Franklin's irreverence and mockery of Britain 11/3

#11/3/11: In his 1751 Letter to the Editor of the Pennsylvania Gazette entitled "Rattle-Snakes for Felons" Benjamin Franklin shows a side of him that, I believe as a scholar and now-avid reader of Franklin, is indicative of major changes to both his attitude as a colonist, and more importantly, his identity as an Englishman, American, and colonist. As we read Franklin's autobiography, and traced his transformation from Boston Printer, to Philadelphia middle-class scholar, to Englishman, to Frenchman, to aristocrat, to rebel, to patriot (with some adultery and inventing along the way) it became extremely clear that for a man like Franklin, personal identity was a maddeningly hard thing to nail down at the cusp of the American Revolution. For many people of Franklin's era, they considered themselves English, and the idea of being an American or a colonist was entirely secondary. However, I believe that when we examine Franklin's writings from the era beginning in the 1750s, when this letter was written, and going through the revolution, we can see the transformation from loyal Britton to revolutionary American begin to take place. This letter, in particular, marks some of Franklin's earliest and harshest criticisms of the Crown, and what was especially cool for me (since I wrote extensively on the use of satire in literature during the Enlightenment) is that Franklin has adopted this sarcastic satirical approach for his own using, and if I may be so bold, he eviscerates the English government with these literary tools. Franklin's use of italics is strangely modern, and it dictates a sense of utter contempt for the English Court who declared that the colonies COULD NOT legislate any law banning the importation of prisoners from England. At this point, I believe, Franklin still sees himself as British, but he seems to take serious offense to being treated as a second-class citizen (so to speak) in being told that his own duly elected government, who KNOWS this area, and is made up of the people native to it, is unable to legislate in their own interest. The paternalistic tone undertaken by the English in telling the Assembly that "Such laws are against the publick utility, as they ten to prevent the IMPROVEMENT and WELL PEOPLING of the Colonies," infuriates Franklin to the point of open mockery and disagreement. He viciously attacks the English, suggesting that he should send poisonous rattle-snakes into the most popular places in London once a year to prevent them being killed. I loved this letter for two reasons: First, I loved his use of satire and mockery to make ridiculous, but ultimately effective comparisons between the situation in the colonies and his proposal to send snakes to London. Second, I loved how this piece shows the beginnings of Franklin's revolutionary tendencies, as he seems to be realizing as he writes that, no matter how civilized the colonists act, and despite their best efforts to govern themselves in a way befitting the English Empire, until they are free to govern themselves, they are doomed to second-class citizenship.