In “The Human cost of an illiterate society,” Jonathan Kozol attempts to convince his reader that illiteracy is extremely harmful to a society, and that it is the ultimate destruction of a human being’s life. He explains with great detail how being ignorant (unknown) at something so universal like being able to read the directions on a medicine label, can lead to a lifetime of hardship and long term agony. Kozol develops his reasoning by contributing meaningful but real world examples on how being illiterate is dangerous and fatal. For example He uses not being able to explain where you are if something fatal was to happen, and not being able to understand the dangers of a cigarettes label with a surgeons warning on it. After giving a plenty load of examples, he then brings the discussion back to his central argument on how being illiterate can be costly. When a person does not understand what they have wrongfully done it can be difficult to prosecute or judge that person. If he is not able to read then that person might not be aware that giving a child too much aspirin could result in overdose which can ultimately lead to death. The question that still remains is should that person be held accountable. According to today’s society the answer is still unknown but to protect the people of this society from that illiterate person, the answer is yes that person must be limited. What this ultimately means is that, he must be kept from society so that he won’t cause harm for his on ignorant habits. He will have to be watched, fed, and kept in an environment where he will always be stable. This top of living can cost a lot of money and this is the financial burden that cost a society so much money. In a way this is unfair because it is not this person’s fault that he can’t read, understand, and think critically. Illiterate people will always be in the dark, and they will always struggle with trying to figure out the differences between what’s wrong and what’s right.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Been Illiterate has a negative effect in life. Can you imagine not been able to eat what you want to eat at a restaurant or not been able to go out to any place because you do not know how to go back home. In USA, approximately 60 million people are illiterate. In the story “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” Jonathan Kozol discuss how illiteracy is powerlessness. To be able to have democracy we need to have principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community. Kozol believes that democracy is false and untruthful when illiterates do not have the knowledge to understand their rights, causing a negative effect in the political construction.…
- 342 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In the article “The Human Cost of an illiterate Society” by Jonathan Kozol, the author is arguing the disadvantages an illiterate person has on the United States government. Not being able to read in the 21st century in the United States affects us in some way to the other, whether it affects our government or our everyday lives. While Illiteracy effect this country’s government, it can also affect a person’s day-to-day basics life because an illiterate person cannot read directions to go somewhere, or like the author report that “Illiterate mother cannot read the letters their children bring home from their teachers” (Kozol 5). This paper will discuss Kozol’s correlation on how political illiteracy issue a bad outcome on this country by citizens…
- 198 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
In the article of “The Man who Couldn’t Read”, it stated, “ We can’t waste time to blaming anyone. As a country we need to become obsessed with teaching people to read, now.” This quote is very significant to me because not many people likes to read. For example, My little brother does not like to read. I have to coercively tell him to read because his negligence gets to him.…
- 383 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Many passages have been written on the issues of the importance of proper education. One very relatable passage would be “ The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” by Jonathan Kozol. This Passage is all about things that can not be done when you are not properly educated. Most understand that if you can not read…
- 774 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Only after reading the short story “The Human cost of an Illiterate Society” by Jonathan Kozol, did I realize that 1 out of 5 Americans is illiterate. Kozol points out several examples in his short essay of how many Americans have suffered because they cannot read. Many…
- 1098 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
As I type this essay I am using one form of communication available to those of us who are literate. Sadly not all of us have the ability to do what most if not all of us who are lucky to be literate, take for granted. One such article, "The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society?" elaborates on the issue of illiteracy, which is utterly apparent in America. This essay is written using exemplification to show that knowledge is indeed power and those who are illiterate are almost powerless in today's society.…
- 719 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The author states that “more than one-third of America’s adults are at least partially illiterate, we should organize a massive Government and volunteer army to liberate people in prisoned by illiteracy” (Kozol, page 304). Jonathon Kozol, for over forty years, has been “deeply involved in social justice work” (Wikipedia, page 1). The book, Rachel and Her Children, from which the core reading was taken…
