Why Literature Matters By Dana Gioia Summary

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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

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