use. Mather begins with introducing the case. His tone is casual, and restricted to the basics. It gives the reader a general overview of what is to come. For example, he says "according to the form usual in such a case" referring to Martha Carrier pleading guilty. He seems to present this as the usual attitude of the defendant. Mather gives only one side to the case, even though the witnesses are against Martha Carrier. He never gives his opinion of the case. Franklin is objective too; however his language seems less official and more vivid. His persuasions have character of advice. Generally, both authors, in their writing, quote in Latin, Cicero, Erasmus, Augustine, and Virgil. Although Franklin and Mather were stereotypical opposites, yet they had a lot in common. They are a wonderful reminder that we all need to keep weighing, sifting, and reassessing our own indignations. Bibliography 1. Baym, Nina, gen. ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed. Vols. A and B.(sold as a package) New York: W. W. Norton Company, 2007. (AL)