John Henry Adams My Dear Son Analysis

In 1780, eight years before the ratification of the Constitution, Abigail Adams wrote to her son, John Quincy Adams, the future president of the United States, while he was travelling overseas with his father who was a US diplomat at the time before he was elected president. Unaware that he son would become president, she writes to convince her son of travel and diligence. Adams employs a concerned, maternal tone, historical allusions, qualified flattery, patriotic appeals, and lists to impart the importance of maximizing on natural talent by applying oneself. Adams encourages her son to be diligent by appealing to his affection for her and flattering him in the first half of the letter. She opens the letter with “my dear son” to establish …show more content…
In line 27, she implies that he is a genius, like Cicero, proceeding to allude to his writings about the “tyranny” (line 32) of Catilline, Verries, and Marc Anthony. The compliment flatters while the historical allusion provides examples to legitimize the point that “the habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties” (lines 32-34). The present difficulties to which she refers involve the American revolution from Great Britain and the birth of a new nation. Adams invokes a sense of patriotism to call her son to action and out of his current – lethargic – state by listing “war, tyranny, and desolation” (line 41) experienced by the country. She encourages her son to conduct his life aiding the country from the aforementioned ills which are the “scourges of the Almighty” (line 42). By invoking God’s name, she intensifies the need for her son to change himself so that he can change the shape of the future of the nation. Additionally, Adams implies that, as his mother, she has invested her life in him, and by disregarding her advice he will prove her life a waste and a failure. She manipulates by evoking guilt once again. She closes the letter with strong maternal tone, stating her hope that he will become more diligent, not only for his country, but also for his parents, motivating him

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