Franklin was the Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert of his time (in addition to being an eminent scientist, citizen, and statesman), so I hope we have some fun with his satirical sketches next time. This definition of satire may be useful for context.
For discussion on Wednesday, please pick “The Speech of Polly Baker,” “An Edict by the King of Prussia,” or “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America,” read closely for its message (see the footnotes for help), and come prepared to perform a passage that you find especially funny or powerful. Hopefully you’ll enjoy “A Witch Trial at Mount Holly,” too, but we won’t focus on this for discussion. We’ll start in small groups to prepare a brief summary of the sketch for context, then perform an excerpt for the large group.
Questions to consider:
“The Speech of Polly Baker” (1747)
- Compare with the other trials we’ve discussed (Hutchinson, Carrier, Morton). What is different about this text’s portrayal of women?
- What are the charges against Polly? What is her defense?
- Watch for moments of irony and wit
“An Edict by the King of Prussia” (1773)
- The historical context is significant here, as this sketch was published in the years leading up to the American Revolution. What relevance does this text have to the relationship between the American colonies and Great Britain in 1773?
- How do you know this sketch is satirical?
- Watch for evidence of rationalism
“Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America” (1784)
- Compare/contrast with Bradford, Rowlandson, Handsome Lake, and Morton
- Where do you see Franklin’s use of humor to provoke thought about race relations? What do you think he wanted to accomplish by writing this?
