Reading is Important

Bader Salman
English 1A
Professor D.Carlander
September 27, 2011
Reading is Important
Nowadays, understanding literacy is a very important issue that receives too little attention or priority; the reason that literacy is important is that it has a civilizing effect on societies. Generally, young-adult novels with supernatural, fantasy, and urban aspects hold many appeals to teens. They always try to pull the teens into their creative world. Presently, technology plays an important role in our life. It can enhance teens’ ability to learn by using deeper learning approaches. At the same time, technology like iPods and cell phones may distract potential readers from books. Caleb Crain’s and Stephen King’s arguments were both professional and compelling for the readers which Crain talks about how a decline in reading might be affecting the culture by providing statistics and evidence to back up his assertion; conversely, King’s argument was more entertainment and descriptive by including the Harry Potter series into his article, and at the same time, reassuring that the kids are alright.
Exemplification is the essential key that Crain used to convince his audience that a decline in reading might be affecting the culture; his several examples were given in each of his paragraphs which make his point more clearly and logical to the readers. Crain writes, “In 1970, according to Editor & Publisher International Year Book, there were 62.1 million weekday newspapers in circulation—about 0.3 papers per person. Since 1990, circulation has declined steadily, and in 2006 there were just 52.3 million weekday papers—about 0.17 per person...” (308). Indeed, facts and comparisons about how reading is on decline in our contemporary culture, and how it used to be back in the day was the main point in his article, not only in this paragraph. The author relied on testimony that would make a large percentage of people realize the effect of ignorance and how books are falling down because they aren’t interactive enough. In his first example, he says, “In the fourth millennium B.C.E, the Sumerians developed cuneiform and the Egyptians hieroglyphs…readers had to recognize hundreds of symbols…” (311). Likewise, this paragraph gives examples of how people used to read hundreds of symbols to get informed and educated, but on the contrary, nowadays, fewer children and adults are reading.
By emphasizing exemplification, Crain uses results and statistics to convince his readers to support his specific opinion. He combines statistics with other kinds of evidence when he states a statistic, and then he gives an example reinforcing the number. Statistics can always be powerful evidence and command the attention of the audience. Crain warned, “During the next two decades, reading continued to fall and television watching to rise, though more slowly. By 1995, reading which had occupied twenty-one per cent of people’s spare time in 1995, accounted for just nine per cent…” (309). According to these statistics, reading for pleasure is continuing to decline, and people’s leisure time will be eroded by television, computer games, and internet activities. Equally important, Crain also depended on results to convince and encourages his readers to take the passion and enjoy reading with using the comparisons between the non-readers and readers. Crain says, “The N.E.A reports that readers are more likely than non-readers to play sports, exercise, and visit art museums…” (318). which would give the readers the motivation to read more efficiently.
Stephen king looked critically into J.K. Rowling’s “Ministry of Magic,” which is a fascinating book for children, who became focused on reading the Harry Porter’s story. King, however, presented his view that Rowling’s book was not perfect since most of the sections in it were too long in the narrations. On the other hand, King uses entertainment as a rhetorical strategy to explain the lifestyle of Harry Potter, which creates a sense of rich and elegant content whereby the reader gets to concentrate more. King writes, “And sometimes she falls prey to the Robinson Crusoe syndrome. In Crusoe, whenever the marooned hero requires something, he ventures out to his ship-which has conveniently run aground on the reef surrounding his desert island…” (324). Entertainment as a rhetorical strategy plays a vital role in ensuring the reader is not bored. King uses creative spells like the Crusoe’s ship that brings out an astonishing level of fantasy. Entertainment sets a scenario whereby the reader opens up to think critically while analyzing and evaluating the purpose of the story. Entertainment ensures that the reader becomes captivated by the story; hence it increases the level of concentration and interest in reading the story. Description is another crucial aspect of rhetorical strategy used to create vivid images in the minds of readers. King has used subjective description to keep the readers intense, since he emphasizes on the reader 's feelings. The author writes, “One day in my hometown of Bangor, I was walking up the street and observed a dirty-face boy of about 3 with scabbed knees and a look of extreme concentration on his face…” (322). He uses words that give a description, which illustrates a picture in the reader’s view. Also, King describes how Harry and his friends get into a tight corner and create a new spell, turning into a slide, thus making a child react gleefully. He used this strategy to capture the attention of his readers. Critically speaking, King did not succeed in compelling and convincing other people that Rowling’s book was long. King himself comes to acknowledge that Rowling is a talented author that had an amusing story to tell and conveys her ideas without talking down. Further on, King compliments Rowling for setting standards which today’s writers cannot achieve as easily as she can. Society 's seeming disinterest in books and literature projects negative impacts on not only education and literacy, but on the general future as well. Inspiring people to read stories and articles about movies will increase literacy and would re-establish reading for pleasure in society once again and would lead the path to reading being the main medium for information and knowledge. In addition, non-readers lack the analytical and comprehensive skills of fluent readers, whereas the latter will most probably have built themselves a stronger vocabulary, impressive communication skills, and a greater knowledge of literature and composition. Reading is an integral part of culture, and human literacy is what primarily set us apart. It is crucial that it be re-introduced so that generations to come will be able to benefit from reading.
In fact, school is the primary source of education that comes after parents’ duty. Nowadays, many parents ignore and neglect their children in many different aspects, focusing on their jobs and businesses, and they forget about their children, whom they depend on schools to teach them everything, starting with education and ending with social life. On the other hand, schools are not doing their job effectively which the level of teaching should be higher than the one they’re using now. The balance between school and parents must exist to ensure the child’s success in life.

Works Cited

Crain, Caleb. “Twilight of the books.” Reading Popular Culture. Ed. Michael Petracca and Madeleine

Sorapure. New York: Prentice Hall, 2011. 307-318. Print.

King, Stephen. “Twilight of the books.” Reading Popular Culture. Ed. Michael Petracca and Madeleine

Sorapure. New York: Prentice Hall, 2011. 319-325. Print.

Cited: Crain, Caleb. “Twilight of the books.” Reading Popular Culture. Ed. Michael Petracca and Madeleine Sorapure. New York: Prentice Hall, 2011. 307-318. Print. King, Stephen. “Twilight of the books.” Reading Popular Culture. Ed. Michael Petracca and Madeleine Sorapure. New York: Prentice Hall, 2011. 319-325. Print.