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Abigail Adams Letter Rhetorical Devices

Decent Essays

The year 1780 was when the French troops set foot in American soil at Newport, Rhode Island to fight for America’s Independence from Great Britain. In this letter, Abigail Adams sole purpose was to counsel young John adams on his voyage to France, Adams letter includes historical allusions, ethical appeals such as Pathos(tone) and ethos and lastly Analogy. Her style of writing suggests to the reader that the letter is written in a formal tone, but hidden in those words is a woman who cares deeply for her son and encourages him to continue his journey of opportunity with due diligence.
The strongest and most influential rhetorical strategy used that binds the letter together is her use of pathos, at the beginning of the letter, she starts the heading with a delicate phrase “my dear son” (Adams). This describes the bond between her and young John Adams and at this same time proclaims her motherly love and affection for John in the most conventional manner possible- that phrase alludes to John that the letter he’s about to read and the information it entails is for the betterment of him, also for John to pursue success diligently and stresses the fact that his voyage to france is not merely a vacation with his dad, but an opportunity to improve the quality of life …show more content…

She invokes a sense of patriotism and responsibility to call her son to action and uses the background of how America came to be an independent country from Great Britain and thus provides evidence that from hardships and pain, The results are an unending sense of accomplishments and

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