#11/3/11: Reading Franklin’s letters to various printers and publishers written during the decades building up to the American Revolution is “enlightening” on several levels, but I found Franklin’s stylistic choices even more interesting than the ideas expressed. First, the different characters Franklin assumes over the course of the letters illustrate how adept the man was in the art of persuasion. Franklin is hyper-aware of his readership, and never fails to tailor his persona to their expectations.
In the letters written to the printer in Pennsylvania, Franklin is sarcastic, scathing, and yet still amusing. His American readers surely appreciated his mocking tone and absolute contempt for English opinion. The statement, “such a tender parental Concern in our Mother Country for the Welfare of her Children,” is so dripping in sarcasm that it scorns the very notion that the italicized words could describe such a parasitic relationship. Surely, readers in Philadelphia and beyond would have felt and immediate affinity for the man behind the metaphor. His use of humor is also crucial to the argument’s effectiveness, because it leaves the readers buoyed, rather than wallowing in their own helplessness. The idea of “getting back at England,” despite the ridiculous nature of his method, must have left readers feeling quite satisfied.
In an inspired twist of character, Franklin’s later letters to the London Gazette take an entirely different tone. All of a sudden, Franklin is an absolute loyalist, only writing to inform the English readership of the opinions of Americans. He continually states that it is not his intention to support the views of the colonies or “combat” the decisions of the English government, but only to relay information that the English may find “interesting.” However, his sentiments clearly lie with the colonies and he uses his “insider status” as a Brit to lay out their arguments in a very convincing manner.
His writings on “American Discontents” make excellent use of “they,” “we,” and “I” in a way I found fascinating to track. He begins by referring to the colonies as “they” and then without warning switches into the imaginary dialogue: “I say, reflecting on these things, the Americans said to one another…” Franklin then goes on to use “we” (Americans) for almost two pages while expressing their grievances. Then, in case the English are beginning to doubt the loyalties of their source, he concludes with, “These are the wild ravings of the at present half distracted Americans. To be sure no reasonable man in England can approve of such sentiments.”
Its literally enough to make your head spin. He is an American dissenter, writing as a loyalist, impersonating American dissenters, who then scoffs at the arguments of said impersonated Americans and refers to ‘their’ quite compelling and eloquent logic as “wild ravings”—a statement so incredibly biased that it borders on overt sarcasm which, if noticed, would put him back to square one. Pure craziness only a genius like Franklin could pull off without getting shipped back to Philly.
