Superficiality And Vulnerability In Lord Chesterfield's Letter

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Superficiality and Vulnerability: Lord Chesterfield's Letter In his writing, Lord Chesterfield reveals a complex array of superficiality and superiority, intricately weaving his personal values into his arguments. Through his letter addressed to his son, Chesterfield is motivated to pass on his wisdom, yet his own implications of his superiority often detract from the effectiveness of his message. Furthermore, Chesterfield's recurrent beg for his son's attention, and distinct vulnerability underscore his confidence and rhetoric in the message. Meaning that his vulnerability actually highlights his confidence and strong belief within his argument, in turn making it more effective. Lord Chesterfield, through his writing, reveals his core values of superficiality and superiority, so much so …show more content…

Begging is appealing to others for things that you find essential that you can't get. In this case, Lord Chesterfield is begging for his son to take his advice, something he, himself, can not do. Therefore, Lord Chesterfield is knowingly putting himself in a scenario where he is going to be seen as pathetic. Although in some circumstances being pathetic truly is pathetic, like someone's life issues stemming from a lack of initial confidence, this is not the case for Lord Chesterfield. Lord Chesterfield, as mentioned before, is an overly confident and borderline narcissistic man, so it would be completely out of character for him to suddenly turn feeble. So, because this feebleness shown in his diction doesn't reflect Lord Chesterfield's character accordingly, what does it mean? Lord Chesterfield shows himself being confident enough to put himself in a situation where he is perceived as pathetic, and therefore expressing vulnerability that increases the effectiveness of the argument. It shows that Chesterfield is willing to put himself in an uncomfortable position to prove that he is