What Is The Mood Of Lord Chesterfield's Letter To His Son

Eighteenth-century author, Lord Chesterfield, in his letter, speaks to his young son who is traveling far from home. His purpose is to advise his son and reveal his own values. He does so by employing stylistic devices such as establishing ethos, adopting a gulting tone, and repetition.
Chesterfield establishes ethos in his letter in order to persuade his son to listen to him. In the opening line of his letter, Chesterfield addresses his son as “boy” instead of his name. The connotations of the word “boy” are young and naive. By reminding his son that he is still young and needs his father's advice, he increases the chances that his son will heed his direction. Likewise, by dehumanizing his son Chesterfield portrays a detached and authoritative attitude which reminds his son of his father’s goal. Throughout his letter, Chesterfield reinstates that his son is “too young.” This occurrence reminds his son that he needs his father’s advice, because he is too young to make decisions on his own. The details that establish Chesterfield as superior reveal that he does not think his son is capable of

He states that he wishes to advise his son “as a friend.” This adds effectiveness in that if his son were to disobey his father’s wishes, he would disobeying his father and his friend. Chesterfield continues to elaborate that his son needs to listen to him “for the sake of doing right, and out of affection and gratitude” for his father. This suggests that if his son were to disregard his suggestions, not only would he being making a wrong decision in general but he will also be ungrateful for his father. This will make his son have a guilty conscious if he were to disobey. This guilt could be the deciding factor for his son to listen to his father, and therefore would fulfill Chesterfield’s purpose. These guilt-causing mechanisms reveal that Chesterfield will go to great lengths to get his son to listen to