Obviously, Franklin desires to distinguish himself from all others. And what better way to do this than to be a vegetarian in the 18^th century? He refers to this habit as a “singularity.” Thus, it makes him unique. However, he offers no rationale as to why he decides this – such as finding the slaughter of animals inhumane. He only reads a book by Tryon, the first English advocate of vegetarianism, and becomes “determined to go into it.” His rationale hides in the statement that by being a vegetarian he is “leaving the common diet for that, and that for the common.” Nobody else will be like him.

These actions, conversely, are insincere, a false image meant to astound. Franklin only practices this habit in order to separate himself from the common man of his times. If he truly followed his beliefs, he would remain steadfast and never rationalize the eating of animal flesh. Yet, he succumbs to his false virtue when tempted with cod. As he “had formerly been a great lover of fish… when [it] came hot out of the frying-pan, it smelt admirably well” and unavoidable. He debates whether it is acceptable to eat the meat and then claims it just because fish consume one another. After this decision, he continually dines on meat and returns “only now and then occasionally to a vegetable diet.” Ensuring his self-righteousness, he states, “So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do.” Benjamin can never be wrong.

If Franklin likes this food so much, why abstain from eating it? Only so that he may impress others through his uniqueness. We see that he does not firmly believe in this practice; otherwise he would not strain from it. Instead, he chooses this lifestyle with appearance in mind. Image matters to Franklin and he clearly illustrates throughout his autobiography that proper character development leads to success.