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Abigail Adams Letter Rhetorical Analysis

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Abigail Adams writes a letter to her son John Quincy Adams, conjugal to John Adams. They are traveling abroad. Adams writes this particular piece because she shows concern for her son, who is far away and composing a letter is the only way to communicate. It is important to Adams that her son has a safe and significant trip because she believes “nothing is wanting with you but attention, diligence, and steady application.” (Adams, 24-26) In the beginning of the letter, Adams explicitly addresses her son. She exhibits proper diction to portray her concerning tone while appealing to her own emotions. By starting off the letter with “I hope you have had no occasion,” (Adams, 1) she lets her son know she is a concerning mother who cares. The way …show more content…

She pauses from explicitly addressing her son to incorporating a comparison someone told her, between a traveler to a river, “that increases its stream the further it flows...improve their qualities as they pass along.” (Adams, 17-20) This creates the importance of her tone sound convincing to her son because she can compare him, for he is a judicious traveler based on her wordly addresses for him. Relating to her adroit son, it is important that she continues to let him know that she is speaking to him because of the repetition of “my son” throughout the letter. “It will be expected of you, my son,” (Adams, 21) and “Yet it is your lot, my son,” (Adams, 43) explicitly address him, doing this because she has expectations that his mature self and his trip are great. The emphasis lets him know that what she is expressing is to be focused on. Furthermore, concomitant to her expectations, she realizes there are conflicts within society, such as “war, tyranny, and desolation,” which “are the scourges of the almighty.” (Adams, 41-42) By using a metaphor to describe these conflicts as punishments for powerful people, like her son, she highlights her tone and appeals to her sons qualities. Her son is capable of a superior livelihood and she wants him to know

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