ipl-logo

Character Analysis: Abigail Adams

371 Words2 Pages
In an Abigail Adams letter to her son John Quincy, she portrayed to him the extreme importance of challenging himself and making the most of his opportunities. Adams exemplifies her expectations of her son through rhetorical devices, strategies, juxtaposition and other potentially persuasive comparisons as John Quincy travels abroad to France with his father. A few of the specific strategies she uses are making connections to prosperous people such as Cicero and her husband John Adams. To establish her expectations between the successes of cicero and her hopes of John Quincy’s successes she asks a rhetorical question, “would Cicero have shone so distinguished an orator if he had not been roused, kindled, and enflamed…” Furthermore, by making
Show More
Related
269 Words | 2 Pages

The third rhetorical device, Abigail Adams uses is logical repetition. Mrs. Adams was a logical woman and used this to drive the point that her son has great things that lie ahead of him. She mentions the word “great” a series of times to lift her son up. For example, she says that he has been endowed with “greater advantages” that he hasn't come to realize yet. Such as his parents, education, and that he has been taught that everything isn't about him becoming who he wants to be.

Read More
457 Words | 2 Pages

Charles W. Akers was a history professor at Oakland University for many many years. He received his undergraduate degree from Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts and master's and doctorate degrees from Boston University. Akers is an award winning author that wrote two other books and co-authored another. Akers was a member of the Colonial Society, the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and he was an Associate of Early American History and Culture. Abigail Adams: An American Woman was nominated for a Pulitzer prize and won the Colonial Dames of American Annual Book Award.

Read More
440 Words | 2 Pages

Adams uses an abundance rhetorical devices in her letter to her son. The strong diction illustrates what challenges must be faced to become a hero. This tells John Quincy Adams that it will not be easy, but it is worth it. The analogies compare a traveler to a river and wisdom (or fruit) to experience and laziness.

Read More
103 Words | 1 Pages

Abigail Adams was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1744. She had a brother and two sisters. John Adams was the husband of Abigail, he was the second president of the United States . John Quincy Adams was Abigail Adams son who after became the sixth president of the United States. Adams did not attend school, which was common for girls at the time.

Read More
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.

Read More
812 Words | 4 Pages

All of these words possess a positive connotation to one’s pride, which can easily be felt after so much focus on the “your”s to John. Through the use of this repetition, Abigail not only opens up her son to new advice, but subtly verifies her old advice of encouraging him to go to France,

Read More
604 Words | 3 Pages

Abigail states "Would Cicero have shone so distinguished an orator if her had not been roused, kindled, and enflamed in tyranny of catline, vernes and Mark Antony?". In this allusion she makes a reference to her son, indicating that if he is never aroused and pushed, then he will never know his full potential. This is also a rhetorical question asking John if he is willing to rise to the challenge of new experiences. Abigail Adams also alludes to the examples of her husband, who shares a large interest in politics. She references him saying " Nor it ought to be one at the least of your excitement toward exerting every power and faculty of your mind, that you have a parent who takes to large and active share in contest.".

Read More
393 Words | 2 Pages

Abigail Adams is writing a letter to her son, John Quincy Adams. In this letter Adams is informing her son that he should use his wisdom and knowledge to help him throughout his trip abroad he is taking with his father, John Adams. Also known as the second president of the United States. Adams uses comparisons and pathos to encourage and advise her son while he is traveling abroad with his father. Adams establishes authority by using pathos throughout her letter.

Read More
596 Words | 3 Pages

To start off, Abigail Adams appeals to her son’s emotions by starting off the letter with “my dear son.” By using this introduction, it informs her son that she is being sincere and affectionate towards him. She, also, uses the power of ethos by flattering him with the talents and triumphs he is set with. This is exhibited in the third paragraph when she insists that he is bestowed with “superior advantages.” This flattery persuades and encourages him into continuing his use of the set of advantages he has received.

Read More
606 Words | 3 Pages

In the essay What We Can Learn About the Art of Persuasion from Candidate Abraham Lincoln: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Three Speeches That Propelled Lincoln into the Presidency, Michael Loudenslager analyzes the rhetorical devices used by Abraham Lincoln that made him the most prominent political figure of the day. When Loudenslager’s analysis is employed to real world applications in various business ventures, this knowledge can be extremely useful in becoming a successful persuader in every facet of life. To begin, Loudenslager gives a brief overview of Lincoln’s extensive legal career. This history in and of itself is not terribly important to the overall message of the essay, but it helps outline a context with which Lincoln became the

Read More
515 Words | 3 Pages

She asks her son rhetorically if Cicero would have been such a great leader had he not been "roused, kindled and inflamed. " Here, Adams is explaining that to become a great leader, one must go through great trials. Also, Adams compares her son to

Read More
495 Words | 2 Pages

Abigail Adams, the mother of John Quincy Adams, is entering a new chapter in her life in which her youngest son is becoming a man. John, his elder brother, and his father are traveling on a long, treacherous voyage to France. Abigail Adams writes John an encouraging letter that will help display her feelings towards him as a mother. Adams uses a number of different rhetorical devices such as a myriad of different historical and metaphorical examples, as well as a motherly diction in order to leave a desired confidence in her son.

Read More
678 Words | 3 Pages

Abigail uses an Allusion about Cicero, and she knows her audience and she knows that her son will understand the meaning behind this allusion. The allusion was about Cicero, Catiline, Verres, and Mark Antony and the troubles that they faced. She uses this Allusion as an example of overcoming hardship, she then explains that even though that these great men had hardships they overcame them, and became who they are because of those hardships. She is trying to show how this voyage may look like a bad situation, but really it will help him in the future. She then also goes on to say “..wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience…”(lines 35 and 36).

Read More
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.

Read More
514 Words | 3 Pages

The Third Korea A land where Korean culture exists as it used to be... Most of us think of the world as having two Koreas. There is the political entity we call South Korea - the economic powerhouse of Samsung and Hyundai, with a relatively Western political orientation. It is a land where culture and tradition have become to some extent subservient to capitalism and economic growth, and where a growing percentage of the population has traded the traditional Buddhism and Confucism of their ancestors for Christianity.

Read More

More about Character Analysis: Abigail Adams

Related Topics

Open Document