Abigal Adams Rhetorical Analysis Essay

During America’s birth, Abigal Adam’s writes to her son, who is on a voyage to France. Whilst on a trip with his father, John Adams (the 2nd president of the United States) and his brother, Adams writes to her son in a letter. Adams manifests a gentle tone with steadfast flattery to emphasize how wisdom comes from experience Adam’s employs maternal flattery to boost her son’s confidence and put faith into her assertion on the importance of experience. In her letter, she writes, “Some author, that I’ve met with, compares a judicious traveler to a river.” The stream becomes wider as the river flows, she explains, and, consequently, the water becomes richer with minerals. In the same way, the traveler becomes, “wider,” the more it flows, and “richer,” the more it experiences. To relate to her son, Adam’s creates a sense of purpose among adventure whilst he is on his own adventure. Furthermore, Adam’s explains, “it’s is not in the still of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed,” asserting that her son will not be great by being lazy, that he should sometimes throw caution to the wind. Later on, she theorizes that, “wisdom and penetration are the fruits of experience,” defining the method at which she, would like her son to use to become a great man, wisdom by experience.

Adams analyzes historical conflicts to solidify her argument. “Would Cicero have shone so distinguished an orator if he had not been roused, kindled, and enflames by the tyranny of Catline, Verres, and Mark Antony?” The rhetorical question constructs her son’s position as one of having the possibilities of greatness under pressure of strife. Further, Adam’s predicts that he has greater advantages now than you could possibly have reaped whilst ignorant of it, “Adam’s concludes that her son has great advantages and is expected to do well with