Abigail Adams Rhetorical Analysis

Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams who played an important part in the American Revolution and went on to become the second President of the United States. In this letter, Abigail Adams is addressing her son, John Quincy Adams, as he travels with his father on an embassy to France. John Quincy would later become the President of the United States and played a key role in the forming of America. Throughout this letter, Abigail Adams establishes appealing to pathos and illustrating key ideas through the use of maternal tones, familial duties, patriotic appeals, and allusions to historical figures and nature to promote applying one’s natural talent and gaining wisdom from experience.

Adam integrates appealing to pathos through maternal overtures and promoting nationalism to construct an argument for her son to apply himself on his travels and throughout his future life. Adam’s alludes to a situation where her son …show more content…
Adam models,” a river that increases its stream the further it flows from its source” to pertain to the idea that as her son travels farther from home he will gain personal experience and knowledge that he can apply later in his life. She persuades her son the take advantage of his opportunities. Stating, “streams full of rich minerals improve their qualities as they flow farther from the source” Adam implies that her son will grow in nature and gain a richness of life he had not previously experienced. By transitioning into a historical allusion and rhetorical question, she further promotes her argument through a powerful role model and example. “Would Cicero have shown so distinguished an orator if he had not been roused, kindled, and enflamed by tyranny?” Adam advises that hardships he will face on his travels will bring out important morals and talents that will guide him in later