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Christopher Graff's Literary Analysis

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As a middle-class Jew growing up in an ethnically mixed chicago neighborhood, he was already in danger of being beaten up. Becoming deeply involved in books would only make matters worse for him. Graff had a hard time “relating” to the books his father would try to get him read. He did not really see the meaning behind it. It was also inferred that he would have to go to college and buckle down, which meant premed, prelaw, or major and business. None of those options interested him so he defaulted into the unconventional territory of liberal arts and majored in English. All through college reading seemed painfully difficult and alien to Graff, all the “great book” that he supposedly could “connected” with failed to do so. It was not until …show more content…

I tend to feel that books just drag on and eventually I find myself mindlessly reading just because I am “supposed to”. Although I was not brought up in Graff’s childhood circumstances I can see where he is coming from. He wanted to fit in and not be made fun off. Nowadays, I can not see anyone getting beat up for liking literature or being passionate about what they like doing. I respect Graff for not succumbing to the pressure of his family and studying something he did not enjoy just to satisfy his family. Even though he kind of fell into liberal arts he did not chose something he does not enjoy doing. In my case this is not a problem, I am not pressured by my parents to be something I do not want to be. Although, they do push me to excel and reach my full potential so that I can do what I enjoy doing when I am older. Regarding literature I am still waiting for my big moment where I might find reading exciting, I am waiting for a “Huckleberry Finn” eye opening moment. I think that Graffs statement, “choosing a topic that interests you or making and effective argument depends on having a sense of what other people are saying” (Graff 48) is true and false. I think that a person should read and interpret literature on their own, and formulate their personal perspectives. Additionally, a person should share their viewpoint or argument with others to build stronger connections. Other people can influence you to look deeper and see things you might have missed in a reading. But I think it is essential for people to start on their own, no matter how intimidating or boring a piece of literature might be. They can lay the groundwork for themselves and be able to build off their ideas with other people's inputs. I also agree with the fact that students will enjoy reading more if they are given a piece that interests them and have a great teacher that can provide input along they way. Having a great teacher is

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In paragraph 7, Graff also talks about that he did not like talking about books out loud in class because he never felt like he had the exact right things to say. Additionally, he discusses that even when he would speak up in class, his words didn’t seem intellectual enough to be fitting

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The final stage of his nonconformist reality was the stealing and reading of books. This bgain the very strong theme of Man vs Society. No longer was his brain like everyone else's, so no longer would he fit in.

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He had no interest in law or medicine and found himself in the liberal arts and surprisingly majoring in English.   Graff learned to deal with his reading problem and managed to get good grades and graduated from the University of Chicago in 1959. Graff admitted that he didn’t finish reading any of the assigned classics, this included the contemporary works of Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Fitzgerald, whose work was said to be close this own experience.   Graff didn’t find anything that he could relate to from any of these authors work. When called on to discuss his assigned reading in class, Graff was extremely uncomfortable, and didn’t feel he had the intellectualism or vocabulary to present his assignments.

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He couldn't write straight so he also started to write down every single word down on a sheet of paper to improve his writing skills. Within the days he spent at the library all he ever did was try to improve his writing. After all the rewriting the words from the dictionary It seems to be like now a days college is getting more and more stressful for students. Speaking as a college student myself it is difficult to work full time and come to school four times a week. Procastination is becoming a bigger issue in the education system.

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Although he learned a lot due to books, he believes that each book teaches you a lesson. He believes that all bad books usually have a greater lesson to teach you than the good books. Books also thought him what he can and can’t do while writing. While reading books he learned “Good writing, on the other hand, teaches the learning writer about style, graceful narration, plot development, the

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He actually begins to question the impact books have since “there must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house. ”(48) Fahrenheit 451 presents the endless battle between knowledge and ignorance, which are both key topics in social relationships and

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She stated “I hate exercise…I work out and want to die…I knew I was in love with The Hunger Games when I did not want to get off the treadmill” (138). Her involvement with the text helped Gay to overlook the negative aspect being at the gym, making her a creditable source to encourage the audiences to realize literature can be used as a tool to surpass obstacles. Although Cox Gurdon, a young children book reviewer stated: “Young Adult Fiction has taken too dark a turn,” but Gay appeals to ethos by claiming, teens read book to escape dark aspect of reality (qtd Gay145). She quoted Sherman Alexie an American poet, who is a passionate writer who believes that, “There are millions of teens who read because they are sad and lonely and enraged,” to prove her argument against Gurdon (145). She successfully shapes her argument about kids reading book to escape reality, by telling the reader the reason she read The Hunger Game was because she likes the way the author placed people in their world.

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Often his parents and siblings would make fun of him for his specific hunger for success. He wanted to be like his teachers, knowledgeable and successful. His obsession with books was not out of joy or for fun, he had one specific goal in mind and kept reading until he reached it. Reading did not come easy as he said it was more of a “chore.” Moving on to college he found his peers annoyed with his readiness to learn, and at the raise of his hand in class.

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Literacy narratives help accomplish multiple tasks so their work can fall into the genre of narrative literacy. Looking into Graff , Barrientos , and Alexie narrative stories we see they all share the same task, which is to share their experience with reading. Other task they incorporated into their stories was to share tips o how to read. For example, using cliff notes to give you a heads up on what you will be reading. Graff shows us how he used cliff notes to engage in a "classic" book, therefore he was able to annotate the reading.

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Here, Faber is in his house telling Montag about how books bring life into the world. Faber is letting Montag know that books are important not because they are books, but because of their meaning. As difficult as they can be to deal with, the pores are the perfect imperfections needed to make the world great. Bradbury shows that books and knowledge are vital and that censoring books robs the world of individuality and freedom. “Give a man a few lines of verse and he thinks he’s the lord of all creation.

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As a child, Graff talks about how he shared a hatred for books, but rather a passion for sports. Reading sports magazines was the only thing you’d catch him reading as he became hooked. In the education system, schoolwork isolated you from others whereas in sports, you can reach out to anybody and have conversation. He believed because of high interest in sports, he was a typical anti-intellectual, but he came to the

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To be successful in life, it is required to know how to read. Reading brings knowledge and knowledge brings intelligence, wisdom, and understanding. People learn from many different forms of literature. One of the most important kind of literature is children's literature. It is responsible for teaching children things like vital knowledge that are required for school and life.

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Some may say that educational systems are superior, however, some can argue that the educational system needs a change. Francine Prose’s purpose in “I Know Why The Caged Bird Cannot Read” stood out clearly, to inform parents on how the current system of education is ineffective to young learners. Her use of words, ethos, logos and pathos appeals to educators and students to inspire change in their education standards. Prose wittingly begins her essay with a shocking opening paragraph; her strong language in which attacks the various works of literature.

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960 Words | 4 Pages

Because his desires were not in the direction of learning he did not enjoy school. He found his learning to be misdirected and his teachers ill informed. He did not agree with the curriculum and felt that reading fiction was a sinful waste of time. He feels that reading about someone else’s sins while remaining ignorant to your own sins is a sin in and of itself. He had no desire for learning because he was seeking companionship, something that would prove troublesome in much of his future.

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He is a proud alumnus of Harvard University where the plot of his novel starts. Since he has attended the college himself, the story and the setting become more believable for the reader. The novel is the classic tale of the forbidden love between two people who belong to different sections of the society. The two lovers come from completely different classes.

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