Why Literature Matter By Dana Gioia Summary
Author, Dana Gioia in her writing, “ Why literature matters,” explains the positive and negative effects of the decrease in literature. Dana Gioia purpose is to convey the message that literature is important. He realizes that the significance of reading is continuing to become a meaningful theme in the business world. He recalls an example to prove to his audience of his statement. In the feburary wired magazine, Dana Gioia Stated, “The February issue of Wired magazine, for example, sketches a new set of mental skills and habits proper to the 21st century, aptitudes decidedly literary in character: “ (P.5 Gioia) Dana Gioia also establishes messages through her total audience as whole through the use of diction, tone and appeals to the reader emotions.
Jewel Bundren is an outsider in his own family. He is often described as “wooden”, cold. However, underneath that hard outer exterior is a man who loves deeply. He loves his mother unconditionally, and he loves his horse. Similarly, Stanley Kowalski is a brutish, animalistic man, who is often misunderstood and ostracized by Blanche because he is Polish.
Dana Giola believes literature is a crucial part of life, especially for young adults. In her passage “Why Literature Matters” she describes that young Americans' interests have diminished for literature. She persuades her audience using ethos, logos, and cause-and-effect reasoning. Giola starts off her passage by describing the interest young Americans showed in arts which “actually diminished”(Giola 1) because of how they “taught reading comprehension”(Giola 2).
Additionally, it suggests that books are not just a source of entertainment but also serve an important function in society
Novels flourish a persons imagination and present advances in their independent knowledge. Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 displays a society deprived of novels, leading Montag to the realization of affects novels have on people. Montag fought for what he believed in, the right to read and learn from numerous novels, containing various topics ranging from innocent child books to vulgarity stricken novels. “The School Library versus the School Board: An Exploration of the Book Banning Trend of the 1980s” contains several arguments Montag would agree with, such as, “Even when a book contains language that is not appropriate for everyday use or describes unsavory ideas or feelings, the ability of the book to have a positive impact on the reader or provoke discussion or awareness is not necessarily diminished.” This quote symbolizes the positive viewpoints an “objectable book” most definitely possesses.
Science has proven that reading can provoke positive changes in us as human beings. Annie Murphy Paul is the author of the article ‘Your Brain on Fiction’ published on March 17, 2012. Annie explains how researchers have discovered that reading can initiate different parts of the brain, this is the reason why sometimes literature can make the reader so engaged and attached to a piece of writing. Research also explains how reading has the ability to produce activity in our brain’s motor cortex. Finally, Annie explains how reading fictional pieces can change how you interact with other individuals.
In the text, Dana states his argument by saying that Americans are losing interest in the arts and literature. Dana supports his arguments by using the 2002 survey of public participation in Arts with additional consensus similar to this, recites the quote of a known author and uses parallelism like “imagination, creativity and high order of thinking.” The main idea or purpose is to draw attention to this problem and to try to fix it because it will pose a serious danger for the future. The primary audience is the youth of the American people. In his introduction, Dana compares the positive aspects in American life and the main idea: the lack of interest shown by young Americans in the arts.
Literature is truth. Whether it be fiction or nonfiction, somewhere in the world, it is someone 's truth. The lines dance and sing a story that becomes ideas and veracity in our society. It is expression for those who cannot find it in voice. It is a vast world in which any one can live and explore, thrive.
Something we tend to do a lot. Other countries suffer while we are living lavishly in comparison. Reading is also a big part of our society that is changing. It used to be a primary means of entertainment not that many years ago, but we are inching closer and closer to how the people of Fahrenheit 451 fail to read books. Our generation is more caught up in their phones that they have no care for better educating themselves through novels.
All books that young adults read have power. Their power results in their ability to sway and to change the reader in so many ways, not the least of these is morally. These books can create a moral sense in the young by demonstrating what is morally right and what is morally wrong. They can raise and resolve ethical issues. The reader may not agree with each resolution, but is certainly forced to think about issues he or she may never have thought about before (Smith 63).
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
This outlook is reflected in national surveys, the number of literary non-readers in the United States is starting to outweigh the number of readers and, this has slowly been proceeding over the past 20 years (Gioia 421). Reading is a fundamental part of life. It’s a major way of expression, imagination, learning and being the best person
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 my mind, literature is a constant present in our lives as it is the best way to express opinions to a wide audience, a viewpoint echoed by Anthony Burgess in A Clockwork Orange: "We can destroy what we have written, but we cannot unwrite it". The messages conveyed live on despite a censorship of said texts. Burgess' novel, as well as Orwell's 1984 which holds similar views of how freedom, regardless of the consequences or form it takes, is what makes us human, have both been ironically banned at some point in history for their 'controversial' nature. I believe that studying literature from a wide variety of sources is important to developing a true understanding of the social environment in which we live in, as through them we can see a cascade of different ideologies offering an unfiltered insight into all walks of life. I believe that a degree in literature will not only develop my cultural awareness, but help develop both my written and verbal communication skills.
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.
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