Jaelyn Whiting

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Abigail Adams Essay

Abigail Adams writes a letter to John Quincy Adams , in order to advise her

son. She use’s ethos, irony, and paradox to guide her son through his path of life

and how to make sure her son leaves her in bliss

Abigail Adams uses Ethos by relating telling her son about himself, she

states “your knowledge” , “your improvement”. In doing so , she puts emphasis

on her purpose and starts off with facts the reader (John Quincy Adams ) can

relate to. She uses a lot of anaphora stating “my son”, and “you”, putting

emphasis on the ethos… in which creates diction.

Abigail uses irony by “war, tyranny, and disolation…ought no doubt to be

deprecated” meaning that although he has been born and raised in to this world

(negative), that he shouldn’t be a product of it .

Abigail Adams finally concludes her text by using paradox to emphasize the fact

that John Quincy Adams had a heck of a life in front of him and that she was

trying to use it as a reality check to him. She left off with the statement of “ giving

me pleasing you will not swerve…” that she expects nothing but the best …adding

paradox to the story.