Abigail Adams Letter Rhetorical Analysis
Abigail Adams, in this letter to her son, uses a loving and motherly tone to appeal to him.
She also uses ethos in an attempt to convince her son that he should get the most out of
his experience going to France. The two rhetorical devices that Abigail Adams uses makes for a
well-written letter. The tone used in this letter is very loving and motherly. For example, Abigail uses the
phrase "my son" many times in this letter. This is effectively pointing out that Abigail genuinely
cares about her son and is extremely loving towards him. Additionally at the very end of the
letter she says "...your ever affectionate mother," this again reiterates the loving tone that is
present throughout this letter. Motherly is also how I would …show more content…
describe the tone of this piece,
Abigail constantly is giving advice that could certainly help her son if he ever needs it. Advice
such as saying that "...it will be expected....your improvement should bear some proportion to
your advantages." This means that Abigail is strongly advising her son to take advantage of
being privileged enough to travel to France with a caring parent, and grow significantly in his
qualities.
Overall, these two predominant tones create a strong relationship between mother and
son and makes way for a certain emotional punch that is prominent throughout the letter. This emotion that is made possible by the tone is expressed through ethos. A strong
example of this is when Abigail states "...do honor to your country, and render your parents
supremely happy, particularly your ever affectionate mother." This sentence has a couple
emotional motivations for John Quincy Adams, for one it brings loyalty to your country into the
picture which brings a slew of emotional feelings, John Quincy Adams cannot dishonor his
country. The other thing that appeals to ethos is making his parents happy, he wants to make
his parents proud as they are the most important people in his life. This overarching appeal to
the ethos gives emotional reason as to why John Quincy Adams should listen to his mother and
make the most out of his trip.
In conclusion, the various rhetorical strategies that Abigail Adams used made this a very
well-written letter. Her use of a loving, and motherly tone added a strong relationship between
mother and son. Additionally, she was able to effectively appeal to ethos to get her point
across
and convince her son to listen to her.
She also uses ethos in an attempt to convince her son that he should get the most out of
his experience going to France. The two rhetorical devices that Abigail Adams uses makes for a
well-written letter. The tone used in this letter is very loving and motherly. For example, Abigail uses the
phrase "my son" many times in this letter. This is effectively pointing out that Abigail genuinely
cares about her son and is extremely loving towards him. Additionally at the very end of the
letter she says "...your ever affectionate mother," this again reiterates the loving tone that is
present throughout this letter. Motherly is also how I would …show more content…
describe the tone of this piece,
Abigail constantly is giving advice that could certainly help her son if he ever needs it. Advice
such as saying that "...it will be expected....your improvement should bear some proportion to
your advantages." This means that Abigail is strongly advising her son to take advantage of
being privileged enough to travel to France with a caring parent, and grow significantly in his
qualities.
Overall, these two predominant tones create a strong relationship between mother and
son and makes way for a certain emotional punch that is prominent throughout the letter. This emotion that is made possible by the tone is expressed through ethos. A strong
example of this is when Abigail states "...do honor to your country, and render your parents
supremely happy, particularly your ever affectionate mother." This sentence has a couple
emotional motivations for John Quincy Adams, for one it brings loyalty to your country into the
picture which brings a slew of emotional feelings, John Quincy Adams cannot dishonor his
country. The other thing that appeals to ethos is making his parents happy, he wants to make
his parents proud as they are the most important people in his life. This overarching appeal to
the ethos gives emotional reason as to why John Quincy Adams should listen to his mother and
make the most out of his trip.
In conclusion, the various rhetorical strategies that Abigail Adams used made this a very
well-written letter. Her use of a loving, and motherly tone added a strong relationship between
mother and son. Additionally, she was able to effectively appeal to ethos to get her point
across
and convince her son to listen to her.