On January 12, 1780, Abigail Adams writes a letter to her beloved son John Quincy Adams. In her letter, Abigail Adams encourages her son to continue his journey of triumph with persistence and diligence. Adam’s use of rhetorical devices inspires her son, John Quincy Adams, to strive for success during a voyage with his father in 1780. Adams writes the letter for the purpose of informing her son on how important it is for him to travel to France. Abigail Adams writes to her son, to advise him of the opportunities he has a head of him and to advise him to use what he is learning to further himself and others. Adams’ letter contains strong diction, thought out phrases, and references to bestow upon her son the life advice he will need. Adams uses strong diction and a first person point of view to establish authority. Adams states how the language he knows will give him more advantages now then he could have “reaped” before. This knowledge …show more content…
Adams feels that with her son’s opportunities he should be superior to others his age. She supports this thought by stating “your improvements should bare some proportion to your advantages.” Toward the end of her letter Adams assures her son that she has “pleasing hope” that he will not “swerve from her dictates but add justice…and virtue.” The quote expresses to her son that following her instructions and being persistent will cause him to be virtuous. Adams tells her son that great characters are not formed in the “still calm” or the “repose of a pacific station.” Through this Adams states that it takes chaos and mayhem to create great characters. She tells her son that he should “owe” his existence to the people that help make him. This statement allows Adams to recognize that he would not be him if it weren’t for her. Adams’ thought out responses allow her to more accurately get her point