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Does Mother Know Best Mantra In My Dear Son By Abigail Adams

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Does mother really know best? Of course many women think so as seeing that is repeated like a hymn, mostly by women, to give their children trust that anything they say is right and the best thing to do. For example, Abigail Adams conveys that “mother knows best” mantra in her letter to her son John Quincy Adams. John Quincy Adams, who is on a voyage with his father at sea, receives a letter from his mother. In the letter she is convincing her son to go after all the opportunities he will be provided with. She was unaware that her own son was going to be the President at the time, so without her encouragement and advice to go after all opportunities he would have never become President. This shows us that annoying repetition of “mother knows best”, is true. …show more content…

She starts the letter with “My Dear Son” because she doesn’t want to sound like she his scolding him, but rather guiding him to the right decision. She sets a maternal tone throughout the letter, advising and convincing him to embrace all opportunities. Even though she is conveying a maternal tone, she also uses her role as a parent to, in a way, dictate him to accept all the opportunities that come his way. She appeals at his emotional side by saying in lines 3-7 “If I had thought your reluctance arose from proper deliberation, or that you were capable of judging what was most for your own benefit, I should not have urged you to accompany your father and brother when you appeared so averse to the voyage”, when she says that she conveys an emotional tone, and she blames herself for urging him to go with his father on his voyage, which appeals to her son in an emotional way, this is the use of

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