Hawthorne’s Attitude Towards Abraham Lincoln Essay Example

The attitudes that Hawthorne takes toward Lincoln were aspiring and personable. However, his appearance may not illustrate it, his strong character does. To clarify his attitudes toward Lincoln, he uses many rhetorical strategies. Some rhetorical strategies he used were imagery, metaphor, and through the appeals of ethos. 

Hawthorne’s attitude towards Lincoln was aspiring because he portrays him as a great role model for everyone. Lincoln was aspiring in a way that Hawthorne even mentioned: “he was the man of men." This statement also shows his respect for Lincoln because it is saying that he is a man that everyone should follow and look up to. 

 Another attitude towards him was that he was personable. He has an agreeable character in him that he stated, “...and yet it seemed as if I had been in the habit of seeing him daily” which shows that he feels comfortable around the president as if it were just a normal day for him. Hawthorne even mentioned that he would have mistaken Lincoln as a teacher instead of a president. He was casual and simple, which gives Hawthorne the attitude that he was personable. 

The metaphor was shown throughout the essay, and an example is when he states, “I should have taken him for a country schoolmaster as soon as anything else.” Hawthorne compared him to a teacher because of his appearance. This strategy helps clarify his attitude towards him to show that he was well-spoken and pleasant.

The imagery was used throughout the essay and most, especially when he was describing his physical appearance. He mentioned parts of his face that did not sound amusing and something that the people would have expected regarding the characteristics he mentioned of him. An example would be when he states, “His hair was black...somewhat bushy...neither brush nor comb that morning.” In our world, this imagery portrays the opposite of someone who is personable and aspiring.  

Hawthorne also appeals to ethos by mentioning, “President Lincoln is the essential representative of all Yankees, and the veritable specimen, physically, of what the world seems determined to regard as our characteristic qualities.” This example of ethos shows that not only is he the president of their country but someone that many people view as their role model due to the characteristic qualities he has shown to others. This shows an illustration of him as a respectable and reliable man.

Lincoln illustrated a personable and aspiring man as a president from Hawthorne’s observations of him. Through rhetorical strategies, such as imagery, metaphor, and by appealing to ethos, he successfully helps clarify and define the attitudes that Lincoln possesses.