Toward a Rhetoric of Confidence

TOWARD A RHETORIC OF CONFIDENCE: RETHINKING ETHOS THROUGH SCAMS, FORGERIES, AND FAKE IDENTITIES by STEVEN BRETT CARTER LUCAS NIILER, COMMITTEE CHAIR AMBER BUCK, COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR NIKHIL BILWAKESH STACY MORGAN JAMES ANDREW CRANK A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2019 Copyright Steven Brett Carter 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT The con artist, a sophisticated rhetorical figure and diverse cultural archetype, reflects the significance and potential of confidence as a rhetorical principle. In this project, I examine appeals to ethos embedded in confidence games to consider how ethos extends beyond traditional notions of the character of the author. This principle persists through the history of rhetoric and functions, in many ways, as the authoritative appeal. Analyzing the structure of confidence games, the character of forgeries distinct from the character of their authors, and the notion of imposture as a mediating rhetorical structure, I develop a framework for extending ethos to decisions underpinning the rhetorical canon of arrangement, the visual design of texts to argue for their own authenticity, and the idea that character is informed by thoughtful imitation. I also explore some of the implications this rhetoric of confidence has on issues such as social media, fake news, and political rhetoric in the post-truth era. In addition, I argue for an emphasis on character in writing pedagogy to enable students to have confidence in their own authorial personas which they can adapt to new writing situations. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, Sarah, and my daughter, Alice. I could not have done this without their love and support. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge my dissertation committee, Drs. Amber Buck, Luke Niiler, Nikhil Bilwakesh, Stacy Morgan, and Andy Crank. Their feedback and enthusiasm have been valuable and inspiring. iv CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iv INTRODUCTION: ON ETHOS AND CONFIDENCE................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1: THE RHETOR FIGURE ....................................................................................... 21 CHAPTER 2: THE CONFIDENCE MAN ................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 3: THE ETHOTIC SCHEME .................................................................................... 95 CHAPTER 4: THE CHARACTER OF A TEXT ....................................................................... 120 CHAPTER 5: THE IMITATIVE SELF ..................................................................................... 143 CONCLUSION: CONFIDENCE IN THE POST-TRUTH ERA ............................................... 163 EPILOGUE: ACADEMIC WRITING AS CONFIDENCE GAME .......................................... 173 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 196 APPENDIX ................................................................................................................................. 206 v INTRODUCTION: ON ETHOS AND CONFIDENCE Frank William Abagnale Jr. is perhaps the most widely known and successful confidence man in American history. In the five years he operated, Abagnale, also known as The Skywayman, cashed fraudulent checks worth approximately $2.5 million throughout twenty-six countries. Besides forging checks, Abagnale was also a highly successful impostor, adopting at least five distinct, false personas before his capture by French authorities in 1970 (The Art of the Steal). In Catch Me If You Can, Abagnale reflects on what allowed him and other con artists throughout history to successfully swindle, deceive, and take advantage of ordinary people for personal profit. In Abagnale’s book, a semi-autobiographical account of his exploits as a paper hanger and impostor throughout the United States and abroad, he reveals that “[t]op con artists, whether they’re pushing hot paper or hawking phony oil leases, are well dressed and exude an air of confidence and authority. They’re usually, too, as charming, courteous and seemingly sincere as a politician seeking reelection, although they can, at times, effect the cool arrogance of a tycoon” (129). Essentially, Abagnale credits his success not to any sophisticated scam or a skill in choosing particularly gullible marks. Instead, Abagnale credits his success to his ability to gain the trust of his victims through charisma, confidence, and an apparent sense of authority granted by his disguises. In rhetorical terms, it was Abagnale’s ability to craft personas and persuasive arguments to meet the demands and expectations of his intended audiences that allowed him to pass phony checks for more than half a decade in the 1960s before being captured. Most interestingly, the rhetorical vulnerabilities 1 Abagnale exploited revolved not around well-thought-out logical arguments or by appeals to the marks’ sympathies, but simply from his character and the trust those personas commanded. Many common aphorisms echo the rhetorical underpinnings of Abagnale’s success and reflect a larger cultural perception that success is linked to a persuasive character. Look the part, be the part. Fake it ‘til you make it. Act like you belong. Parallel to Abagnale’s assertion that a con artist’s greatest tools are confidence, arrogance, and charm, at the center of each of these phrases is that appearance, confidence, and authority and central to success. Whether imitated or actual, appearance and confidence convey a sense of authority and authenticity. Implicit in each of these phrases and in Abagnale’s own criminal scheme is the notion that character, made up of qualities including appearance, charisma, and authority, are more important to persuasion than its logical and emotional counterparts. Likewise, not only is character a significant dimension of persuasion, but no persuasive or rhetorical act can be successful without the trust of the audience, which can only be achieved if the audience has confidence in the speaker’s character. This understanding of the significance of character, appearance, identity, and trust is centrally important to many of the concerns and controversies surrounding rhetoric today. Consumers, students, and citizens are bombarded by expressions of rhetoric that take advantage of their predilection to trust and identify with a discourse community while simultaneously readily dismissing anything determined to be ‘rhetoric’ by news media, political figures, or even popular consensus. In the context of the post-truth era, traditional ways of thinking about rhetoric are inadequate given the landscape of mass deception. The concept of ethos is particularly affected by these developments because ideas of identity and authenticity are further complicated in digital spaces and in a more globalized, less personal society. Ultimately, as a society we may 2 view ourselves as logical agents. However, it is most often confidence that guides our decision- making. The rhetoric of impostors such as Abagnale demonstrates that confidence is the central determinant of persuasion. The arguments of con artists are structured and designed in such a way that traditional approaches to persuasion focused on the logical development of ideas serves to support the ethos of the rhetor. The effectiveness of an argument ultimately resides in the question of whether the audience has confidence in the rhetor’s conclusion. Analyzing the roles of confidence, identity, and appearance in persuasion embedded in the confidence game, highlights the ways ethos extends beyond traditional notions of character. The cultural fascination with the confidence man suggests a cultural perception of rhetoric that values this approach to persuasion. In this model, the confidence game serves as a mechanism to conceptualize the significance and versatility of ethos and to connect classical rhetorical theory to current cultural concerns of identity, authenticity, and rhetoric. Interrogating this cultural figure alongside the tradition of rhetorical theory and analyzing the rhetorical underpinnings of deception highlights the authoritative role of ethos in persuasion. This analysis results in a more refined understanding of the rhetoric of confidence and character in all corners of our lives and I propose that this theoretical framework of ethos can change how we evaluate authenticity and trust in venues such as digital rhetoric, mass media, and politics. Lastly, this theorized understanding of deception and persuasion based on character might allow us to move beyond analysis and interpretation of character to consider the rhetoric of the confidence man as a productive model for writing and communication. The term ethos has traditionally been used to refer to the role of character in rhetorical theory. However, the definition of character and conceptions of how character functions persuasively are consistently reinterpreted.

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