Summary Of Why Literature Matters By Dana Gioia

In the passage “Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia he supports his assertion, which is “the interest young Americans showed in the arts -- and especially literature -- actually diminished.” he uses statistics, direct quotes, and facts to back up her main assertion. The author is writing this piece to make the audience realize how greatly literature is diminishing and trying to scare us into being intrigued into the arts which will hopefully change our world for the better. One of the great ways Dana supports his opinion was by using exact quotes from a survey that was taken. That survey stated “ a population study designed and commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts, arts participation by Americans has declined for eight of

“Business leaders consistently set imagination, creativity, and high-order thinking at the top. Ironically, the value of reading and intellectual faculties that it inculcates appear most clearly as active and engaged literacy declines. Among hourly workers; poor reading skills ranked second, and 30 percent of employers complained that local schools inadequately taught reading comprehension.” Nobody is wanting to take the blame on themselves but blaming their teachers and schools for them not being able to comprehend simple reading skills. “The decline of literary reading foreshadows serious long-term social and economic problems. Advanced literacy is a specific intellectual skill and social habit that depends on a great many educational, cultural, and economic factors.” and “Young people do not understand the ideals of citizenship.. And their appreciation and support of American democracy is limited.” Dana is meaning that nobody is going to be able to live in our society if you’re disabled in that skill. If nobody is willing to learn that skill, our world is basically doomed in the