Silence Dogood Essay 3 - Silence's Promise to Her Readers

This is 16-year-old Ben Franklin's third essay as his alter-ego Silence Dogood, a middle-aged widow who has some strong opinions about the world around her. 

In this shorter but important piece, Silence formally lays out her purpose and promises her readers what they can expect going forward. She acknowledges her civic duty to contribute to society and vows to share the knowledge she has gathered throughout her life. Recognizing that no single writer can please everyone, she cleverly commits to covering a wide variety of topics — from politics to love, humor to serious moral reflection — so that every reader finds something worthwhile. She also personally invites women readers to write to her directly, making this essentially the colonial era's first reader engagement campaign. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello there, Kelly Cody Grimm, and we are going to look at essay number three of the Silence Doogood series, which was written by a 16-year-old Benjamin Franklin as a prank to his brother James, who refused in his newspaper, The New England Current, to publish any of his younger brother's works. So Ben Franklin created this middle-aged widow named Silence Dugood, who does a lot of really interesting critiques about education and New England culture. By her third letter, Silence Dugood is no longer simply introducing herself, she's observing society. It's bold, it's satirical, and it's the voice of a young writer discovering the power of criticism. From the print shops of Boston to the Spectral Summit and the Literary Summit, sit back and enjoy. April thirtieth, seventeen twenty two to the author of the New England Current Sir, it is undoubtedly the duty of all persons to serve the country they live in according to their abilities. Yet I sincerely acknowledge that I have hitherto been deficient in this particular. Whether it was for want of will or opportunity, I will not at present stand to determine. Let it suffice that I now take up a resolution to do for the future all that lies in my way for the services of my countrymen. I have from my youth been indapigably studious to gain and treasure in my mind all useful and desirable knowledge, especially such as tends to improve the mind and enlarge the understanding. And as I have found it very beneficial to me, I am not without hopes that communicating my small stock in this manner by piecemeal to the public may be at least in some measure useful. I am very sensible that it is impossible for me, or indeed any one writer, to please all readers at once. Various persons have different sentiments, and that which is pleasant and delightful to one gives another a disgust. He that would, in his way of writing, please all, is under a necessity to make his themes almost as numerous as his letters. He must be one while being merry and diverting, then more solid and serious, one while sharp and satirical, then to mollify that be sober and religious. At one time let the subject be politics, then let the next time be love. Thus will everyone, one time or another, find something agreeable in his own fancy, and in his turn be delighted. According to this method I intend to proceed, bestowing now then a few gentle reproofs on those who deserve them, not forgetting at the same time to applaud those whose actions merit commendation. And here I must not forget to invite the ingenious part of your readers, particularly those of my own sex, to enter into a correspondence with me, assuring them that their condescension in this particular shall be received as a favour, and accordingly acknowledged. I think I have now finished the foundation, and I intend in my next to begin to raise the building. Having nothing more to write at present, I must make the usual excuse in such cases of being in haste, assuring you that I speak from my heart when I call myself the most humble and obedient of all servants your merits have acquired.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

Silence too good. Thank you for joining us for SA 3.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

We really appreciate it. If you'd like to learn more about the Spectral Summit and the Literary Summit, you can go to our website, which is spectral-summit.com, to get information about subscribing to our educational podcasts. We have literary works by Edgar Allan Poe, Dorothy Parker, O. Henry, as well as the Silence Doogood essays. We have our historic podcast, which takes a 16 year old high school newspaper reporter who can see and talk to spirits, and we place her in museums and other historic locations where she can ask historic figures questions about their legacy. Thanks again for joining us, and we'll see you next time.