Why Literature Matters By Dana Gioia Summary

450 Words1 Page

In the article, “Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia, Gioia argues that young Americans show a decreased interest in the arts—especially literature—and this severe decline will lead to considerable consequences. She believes that this drop in interest will lead to less historical and political awareness, which in turn will make the nation less informed, active, and independent-minded. Gioia convinces us of the importance of literature through her use of credibility, appeals to fear, and specific examples.
In order to persuade us to be concerned about the future of literature, Gioia employs the use of credibility with her sources. In the second paragraph, she references the 2002 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), to validate her point. While this study found that fewer young Americans are reading literature, it did not provide any hard numbers or evidence of this decline. This lack of quantitative information makes her essay less valid than it could have been if she had included more about this study and its results. …show more content…

She establishes this concept in her introduction, where she instills worry into her readers by stating that while access to information has risen to unforeseen levels, the interest young Americans have shown in the arts has diminished. Gioia further increases her audience’s worry by developing the idea that the future of our nation is in jeopardy if we let literature fall out of importance in the minds of our younger generations. Her use of this strategy is extremely effective in persuading her audience to take action. The approach taken to present this fear is an incredibly strong aspect of this

Show More
Related

  • Fahrenheit 451 Essay

    1147 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Their optimism, their willingness to have trust in a future where civilizations self-destruction comes to a full stop, has to do with their belief in the changed relationship between humans and their world” says Lee (Lee 1). In “As the Constitution Says” by Joseph F. Brown, Brown talks about a NEA experiment that found American’s have been reading less and less and our comprehension skills are dramatically dropping because of this (Brown 4). Bradbury saw little use in the technology being created in his time, he avoided airplanes, driving automobiles, and eBooks. Bradbury did not even allow his book to be sold and read on eBooks until 2011. If one takes away books, then one takes away imagination. If one takes away imagination, then one takes away creativity. If one takes away creativity, then one takes away new ideas for technology and the advancement of the world. People nowadays have lost interest in books because they see it as a waste of time and useless effort, and they are losing their critical thinking, understanding of things around them, and knowledge. Brown says that Bradbury suggests that a world without books is a world without imagination and its ability to find happiness. The people in Fahrenheit 451 are afraid to read books because of the emotions that they

    Read More

  • Critiquing High School Literature: Prose's Perspective

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Francine Prose is a mother, a writer, a book reviewer, and most importantly, a massive critic of the type of literature that is demanded of children to read in American high schools. In a very defensive essay, Prose discusses a variety of books that she believes are a wast of actual literature. She uses a variety of rhetoric to attract the reader’s attention, and uses it to also persuade her readers to see things the way she does. Throughout the essay it becomes more apparent that the author makes multiple inferences of what she believes will happen to the generations that will entire a corrupt educational system. In the essay that Prose writes, she explains that the lack of eloquent literature is causing a demise to the education of teenagers

    Read More

  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nilson, Allen Pace & Kenneth L. Donelson. “Stages of Literary Appreciation” in Literature for Today’s Young Adults. Longman, 2001: pp. 35-42. [PDF in Blackboard]

    Read More

  • Symbolism In 'Fahrenheit 451' By Ray Bradbury

    2073 Words  | 5 Pages

    The entirety of Ray Bradbury’s life revolved around literature. Ever since Bradbury was a child, he had possessed an affinity towards to writing. Bradbury’s writings were not purely influenced by his passion of literature, however. Growing up the author would’ve learned about the frail nature of books: the destruction of the Library of Alexandria, the Nazi’s book burnings, and Stalin’s “Great Purge”. Bradbury also witnessed the golden age of radio and its transition into the golden age of television, all of which Bradbury believed detracted from the beauty and knowledge that could be attained through a written medium. The American author worried about the fall of his beloved literate dreams.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Dana Gioia's 'Why Literature Matters'

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the article, Gioia’s diction is straightforward and harsh. He says things like, “the decline in reading has consequences that go beyond literature” (Gioia) and “the decline of reading is also taking its toll in the civic sphere... the evidence of literature's importance to civic, personal, and economic health is too strong to ignore” (Gioia) to show the reader that if you do not read, you will be affected in many ways. This strong diction helps convince the reader that literature is very important because they do not want to be affected in their jobs and social circles. Gioia also uses a call to action to persuade the reader that literature is important. This is mainly shown at the end of the article when Gioia calls on the politicians and businesses to help fight the literature problem. He says, “Libraries, schools, and public agencies do noble work, but addressing the reading issue will require the leadership of politicians and the business community as well” (Gioia). This is a call to action by Gioia because he is directly saying to the politicians and businesses that they need to do more in helping the reading issue. He is calling to them, saying that they need to help. This persuades the reader into believing that literature is important because Gioia wants to get important people involved, such as businesses and

    Read More

  • A Review of Responses to the National Endowment for the Arts Report, “Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America”

    2313 Words  | 5 Pages

    Solomon, Andrew. “Reading at Risk: Lack of Interest in Literature is a Crisis.” Commentary – Columbia Daily Tribune. 8 Aug. 2004. 19 Sept. 2004. <http://www.showmenews.com/2004/Aug/20040808Comm007.asp>.

