Writer(s) of the Week

In 1722, when Benjamin Franklin was 16 years old, he wrote a series of humorous letters which were published in The New England Courant, a newspaper owned by his brother, James.

These letters weren't sign with his own name; instead, he utilized the pen name of Silence Dogood. Mrs. Dogood passed herself off as a middle-aged widow, and wrote about various aspects of life in colonial America.

James Franklin was unaware of the ruse for several months, and was unhappy with his brother when Benjamin revealed the true identity of the widow Dogood.

Zachary and Ryan have been analyzing Silence Dogood No. 6 as part of Diogenes. Part of their assignment for this past week was purely for fun: write a paragraph critiquing a current clothing fashion using the same manner as that used by Silence Dogood in her No. 6 letter.

Letters to the Editor

Dear Madam,

In this letter I shall reveal my opinion of a particular Pride of Apparel. I have noticed recently that teenagers commonly wear clothing which is too large for them. This style of clothing is popular, yet I cannot imagine how one would even want to wear such apparel. Their shirts go to their knees; their pants they wear low. It is surprising how anyone manages to walk dressed so awkwardly, and not trip at every attempt. It is very immodest the way they wear their boxers so high yet their pants so low. I do not think I will be able to persuade them to remove this fashion altogether by this letter, but I would at least ask them to wear clothing a bit more fitting.

Anonymous (Zachary)


Dear Madam,

In this letter I shall disclose my thoughts on a most useless apparel that has come to fashion. Namely, those articles of clothing that are bought already with holes and scratches in them. It amazes me to see others purchasing such apparel when they are only purchasing worn out clothing for the price of new. This kind of apparel is worthless, and it makes those who wear it look very odd with such large holes in their new clothing. They are wasting their money on clothes that are already close to being worn out, instead of purchasing clothes that would last them longer. In closing, I would at least desire them to lessen the size of the tears and holes.

Sincerely,

Bob Dogood (Ryan)

I highly recommend taking time to read some of Dogood's letters. They are highly entertaining.