- 701 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The essay made me aware of how little I initially thought about this issue in the context in which he put it. Kozol made the dangers of illiteracy, in my eyes, very clear. Not being able to do everyday task that require one to read in order to know could be a very hard way to go about life. I can’t imagine not being able to read a menu in a restaurant, not being able to know what the side effects of a medication that I am taking are, or who to trust or not to trust when it comes to informing me of my rights or necessary deadlines for payment of bills that are due. To me living in this world being illiterate is like being sentenced to solitary confinement in prison. You are so limited in your daily movements about life because you cannot read; just like you are limited to daily movement because of your confinement. I hold heartedly agree with illiteracy being a moral issue in that how can it be just to allow people to miss out on all that is to be offered in life because illiteracy gives them no choice. Kozol states that choice, in almost all its facets, is diminished in the life of an illiterate adult.…
- 589 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The prevalence of this unskilled and unaware effect has been demonstrated and discussed primarily in areas that appear to be generally harmless to those around the ’unskilled and unaware’. Writing a grammatically correct sentence, or making a profitable business decision, or being socially adept, while being poorly lacking, may be seem inconsequential. The one responsible for this lack of actual ability will be the only one facing any subsequent consequences. However, if someone was considered unskilled and unaware, would you give them a gun? I would think not. However, this point commands some attention and few have addressed the issue of how others’ incompetence can most certainly interfere in our lives in many damaging ways. With our…
- 747 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society by Jonathan Kozol, is an article which illustrates the reality for millions of Americans, and the impact illiteracy has on the overall population and that individual and their family. Kozol draws emotional and personal stories which impact the reader as well as allude that the lack of literacy is in direct correlation with Democracy and how illiterate people will vote, if they even do at all.…
- 366 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
This is a huge problem we have here in the United States because “according to a study that was conducted by the Department of Education, 32 million adults in the United States cannot read, that is almost 14 percent of the population, in addition another 21 percent of the people can only read below a 5th grade level, and also 19 percent of high school graduates cannot read.” This rate have not changed in the past 10 years and that is unacceptable because there are so many opportunities that we can take advantage of and we do not just because we tell ourselves “I do not need this”, which is not true, we need as much education as we can so we can have a better society. In addition to this the article also mention that, “The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence and crime is welded to reading failure” Many people think because they do not know how to read or write that gives them an excuse to commit different crimes but that is not true, you can better yourself if you really want…
- 993 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Literacy and education plays an important role in America. More than 4 percent of the adult population does not know how to read or write. (Literacy Partners.) Education is the basis of all jobs, governmental structure, and even society itself. Recent events and documents state the emphasis on the importance of a basic education. The rate of illiteracy is growing at an alarming rate, and nothing is being done about it. Illiteracy is a big problem today because it is directly associated with poverty, crime, and costs the government more money than budgeted.…
- 817 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Many will argue that this issue only affects the individual who happens to have a low level of reading skills or illiteracy, or that individual’s immediate family; this is not the case. Low literacy levels affect the nation as a whole. In our democratic society we rely solely on the people, so while not everyone needs to be a scholar, our citizens should be educated and informed to contribute to…
- 1218 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
With living costs as high as they are in this day and age, it is completely unreasonable to expect the average individual to squander already limited resources. Receiving a bachelor's degree today requires an assortment of classes that often are not directly related to one's career objectives. For some, they find this to be an enjoyable adventure, broadening their knowledge and learning about new aspects of life, but for others this is just burdensome. However it is looked upon, the college curriculum still requires a diverse selection of courses to develop well rounded, responsible individuals, but in turn creates added pressure upon students.…
- 1859 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
In the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, written by Jonathan Kozol. The essay was published in “Reading for Writers”, and in the city of New York in 2013. The main argument that the essay brings forth is that life for an illiterate has been really hard and they are not treated equal compared with the rest literate people. To further explain my last sentence Mr. Kozol has pointed out things that it shows us how back than illiterate people were not treated equal. Here are some examples of ways they were not treated equal including with voting, education, bills, healthcare, housing, travel, and so on.…
- 563 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays