In “Why Literature Matters”, the Dana Gioia emphasizes the importance of literature. Using logos and pathos, he justifies his claim on how the waning interest in literature is affecting America’s society in many negative ways. In the sixth paragraph, he uses logos to appeal to the working class by referring to a poll in 2001 taken by the National Association of Manufacturers. The poll was taken on their members about the skill deficiencies among their workers. Quoting Gioia, “Poor reading skills ranked second.” The survey he mentions supports his claim that a lack of reading skills impacts society in a negative way by showing evidence on how literacy skills is something that the previous generation lacks. With that said, this problem will
Disliking Books by Gerald Graff outlines his growth towards liking books. Graff has received his BA in English from the University of Chicago and his PhD in English and American literature from Stanford University and is currently working as a professor of English and Eduation in the University of Illinois. Graff begins his work with recounting how, as a child, he has an aversion to books regarding history and literature for he cannot find their application to his life. Moreover, students who cultivated these skills are looked down upon and being a Jew, this would put him in danger of being beaten. Observing another side of his argument, he references Lives on the Boundary, in which the author implies that the working class found knowledge as saving grace, however, Graff takes for granted his education as part of the middle class.
Her full use of strong language diminishes pieces of literature’s worth and questions their true significance. She claims this in a critical tone by stating, “Like most parents who have, against all odds, preserved a lively and still evolving passion for good books, I find myself, each September, increasingly appalled by the dismal lists of texts that my sons are doomed to waste a school year reading”(Prose, 176). She uses words like dismal to describe the book choices students would have to read according to the curriculum of the educational system. By using words like dismal, she expresses her feeling of disappointment towards the curriculum. She
These articles, magazines or newspapers do not help the reader become wealthier, politically known, or a better person. The author believes that reading irrelevantly
Many people throughout the century noticed the ideologies that Whitman portrayed in his writings, and it is still evident today. In “Fahrenheit 451”, Ray Bradbury
Books have a history of impacting the views of the masses, influencing thought and bringing about the most spectacular inventions; the Bible, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Republic, and so many more. With books playing such a role in society, it is hard to imagine a world without literature. This is the goal of Ray Bradbury’s book, Fahrenheit 451: to explore a world where reading is outlawed, and to show how books, or the lack of, change the way people feel and connect. The general people who do not read, including the protagonist, Guy Montag, seem discontent with their lives and derive no real joy. Conversely, the readers and the thinkers are kinder, bolder, and humorous; Faber and Clarise, for example, leave powerful impacts on Montag with their thinking.
A novel such as How to Read Literature like a Professor brings joy to the reader because it awakens the senses he or she has become numb to in reading. This novel brings fun and irony back into reading literature and makes the reader remember why literature is important. In the eyes of non-professors, books are just a way to keep records and entertain the few. This is true, however, in reality, books serve the eternal purpose to expand communication between humans and bring
In this essay, "Why Literature Matters", author Dana Gioia sets up an argument about literature. Which she uses various ways to persuade her audience be in favor of her proposal; by showing statistic evidence, facts, and historical evidence, as well as some ironies, diction, and the appeals to reader's emotion. First of all, Gioia begins with strong appeals to reader's logos by clearly laying out the statistic source. For example, "According to the 2002 survey of Public Participation in the Arts, the reading population of the Americans is declining. " In turn, is an attempt to point out the thesis statement and make the readers to think out about this topic wile reading through her essay.
In the article, “Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia, he states that the decline of interest in literature—especially from young teens—will have a negative outcome in society. Notably, he informs the readers by utilizing strong vocabulary, as well as rhetorical appeals to persuade his audience that the decline in reading will have a negative outcome. This allows readers to comprehend his views and join his side of the argument. Gioia’s word choice assists in showing the magnitude of the text by stressing the meaning and importance of his argument.
Is reading important? Or is it just something school and work has made mandatory? Dana Gioia’s On the Importance of Reading says that reading is very significant and in fact, very beneficial to society. Many young adults would disagree, however, and say that reading is not crucial to them and reading is simply something they have to do throughout their school careers, but no longer dabble in after graduation.
Literature is never written – or read – for entertainment alone. There is always another purpose. Discuss in relation to two books Reading a book can be entertaining; that does not mean however, that the book is written for entertainment alone. At least one alternative purpose always exists.
“Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight the imagination, and life to everything.” -Plato. This quote shows the importance of books. If there were to be a world without books, the most important book I would keep would be Fahrenheit 451. This book would be important to keep because it would show us what would happen if books were outlawed.
There has been reading since the alphabet was first created thousands of years ago, but just recently, reading has taken on a new purpose. Reading in the modern day is a way to escape from a realty, good or bad, that people live in. People all over the world are suffering in their day to day life but now reading book especially fiction book allows them to escape. This helps people get over many problems such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thought. Many people have written about this such as Tim Gillespie.
As the digital age comes upon us, more and more Americans become dissatisfied with the state of literacy in this generation. Because the Internet paves the way for shorter and shorter interactions, namely articles versus novels and six-second viral videos versus films, many people that grew up in the age of the Internet have a preference for this condensed form of entertainment. Dana Gioia of The New York Times asserts in his essay “Why Literature Matters” that the decline of reading in America is destined to have a negative impact on society as a whole. Gioia opens his essay with a bittersweet account of which trend is occurring in the twenty-first century America arts scene. He notes that as college attendance rates blossom, the interest
We as young scholars can easily comprehend the importance of literature, but if our reach to success is limited to only one source of information then we would not be able to comprehend the full expansion of knowledge. The fictional novel Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury expresses the critical aspects and values of reading books and that censoring out books including fiction limits the knowledge of a society. Although non-fiction adds additional preparation towards the understanding of information of the real world, fiction should absolutely be a primary part of the learning experience at least until college levels because it allows students to expand their imagination to spark creative ideas, does not limit their capability of expression through literature, and gives them a passion to reading. There are countless
With illiteracy rising yearly that also means alitteracy rates are going up as well. Day by day people are losing interest in reading. Instead of picking up a good novel they decide to just click on the television. Instead of going out and walking the dog, the dog just gets let out into the backyard. It is not always completely about illiteracy, it is pure laziness.