Dana Gioi Why Literature Matters

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Why Literature Matters
Dana Gioia has a concern that literary knowledge is declining. Throughout his entire argument he speaks about why people have stopped reading books and why this is a bad thing. Books have been in the worlds’ history since 2700-2500 B.C.E. with the The Epic of Gilgamesh being the first book ever written. Books are the way humans get all of their knowledge about the world. The fact that reading is declining indicates that our world is going to change, and not for the best. In Gioia’s writing he uses irony, data, and emotional appeal.
Gioia shows the irony of declining readers. Gioia finds that the enjoyment for books among young readers has diminished. “[A] strange thing has happened in the American arts during the past quarter century... the interest young Americans showed in the arts—and especially literature—actually diminished.” The fact that the American arts have been shrinking with young readers is astonishing. The passage highlights the irony of young Americans’ declining interest in the arts and humanities during a thriving economic period and a major information age. …show more content…

Gioia talks about the survey from the National Endowment for the arts. “In 2002 the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, a population study designed and commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts (and executed by the US Bureau of the Census), arts participation by Americans has declined for eight of the nine major forms that are measured.” The fact that young readers are reading less is a problem not only with their literacy, but with their life goals. The problems that will arise for them are not only a lack of reading comprehension, it will also carry over to their problem solving abilities. This will have a negative impact with their education, but more importantly will have severe consequences to their success in

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