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Abigail Adams Letter To My Mother Analysis

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Abigail Adams is writing to her venturing son, who is of with his father John. Written in 1980, this letter signifies the beliefs that John Quincey Adams’ mother has for him. Off traveling the world to build his father’s trustworthiness, the experiences he will have, build John Adams into the man he would become. Abigail Adams presents a variety of justifiable metaphors, scholarly wisdom, and a maternal tone, to advise her son to follow his dreams and accomplish his goals. First, Adams integrates justifiable metaphors to differentiate between her son and the chances he has to be great like the generations of family before him. On line 20, she compares, “a judicious traveler to a river” to express John’s knowledge will only grow with more fruitful experiences. Secondly, she asserts that “wisdom and penetration are the fruits of experience” to illustrate that wisdom and knowledge can only be obtained by going out into the world and making a difference. She continues by saying, “not the lessons of retirement and leisure” to exemplify the point that laziness will not achieve you anything, and if John doesn’t live with a purpose, what is the point in living with the opportunities he has been brought to? …show more content…

In one example she tells him, “You are favored with superior advantages.” She says this to imply that John was raised in wealth and opportunities, and he should think twice before he lets that go to waste. She would continue on and then so end with, “Do honor to your country, and render your parents supremely happy.” I can imagine a smile appearing on John’s face as he reads this heartfelt message from his mother. She shows her support for her son and lets him know that she believes even if nobody else does. She knows that someday he will have a name for

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364 Words | 2 Pages

First off Adams uses comparisons and contrast and contrasting to help illustrate a better understanding. In the first piece of evidence she compares a "a judicious traveler to a river". Adams wanted effect was to imply that the more knowledge you have, the more you will be able to be on your own in the future. In her second example, she contrast "a dormant man in retirement, and a hero in difficult times". She suggests

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440 Words | 2 Pages

She compares "a judicious traveler" to "a river that increases its stream" the further it runs from the start of the river, or to "certain springs, which running through rich veins of minerals improve their qualities as they pass along". These excerpts show how Adams explains why the more you travel the more experience you have and you'll become more successful. She also uses a metaphor to make a comparison about how "wisdom and penetration are the fruits of experience" and how those "fruits" don't come from laziness. This clarifies how experience leads to wisdom while laziness doesn't. Adams wants her son to work for wisdom and experience.

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446 Words | 2 Pages

In 1780, eight years before the creation of the Constitution, Abigail Adams writes to her son John Quincy Adams, using many different rhetorical devices to advise him throughout his voyage across seas. As a mother, Adams’s concerns and prospects for the future are expressed to her son, who is growing old enough to begin to apply his own intelligence to the world. Mothers have always shared a similarity that is rooted in their compassion and tendencies to protect their children, and Adams is no different. Adams encourages her son through a series of rhetorical techniques. First, she displays her absolute love for him, using the phrase “my dear son” throughout the letter to continually show him that she is not scolding him; rather, she is trying to exhibit to him how much he means to her.

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471 Words | 2 Pages

Letter to Her Daughter from the New White House Abigail Adams does not like the new White House because it is unfinished, The City is surrounded by tree’s, and The buildings in the city aren't pleasant. The first reason that Abigail Adams does not like the White House is because it is unfinished. From the text “ There is not a single apartment finished, and all withinside, except the plaster, has been done since Briesler came.” This is my evidence because it shows that she does not like that the apartments and plastering is not done.

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148 Words | 1 Pages

We must build again.” With John’s optimism to rebuild and learn, his passion to share his knowledge gives hope to bring back the civilization that has been lost to warfare and hate. He says on page 8, “Perhaps in the old days they ate knowledge too fast. “ With this he acknowledges that he will learn from the mistakes evident

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604 Words | 3 Pages

In this letter, Abigail Adams writes to her son John Quincy Adams who is abroad with his father. Later, John Quincy Adams, will be noted as a United States diplomat and president. In this letter, Abigail Adams addresses her son, offering him advice for the future. She asserts the pride she has in her son and all that he has accomplished. She encourages him to grow and expand his horizons of knowledge.

