One value/ quality that Franklin believes all Americans should have is Temperance, meaning self restraint. In general temperance means self restrain for food or alcohol, but it can also be used to describe self restrain from other faults such as anger. Franklin refers to it in the most common way, he describes it by saying “Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation” (Franklin, Autobiography, chapter 8). There are twelve other qualities that Franklin talked about in his autobiography. However, he started the list with temperance by mentioning “Temperance first, as it tends to procure that coolness and clearness of head, which is so necessary where constant vigilance was to be kept up, and guard maintained against the unremitting attraction of ancient habits, and the force of perpetual temptations. This being acquir’d and establish’d, Silence would be more easy” (Franklin, Autobiography, chapter 8). By this he means that temperance should serve as a base or foundation for other values such as silence and so forth. In order to convince his readers that they should also work on those values in order to be better Americans he uses both humor and ethos. Humor because at times he pokes fun at himself or raises himself up in comedic ways. I also mention that he used ethos on his audience effectively. Though he also raises himself in a comedic way, he also does so in more seriousness. He even talks about a system of keeping check on himself that leads to perfection. Though he mentions how he failed at time to do so, he still writes about a plan that can take him to perfection, and he believes it’s realistic. This makes him seem closer to perfection than most and wiser, therefore making any advice he gives, “wise advice”.
Stewart – Your comments about how he uses humor and ethos as strategies are great. Yes, the seriousness of his effort to perfect himself does help strengthen his ethos, and his humor provides a nice counterbalance to that seriousness.