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The Great Books Curriculum (GBC)

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“A classical book engains messages that influences the readers to be better and aids them in comprehending the human condition; it speaks directly to the reader’s heart, discordant to the current best sellers.” (Ramirez, 2012) The Great Books Curriculum (GBC) is the compilation of traditional classical literature implemented by high schools and colleges to their students. The Great Books Curriculum of 1990 was created by Mortimer J. Adler and used three main criteria to select the books of that year. It is widely known that history often repeats itself, therefore the great books which confront some real-world problems from the past can still be relatable today and in the future. Whereas, for example, Twilight written by Stephenie Meyer in 2007 is not relevant even in today's era. All books in the GBC have literary value, not to be confused with the value of a book in general. The Great Books Curriculum has worked for centuries, only being slightly altered, and will continue to work for generations to come. Adler used three main criteria to draft books for the compilation. The …show more content…

Though not exactly the same but similar in context. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) written by Harper Lee in 1960 is considered a classic often read by many high school students across the United States of America. TKAM addresses the conflicts of racism towards Tom Robinson, an African American who occasionally did work for a white family, in 1930’s Alabama. Robinson is accused of the rape of the daughter of the family and charged as guilty mainly because of his ethnicity. This shows the racism back in the 30’s which is still ever present in today's world. Although racism nowadays is not as widely popular as it was back then, there is still plenty of discrimination. Since this issue is still relevant today, proves a great example of what makes To Kill a Mockingbird a great book because it faces the issues of

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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.

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In the story To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it displays how many racial issues occurred in the southern part of the country during the 1930’s. An example being when Tom Robinson who is a innocent black man who is being accused of assault against Mayella Ewell. At the courthouse, every witness stated that Tom Robinson raped Mayella Ewell on November 21st and punched her in her right eye. But, Tom Robinson can’t use his left arm so there was no possible way that Tom Robinson punched Mayella Ewell. Atticus Finch attempts to prove Tom Robinson’s innocence by using strong, emotional appeals to convince the jury.

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957 Words | 4 Pages

Despite race discrimination around the world, there are still people who overcome and persevere through these challenges - often at great risk to themselves. During the 1930s, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, a small town called Maycomb held a trial against an innocent African American man accused of raping a Caucasian woman. The reader experiences life in Maycomb through the eyes of ten year old girl name Jean-Louise Finch, Scout. In this case, Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, was assigned to be the lawyer for the accused, Tom Robinson. However, Atticus has integrity and tries his best for Tom even if his own life is at risk.

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Why Literature Matters People 's passion for reading has diminished over the years. Some figures already showed that the percentage of Americans reading literature is declined to a worrisome level. What will be the impact of if literature is gone from people 's life, as a form of art? The article "Why Literature Matters" by Dana Gioia discuss this issue in three aspects - The importance of reading in workplace and people 's awareness in history and politics. Dana addressed the issue in the beginning of this article "the interest young Americans showed in the arts - and especially literature - actually diminished.

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1131 Words | 5 Pages

Lee uses Miss Gates’s ironic views of Hitler and Tom’s trial to show how racial prejudice causes crimes against African Americans to be considered less than crimes committed against white people. A mockingbird is then used to symbolize Tom Robinson as an innocent person wrongly convicted of a crime because of his skin color. The misunderstood characterization of Arthur Radley shows how society will let prejudice guide their imaginated view on the lives of people they don't understand. All three characters provide examples of how a preconceived opinion of one person or a whole race can cause drastic misunderstandings and

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1048 Words | 5 Pages

Literature is a precious art form to many and important for various reasons. Literacy helps improve grammar, provides entertainment, educates people and provides inspiration. It is specifically useful for educating people on racial discrimination as many classic works contain racism. Both To Kill a Mockingbird and The Butler are great at expanding people’s knowledge on racism. Although they have two entirely different plots, they both depict how little people value an African-American’s opinion, characters challenging racism and the acceptance of blatant racism.

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To Kill a Mockingbird Argumentative Essay Racial equality and discrimination is a founding issue that has been spread throughout every part of the world, To Kill A Mockingbird was written and published by Harper Lee in 1960, this time was dominated by civil rights protests and some of the first hippie movements following the crushing reality of the Vietnam War, the 60s also saw the struggle against segregation and racial equality. It is no surprise that the extreme political conflict affecting her life and world would greatly impact her writing and influence how she perceived the world during the writing of To Kill a Mockingbird. the influence of the fight for racial inequality is shown greatly in her book as she depicts the everyday life

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754 Words | 4 Pages

Tom Robinson is a black man who is wrongfully convicted of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. This novel goes through Scout's life from when she was 6, till she is 9. She lives in the town of Maycomb Alabama, and lives an innocent life until about halfway through the story, where she begins to ask questions. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout shows the readers that racial inequality creates an unjust society through the African American community, through the people surrounding colored folks, and through Tom Robinson’s Case. The first example of the consequences of racial inequality is the African American community in Maycomb.

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830 Words | 4 Pages

As can be seen, Lee’s usage of Tom Robinson’s trial and the racial discrimination and prejudice seen throughout it helps reinforce the theme of social injustice throughout To Kill A Mockingbird. Another encounter that the

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516 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”(Lee 30). These are the words of Atticus Finch, the wisest character in the famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a fictional man that embodies human traits that all people should strive to emulate. In the novel; narrated by Atticus’ daughter Jean Louise Finch, more often referred to as Scout; Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white female, Mayella Ewell. The main message of the text is the prominence of racial injustice, specifically in the 1930’s, the era the novel takes place in.

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321 Words | 2 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird is an extremely important book to read and applies to both the 1950s, when it was written, and the 21st century, where we forget the struggles our grandparents went through to end racial discrimination. Jean Louis Finch (known as Scout throughout the story) lives in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama, along with her brother, Jem, and her widowed father, Atticus Finch. Written from Scout’s perspective, we learn about her childhood in the Great Depression, and the hardships they faced due to Atticus’ decision to defend an innocent black man accused of raping a white woman in the midst of a world clouded by racial segregation.! Tom Robinson was given a guilty verdict, despite there being no substantial evidence of him committing

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In the novel “To kill a Mockingbird”, the author bases the book back during the Great Depression when racism was still a very relevant, impacting thing to live amongst. If you have read the book, you would recall that throughout the novel racism is openly expressed towards the African American man, Tom Robinson, which was accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. After this book,

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612 Words | 3 Pages

“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.

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She believes the syllabus provided to students do not include any challenging books, and her belief toward high school teachers becoming too lazy to examine thoroughly if the book the education system provides them with represent any true and significant value is a recurring concern of hers’- therefore ineffective to students. All in all, Prose used ethos, pathos, logos and the usage of specific words to help her argument. She successfully persuades her point of view and makes it clear that if schools want their curriculum to improve, they must change their way of teaching and push their students to view literature in a new

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