    Read More

  • The Closing of the American Book by Andrew Solomon

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Closing of the American Book,” published in the New York Times Magazine, Andrew Solomon argues about how the decline of literary reading is a crisis in national health, politics, and education. Solomon relates the decline of reading with the rise of electronic media. He believes that watching television and sitting in front of a computer or a video screen instead of reading can cause the human brain to turn off, and lead to loneliness and depression. He also argues that with the decrease of reading rates, there will no longer be weapons against “absolutism” and “terrorism,” leading to the United States political failure in these battles. The last point Solomon makes is that there is no purpose behind America being one of the most literate societies in history if people eradicate this literacy, and so he encourages everyone to help the society by increasing reading rates and making it a “mainstay of community.” Solomon tries to show the importance of reading in brain development and he encourages people to read more by emphasizing the crisis and dangers behind the declination of reading.

    Read More

  • Reflective Essay: What Is The Cause Of Literacy?

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    The idea of literature being an important aspect of life has always been greatly prevalent in my upbringing. This notion that I supported was spurred on at the cause of my obstinate parents insisting upon my reading of two books a week to benefit my vocabulary and to develop the articulate thought process of a skilled reader. As a young child, my biggest influences were my parents’ passionate and persuasive ideas regarding the correlation between

    Read More

  • How Has Literature Changed America

    399 Words  | 1 Pages

    Literature has changed America by challenging people to change their mind. This paper is going to be about how Literature Made a Difference in America. Literature changed the way people think socially and Individually. It changed America Socially because people started to think more of what and how they want the world to be.

    Read More

  • A Parallel Between Two Worlds: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bradbury attacks loss of literature in the society of Fahrenheit 451 to warn our current society about how literature is disappearing and the effects on the people are negative. While Montag is at Faber’s house, Faber explains why books are so important by saying, “Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores” (79). Faber is trying to display the importance of books and how without them people lack quality information. In Electronics and the Decline of Books by Eli Noam it is predicted that “books will become secondary tools in academia, usurped by electronic media” and the only reason books will be purchased will be for leisure, but even that will diminish due to electronic readers. Books are significant because they are able to be passed down through generation. While online things are not concrete, you can not physically hold the words. Reading boost creativity and imagination and that could be lost by shifting to qui...

    Read More

  • Writers During The Age of Discovery and The Romantic Period

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Common Sense.” The American Tradition in Literature, 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill , 2009. Print

    Read More

  • Romanticism

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the world around Americans changed, so did the characteristics of literature. For the first time in literary history, writers began to shun artificiality of society and seek nature as a refuge. Feelings and intuition began to override reason. Inspiration was found in myth, legend, and culture. Faith was put in inner experience and power of the imagination. Innocence was preferred over sophistication. Individual freedom and the individual were the utmost important. Nature’s beauty was a path to spiritual and moral development. Most stories were set in exotic locales, supernatural realms, and the inner world of imagination (Arpin 144). For the first time, ordinary and outcasts were glorified. Not only d...

    Read More

  • Summary Of Driven To Distraction

    420 Words  | 1 Pages

    This article “driven to distractions”, talks about how society is becoming more and more depends on technology, that the thought of literature passes through their minds with ease. It's easy even for me to get distracted and lose focus on what's important; but the problem that comes to mind is the fact that society lets us get away with this problem and chooses to ignore it.

    Read More

  • Literature and Society

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ruly realize the false reality that literature made. The reader also has a huge role into expressing these false realities to the public, which can cause prejudice in the near future. People need to be open and understanding of different people and situations. Perspective plays a huge role into the thinking of a human mind, and readers should be more aware of the information’s brought upon different ways. Readers should not come up with a preconceived idea based upon the beliefs of other people perspective but should experience these different societies.

    Read More

  • Literature Adds To Reality

    1659 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become,” said C.S. Lewis, noted author. This quote, to me, is the most appropriate description of the importance of literature in our lives. Literature reminds us of stories, epics, sacred scriptures and classical works of the ancient and modern times, in which the book To Kill a Mockingbird clearly does. Literature is defined as the body of written works of a language, period or culture, produced by scholars and researchers, specialized in a given field. Why is literature important? Well, let’s see as stated in the quotation by C.S. Lewis, literature not only describes reality but also adds to it. Yes, literature is not merely a depiction of reality; it is rather a value-addition. Literary works are portrayals of the thinking patterns and social norms prevalent in society. They are an illustration of the different facets of common man's life. Literary works serve as a food for thought and a tonic for imagination and creativity. Exposing an individual to good literary works, is equivalent to providing him/her with the finest of educational opportunities. On the other hand, the lack of exposure to literary works is equal to depriving an individual from an opportunity to grow as an individual. To Kill a Mockingbird provides its readers with the ‘finest of educational opportunities’ and that is why it is an important literary work. Harper Lee’s book is a powerful literary work because of the following literary devices employed: Setting, Allegory, and point of view. However before one can dissect the devices used, one must h...

    Read More

More about Why Literature Matters By Dana Gioia Summary

Open Document