Summary for the Handsome and Deformed Leg

Benjamin Franklin's essay "The Handsome and Deformed Leg" explains the "two sorts of people in the world." There are the "happy", who see the pleasant qualities in every circumstance. The other sort of people are the "miserable", who "think and speak only of the contraries “in other words, the pessimists. Franklin elaborates on those "unhappy persons", giving reasons why nobody likes them, and why everybody tries to avoid them. Through his explanation, Franklin urges his readers to be of the "happy" sort and avoid the "disagreeable." He then gives the example of his "philosophical friend", who has a very handsome leg as well as a rather deformed one. He calls his legs his "two-legged instrument", for they allow him to winnow the "fault-finding" persons whom he does not wish to be acquainted with. Following this example, Franklin concludes his essay with a final word of advice "leave off looking at the ugly leg."