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906 Words | 4 Pages

At the beginning, he implicitly puts her request down. Near the end, however, he blames the helplessness created by the request as the reason for the denial. He first tells her that she does not fully comprehend the impact of her request. She “should have considered what she was asking.” By doing this, he establishes his position clearly, one that meant her son would not get patronage because of the impossibility of the task.

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1292 Words | 6 Pages

Abigail Adams was extremely influential to the nation’s beginnings due to her drive to push certain decisions and debates through the status of her husband. She found the issues of women’s rights and slavery while also finding local politics to be important. As the wife of a president, Abigail Adams was able to use her status in a way to push and bring to life her political agenda. Abigail Adams was able to provide her husband with information and insights of the political situation in Boston during his decade long trip through numerous letters that had been exchanged for so long. Her letters regarding the political situation “included commentary on the American struggle for independence and the political structure of the new republic.”

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393 Words | 2 Pages

She uses this rhetorical strategy to connect with her son and show affection. Throughout her letter Adams says "My son". She states this multiple times to clarify that this letter is not to scold him but to guide and inform him. By Adams continually emphasizing support for her son,

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515 Words | 3 Pages

The newly established land of America was attempting to break away from the mother country, England, to become the independent land that we know as the United States. The letter by Abigail Adam was written to her beloved son whom was traveling abroad with his father. Throughout the letter, Adams uses inspiring diction, allusions to historical figures, and well timed metaphors to encourage her son to be resilient and not shy away from any challenges that may face him. In the letter, Adams compares her son to other great leaders using allusions and metaphors.

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495 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the letter Adams uses phrases like “my son” or “the son of your father.” Her purpose through this is to display to her son that he has nothing but support from both of his parents as he grows into the man he chooses to be. She explains that he is very fortunate to have “superior advantages,” meaning the wealth of their family, yet he should never stray from the morals that were taught to him from “a tender parent.” Adams concludes her letter with “…do honor to your country, and render your parents supremely happy, particularly your ever affectionate mother, A.A.” In this final sentence she includes everything that she expects from her son as he travels, learns, and becomes a

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664 Words | 3 Pages

Abigail Adams in the letter to her son, John Quincy Adams, suggests that he be brave and a great man. Adams supports her suggestion to John by explaining what he should do and that he should be strong, mentally, on the trip. The authors purpose is to encourage the son to be a strong man in order to last on the trip, do honor to their country, and become a great man in the future. The author writes in an inspirational tone for her son John Quincy Adams. She incorporates many different literary techniques in order to get the mood and tone across to her son.

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678 Words | 3 Pages

Abigail employs strategies of emotionally charged words and phrases that only a mother can say to her son. In her letter she opens the letter with the phrase, “MY DEAR SON”. This phrase is notable because of the effects that it is intended to give to the audience, her son John Quincy Adams, she is setting a mood and tone of a loving and compassionate mother. She is using the position of her authority as his mother to push him her love for him is why she knows this trip is great thing for him.

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452 Words | 2 Pages

Abagail Adams wrote a letter to her son, John Adams, who is traveling abroad with his father. Abigail Adams, who was a women back then during the Revolutionary War, didn’t have much political rights. Adams was huge in politics and so was her son, second president of the United States. Adam's uses rhetorical devices to advice her son that he is the only person that can control his future and he must know how to pull through difficulty when it's being tested. To advice her son about this, she uses many rhetorical strategies.

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432 Words | 2 Pages

In this document analysis I chose, was about Elizabeth Springs who was an indentured servant in Maryland who wrote a letter to her father who lived in England. She writes to her father stating that she hopes that she could come back home, and that she forgives him for all the wrong he had done. She explains to him that she is living miserably day and night and being treated like an animal. The beat and rape her. Her lack of not eating, not having much clothing, or shoes, she feels like she is being mistreated worse than black people.

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