A Rhetorical Analysis Of Abigail Adams Letter To John Quincy Adams

Abigail Adams, the First Lady of the United States of America during the presidency of John Adams, often wrote letters to her beloved son, John Quincy Adams. At the time, John Quincy Adams was planning to travel around the world so his mother decided to write him a letter filled with sympathy, telling her son how much she appreciates his qualities and prestige. This particular letter contained pathos, an anecdote, and also tone to proficiently aid Abigail Adams get her rhetorically appealing message across to the mind of her son. Adams began with telling John Q Adams her opinion about him embarking on this journey and then proceeded to emphasize her worries as he is traveling. Adams used pathos to make John know how much she cares and worries about him.

Every mother wants what the best for her child, even if that child may not believe so. In her letter to her son, John Quincy Adams, Abigail Adams addresses him during his travels in France and defends the rationale of her previous advice while providing her new advice, and partly demands, on the subjects of honor and duty. Abigail Adams uses emotional appeals in the form of personal repetition, flattering metaphors, and prideful personification in order to advise and persuade her son in his personal growth and appeal to his personal qualities, such as pride of honesty and knowledge, to spur his ambitions and actions. To start off the letter, after greeting him and explaining the occasion of her writing, Abigail uses personal repetition with the word “your,” before qualities and events with a positive connotation to appeal to John’s pride and leave him open to listen to more of her her advice, as she already successfully advised him in his trip to France. In only the second sentence of the letter, Abigail already throws in that her advice is, to John, “for your own benefit,” (5) later she speaks of, once again to John, “your knowledge,” (11) and finally, “your understanding,” (14).

Her letter to John Quincy Adams, her son shows the affection she has for her son. She writes formally and personally to get her point across yet, still making it clear that her son has a support from his loving family to help guide him through any adversities that may be thrown his way. Through her rhetoric Abigail Adams is able to show the perfect balance a mother must have in guiding her son towards the direction best for him, while maintaining logical and emotional

Letter to a Son In 1780, Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her son, the future president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, as he traveled overseas with his father, John Adams, also a future president of the United States. Abigail wrote to advise her son to not take for granted all the opportunities he has in front of him. She convinced her son of this advice by portraying her maternal affection for him with compliments, implying a sense of patriotism in her son, and utilizing a metaphor to help stamp her point. Abigail Adams, in the beginning of the letter, reveals her maternal affection for her son in compliments in attempt to convince him that she wants to help him and not force him to work hard. She opens the letter with “MY DEAR SON” (1), in order to show John that she cares for him and has no intention of insulting him.

An example of allusion is when Adams compares Cicero and the challenges he overcame to become a strong leader to her son, and how he could do the same. "Would Cicero have shone so distinguished an orator if he had not been roused, kindled, an enflamed by the tyranny of Catiline, Verres, and Mark Anthony?" She uses this allusion to prove to her son that he could be a strong, powerful leader. Adams encourages John Quincy that challenges are not a setback, and assures him that if he continues to push through the hard times he can get where he wants to be in

The newly established land of America was attempting to break away from the mother country, England, to become the independent land that we know as the United States. The letter by Abigail Adam was written to her beloved son whom was traveling abroad with his father. Throughout the letter, Adams uses inspiring diction, allusions to historical figures, and well timed metaphors to encourage her son to be resilient and not shy away from any challenges that may face him. In the letter, Adams compares her son to other great leaders using allusions and metaphors. She asks her son rhetorically if Cicero would have been such a great leader had he not been "roused, kindled and inflamed."

Adams establishes authority by using pathos throughout her letter. She uses this rhetorical strategy to connect with her son and show affection. Throughout her letter Adams says "My son". She states this multiple times to clarify that this letter is not to scold him but to guide and inform him. By Adams continually emphasizing support for her son,

Before John Adams became president, he journeyed abroad to explore and discover the world with his son. While, he was away, Abigail Adams, John Quincey Adam’s mother, wrote her son, hoping to convince him to listen to her motherly guidance. This letter from Abigail Adams employs connections and asserts an appeal to ethos to persuade her son to listen to her advice. Throughout the letter, Adams identifies with John Quincey to establish a connection with him and provide advice while he is away. One example of this is Adams’ frequent usage of the doting expression “my son”.

While writing The First Salute, her gripping account of the American Revolution, Mrs. Tuchman struggled with the onset of blindness. With help from her daughter, she persevered to complete the volume that included a leader who truly inspired her. In an interview with Bill Moyers, Mrs. Tuchman spoke of how much she admired George Washington’s courage and perseverance despite the enormous obstacles he faced and how she and her daughter encouraged one another with the rallying cry, “remember George.” George Washington, like all effective leaders, communicated an inspiring vision and lived it, valued people and gave them a voice. Under his leadership the colonists pulled off one of history’s greatest upsets by defeating the preeminent military power of their age with an under-trained, under-resourced

Abigail Filmer followed Dolley too. Mrs.Filmer taught Mr.Filmer at the New Hope Academy and shared her love of books with him. Both of these examples show a first lady helping their husband. Without Dolley the first lady might of been too afraid to help her husband. Because of Dolly the first lady has been helping the president on a lot of