Benjamin Franklin & Henry Tuckerman

"Sixty-six years have elapsed since the mortal remains
of Benjamin Franklin were placed beneath a tablet in the Friends' Cemetery in
Philadelphia; the granite obelisk which marks the last resting-place of his
parents is a familiar object to all who walk the streets of his native city; but
these graves, thus humbly designated, were, until a few days since, the only
visible monuments of a name as illustrious as it is endeared"
(Tuckerman)

This
is the opening of Henry Tuckerman's literary criticism titled "The Character Of
Franklin". When I read this passage, it makes me think that Henry Tuckerman is
probably a fan of Benjamin Franklin. The part where Henry Tuckerman says that it
has been sixty six years since the "mortal remains" of Benjamin Franklin have
been buried, it makes me think that Tuckerman believes that only the mortal
remains had been put to rest, and his writings and beliefs had all survived.
This means that Tuckerman probably thought that Benjamin Franklin had a lot of
good ideas and beliefs that Tuckerman probably shared with
him.

The
next part of this passage where it says "these graves, thus humbly designated,
were, until a few days since, the only visible monuments of a names as
illustrious as it is endeared." (Tuckerman).

The words that Tuckerman
uses in this passage proves my point even more that he was probably a fan of
Franklin. Two words that popped out to me in this passage were "illustrious" and
"endeared". These words show that Tuckerman was fond of Franklin. According to
dictionary.com, the word "illustrious"means "highly
distinguished; renowned; famous". The word "endeared" means "to make dear,
esteemed, or beloved" Tuckerman shows that he likes and respects Franklin and
his writing when he uses these words.




"For the intangible aims
of the metaphysician, the vagaries of the imaginative, the "airy
bubble—reputation," he exhibited no concern; but the application of truth to the
facts of nature and of life,—the discovery of material laws and their conversion
to human welfare,—the actual influence of morals, economy, politics, and
education upon civil society and individual deportment,—were problems upon which
he never failed to think, read, talk, write, and experiment"
(Tuckerman)




This
passage from Henry Tuckerman's literary criticism is talking about how Franklin
always found himself concerned with morals, economy, politics, and education and
how they effected people. He says that Franklin wrote about these subjects a lot
meaning that he really cared about them. I think that these topics were
important to Benjamin Franklin because he cared about people and society. I
think that he cared about people and society and just being a good person in
general because he created a whole list of thirteen virtues that he thought
would make him a better person. He created these virtues and practiced them and
he perfected the virtues to cover all the aspects of his life. I think that
Franklin created these virtues not just to make himself better but to also
improve society. If more people in his time and even in our current time now
used and practiced these virtues that Franklin created in their daily lives,
society would improve a lot.




Bloom,
Harold, ed. "The Character of Franklin." Benjamin
Franklin, Classic Critical Views. New York:
Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On
File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin=
CCVBF019&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 14, 2011).




Franklin,
Benjamin, and Leonard Woods Labaree. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. New
Haven: Yale UP, 1964. Print.