Gordon S. Wood's The Americanization Of Benjamin Franklin

The novel, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, tells the story of a folksy aristocrat and how he grew to be known as a stereotype of the American Dream instead of the complex, fascinating man he was. Author Gordon S. Wood states that “to recover the historic Franklin, we must shed these modern images and symbols…only then can we go on to understand how the symbolic Franklin was created.” Wood arranges the novel chronologically. He begins with Franklin’s birth like a biography, and throughout the book strips away the stereotypes surrounding him, illuminating his humanity. After a thorough assessment of the book, the reader should be able to determine whether or not Wood succeeded in his attempt to humanize Franklin.

Wood sees Benjamin