Bibliography: 1. Johnson, Ben. The Reading Edge 4th Ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001…
Annie Yvonne Jones was just an ordinary girl, born in Camden, New Jersey 1890. Ever since she was born her parents knew that she would be an extraordinary person. Her hobbies consist of drawing, writing journals, and dancing. When she wasn’t having downtime, she was in school. Education was the only way she could escape the harsh realities of Camden. Her favorite subject was science. She had a strong passion to help others in life. One day when she was a teenager she volunteered at a hospital to become a nurse. She was raised in a strong Christian upbringing with strict rules. She loved going to church to worship God and even became an usher. The same day she met the man she was destined to be with.…
Jill Lepore’s article “Richer and Poorer” talks about effective methods of making an argument and persuading an audience; these techniques can be seen in Barbara Ehrenreich’s novel Nickel and Dimed. To start, Lepore presents two different paths an author can choose when writing as she claims, “Some people make arguments by telling stories; other people make arguments by counting things” (Lepore 9). Telling a story allows an author to convey his ideas through complex plots and characters; furthermore, he or she can induce pathos to appeal to emotion. A narrative is a subtle piece of work that can have an immense impact on millions of readers since the individuals can resonate with the characters and do not feel that the writer is forcing them…
A more known accomplishment of Alice Paul is the creation of the Congressional Union and the National Woman’s Party. After returning to America in 1910, Paul joined the National American Woman Suffrage Association. After giving a speech about her forcible feeding, she was asked to serve on the executive committee for NAWSA and agreed (pg 109). However, she later discovered that she did not agree with the tactics used by NAWSA, and she created the Congressional Union. The CU took a more hands on approach to fighting for women’s suffrage, but they made sure to refrain from accepting the word “militant,” as was used by the Pankhursts (pg 168). Later in her career, Paul felt it necessary to create a group composed of women in voting states, or…
The short Essay, An Experiment in Criticism, by C.S. Lewis brings to light many new perspectives to how people read and experience literature. Throughout the essay Lewis works to give the message that; how good a book is doesn’t depend on the quality of writing but on the reader. He begins by defining two types of readers- the “literary” and the “non-literary”- which he uses through the rest of his essay to categorize different traits for treating literature.…
In the eighth chapter of Dubner and Levitt's book, Think Like a Freak, the authors promote the idea of persuading those who do not wish to be persuaded by telling the audience a good and convincing story. According to Dubner and Levitt, “if [the reader] really want[s] to persuade someone who doesn't wish to be persuaded, [the reader] should tell [his or her audience] a story” (162). A convincing story also needs to be cohesive; the story should have “a daisy chain of events, to show the causes that lead up to a particular situation and the consequences that result from it” (Dubner and Levitt 163). The authors wrote their book by providing the reader with numerous stories; as the book progresses, they use examples of the weighty decisions…
The art of literature will never die. Many people believe that there has been a decline in the reading and writing of literature, one of those people Dana Gioia wrote “Why Literature Matters” and she argues that the younger people of america although have had an increase in education their reading of literature has had a steep decline in recent years . Dana begins building her credibility with facts and sources, citing convincing facts and statistics, and successfully employing emotional appeal throughout the passage. Throughout the piece she uses many strong facts to strengthen her credibility and to appeal to logos, as well as build her argument.…
In the article written by Dwight MacDonald, “Reading and Thought,” MacDonald disagrees with Henry Luce idea of functional curiosity. Luce invented the term “ functional curiosity,” meaning “kind of searching, hungry interest in what is happening everywhere” (248). MacDonald’s opinion of functional curiosity is that it only strengthen practice in reading rather than giving valuable information. Dwight considers today’s literature as inadequate and overwhelming. MacDonald believes that all reading done in present society is “shallow thinking.” MacDonald believes by skimming through the text, we become more coarse, shallow, passive, and unoriginal. I agree with MacDonald that there is a great amount of unexceptional literature all around us, but MacDonald does not take into account the advancements in the technological world, the lifestyles of todays society and students.…
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” (Lee, 39). Authors have the power to show us others point of view, they can put us in their shoes. Literature teaches empathy, gives us a deeper look at things. To Kill a Mockingbird and “A Bronzeville Mother Loiters in Mississippi. Meanwhile a Mississippi Mother Burns Bacon” shows us things very differently than what we initially thought it would was. Things aren’t always what they seem, the truth is mostly being overshadowed by what others want it to be.…
Rex Murphy’s “To Read or Not to Read” is a literary criticism on the works “How to Read and Why” written by Harold Bloom. Murphy explains his views on the importance of reading and asks the question “Why do we read?” His response to this question, he states “Plainly, we read because while it is not necessary to life that we do, life is much easier, more accessible, wider in its potential for those who can and do read, than for those who cannot and do not”. This essentially means that although reading is not a necessity to what we do in life, it makes what we do easier. Further on in this piece, Murphy states that literature teaches and delights and that we read to learn or to find pleasure. This point is extremely correct. Two major reasons…
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster will not grant you some innate capability to comprehend complicated texts, and it will most definitely not establish your position in society as a“professor.” Coincidentally, Foster’s novel demonstrates an essential quality of Literature: placing the reader fast asleep. However, that is not to say the novel isn’t good; the novel is simply not a “joy read.” The book not being particularly enjoyable has nothing to do with the manner in which it was written, but more to do with the educational aspect of it. Being forced to do something is hardly ever enjoyable.…
Within this essay, Annie Murphy Paul uses facts, studies and opinions to persuade her audience of the importance of, "deep reading". When Paul says, "deep reading" she means picking up a book and really getting into it with no distractions around you. Once you're fully immersed in the narrative, your brain stimulates certain regions that would be active if the scene were unfolding in real life. Which can help increase your real-life capacity for empathy. Gregory Currie did not believe this statement, in fact, he didn't believe that there was any, "compelling evidence that suggests that people are morally and socially better" when reading.…
Setup: This quote suggests that true literature evokes an emotional or meaningful response in the reader; it in some way changes how we view things.…
In Dwight MacDonald’s Reading and Though, he disagrees with Henry Luce’s Idea of functional curiosity. Luce coined the term “functional curiosity,” meaning “the kind of searching, hungry interest in what is happening everywhere.” MacDonald’s opinion of functional curiosity is that it only encourages practice in reading rather than giving beneficial information. He considers today’s literature as flimsy and overwhelming. MacDonald assumes that all reading done in today’s society is “shallow thinking.” I agree with MacDonald that there is a great amount of mediocre literature floating around, but he does not take into account the technological advancements, the lifestyles of people today, and students.…
How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster is a book that explains there is more to literature than just a few words on a paper or a few pages in a book. Thomas Foster’s book portrays a relatable message to a wide based audience. This book is relatable for two reasons, the way it is written and the examples it uses. The book is written in a conversational manner, as if the reader was in a group discussion about books and writing. As for the examples, they are informative, descriptive, relative, and entertaining.…