Question

letter of advice to his daughter martha
thomas jefferson
in september of 1782, thomas jefferson’s wife, martha, died shortly after the birth of their tenth child. at this time, jefferson was a member of the continental congress and was required to be away from his family for periods of time. during this absence, he made arrangements for others to care for his three young daughters, while he was attending the continental congress meeting in annapolis, maryland. in november of 1782, he wrote this letter to his youngest daughter, martha, whom he called patsy.
november 28, 1782
my dear patsy,
your letter of the 19th instant, i received here without any accident, and am in great haste to answer it, lest i should disappoint. the consciousness that you would be more surprised to miss a letter from me, i have always had with you, has delighted me in my present path, which my love for you has rendered a thousand times more pleasing. the apprehension that i could not write to you so often as i wished, and if they fail not, will make you more steady in my love, and if they fail, will not diminish it, they will admonish you, constantly when the times i have promised you would fail, that you perform all my requests, and solicit attention to you in all those wanderings from what is right or what is lovely, to which your inexperience would expose you, consider then, i conjure you, as your dear mother, who has undertaken to see that you perform all your exercises, and to admonish you in all those wanderings from what is right or what is lovely, to which your inexperience would expose you, consider her, i am, on your mother, as the only person to whom, since the loss with which heaven has pleased to afflict you, you can now look up, and that her disapprobation or disapprobation, on any occasion, will be an immense misfortune, which, should you be so unhappy as to incur by any unguarded act, think no more of than to regret her good will.

1. consider the good lady who has taken you under her roof, who has undertaken to see that you perform all your exercises, and to admonish you in all those wanderings from what is right or what is lovely, to which your inexperience would expose you, consider her, i am, on your mother, as the only person to whom, since the loss with which heaven has pleased to afflict you, you can now look up, and that her disapprobation or disapprobation, on any occasion, will be an immense misfortune, which, should you be so unhappy as to incur by any unguarded act, think no more of than to regret her good will.

what is the connotative effect of the word admonish on jefferson’s tone in this letter?
a jefferson is using the word primarily to create a scolding or训斥 tone with his daughter that is evident throughout the entire passage.
b the word admonish does not show any particular concern or worry on jefferson’s part for his daughter’s behavior toward her caretaker and tutor.
c it shows that jefferson is encouraging lightly to highly warn his daughter for her concerns about her new life with this caretaker and tutor.
d if she were to forget her role, jefferson’s admonition has extremely bad time you would be, probably one of the worst things his daughter could ever do.

Explanation:

To determine the correct answer, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The word "tremble" doesn't create a joking tone; Jefferson's advice is serious, so A is incorrect.
• Option B: "Tremble" does show concern as it relates to the daughter's actions and their consequences, so B is wrong.
• Option C: "Tremble" here is used to gently warn the daughter about the potential negative outcomes of her actions with the caregiver and host, matching the context of Jefferson's advice.
• Option D: The word "tremble" isn't about the worst thing the daughter could do, but about the consequences of her actions, so D is incorrect.

Answer:

C. It shows that Jefferson is encouraging (slightly to highly) warn his daughter for her concerns about her new life with this caregiver and host.