Essay On Illiteracy In America

Imagine waking up to an unfamiliar world. A world that only may seem familiar due to years spent breathing, but not living. In this unfamiliar world, one can only imagine the panic and frustrations illiterates face each day as they coexist. An expert on this issue, Jonathan Kozol, wrote a book that deals with his theories of illiterates in America. He mentions how democracy is sacrificed from lack of acknowledgement of this issue. While focusing on chapter four in his novel, Kozol highlights real life hardships for illiterates and defends that their freedoms are nonexistent. In Jonathan Kozol’s essay, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, he presents the major costs and dangers from illiterates that impact our society as a whole and that our nation fails to address.

Writer Jonathan Kozol, in the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society,” suggests that the alarming rates of illiteracy in the U.S. are corroding the fundamentals of democracy, reinforcing the structures of inequality that created the problem to begin with. His argument draws on a range of evidence and support from multiple sources such as philosophers and historical figures, anecdotes, and first-person accounts. Kozol’s purpose is to not simply illustrate the various personal tragedies that people with underdeveloped reading skills face, but to tell his audience that such tragedies when you add them up constitute a threat to the basic values that maintain the nation as a whole.

In “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, a chapter from book called Illiterate America (1985), the author Jonathan Kozol highlights that society cannot continue to sustain if we all neglect 60 million Americans who suffer from illiteracy. Kozol develops his claim by utilizing logos and pathos on describing the hardships that illiterates experience on a daily basis including their political rights. His purpose is to inform non-illiterates about the kind of life that illiterates go through, in order to bring the awareness on illiteracy. Kozol establishes sympathy relationship towards illiteracy and intended audience are two types of non-illiterate Americans who are not aware on suffering of illiterates and who blames illiterates without

Illiteracy is detrimental to any society. First people must know what it is before the problem can be fixed. Illiteracy can be defined as the inability to read or write. Lately illiteracy

Democracy has always been threatened by illiteracy. There are a few ways in which democracy has been threatened by illiteracy. These ways are, people forging a vote, not understanding instructions on medication, and traveling out to the streets. These three things are a huge problem for illiterates. In order to prevent illiteracy one must open themselves to the world and learn about democracy. As James Madison stated, “A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives” (Kozol 114).

In this essay Jonathan Kozol writes about people who “suffer” from illiteracy. Kozol’s purpose in writing this essay is to give people who are literate a better understanding of those who are. One of the strongest devices used in this essay was pathos, an appeal to emotions. Kozol is writing on a major topic that impacts millions of Americans today, but one that often seems unimportant and ignored by society. Kozol uses many examples to personify his point that illiteracy is harmful. “Illiterates cannot read instructions on a bottle of prescription medicine.They cannot find out when medicine is past the year of safe consumption…”(Pg.116 L.12-14). Throughout a few sentences Kozol gives examples of how illiterates could potentially harm themselves

Envision being limited in a world full of opportunities and advantages due to illiteracy. In this society, it is unfortunate that there are individuals who are illiterate, which ultimately affects their democratic lives. Many other citizens do not face this issue, and may not recognize the disadvantages that illiterates face. In Jonathan Kozol’s text, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society,” he discusses the various issues concerned with illiteracy, one of them being how it affects democracy. Democracy is a type of government where power, that involves human rights and values, is held by the people. According to Kozol’s text, illiteracy undermines democracy in the United States because people are oblivious of their right to equality,

In the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” is written by Jonathan Kozol, published in “Reading for writers” in NY. 2013. The author Kozol is a nonfiction writer, educator and social activist. In the essay, he writes about illiteracy occur in American society, illiterates who cannot read are getting trouble with many issues in their life. He is successful in affecting readers by using rhetorical throughout his essay. Kozol has also shown his talented skill of writing with logos, ethos and pathos. With logos, he is well-developed on the core of his argument, talented in appeal to readers’ emotion with pathos, and impressing readers to believe in his reliable with ethos.

An illiterate person can be successful and live a productive life, a high school dropout can make a respectable wage, a person with a college education can be underemployed, and many people with doctorates who are unemployed. The literate arts do not guarantee success and money. What the literate arts do offer a person, are tools that make gaining knowledge and wisdom easier, both during and after their formal education. The gaining of this knowledge and wisdom offers other tools that make success easier – whatever success may be. If and how these tools (which are acquired through the literate arts) are used is entirely up to the individual.

In the essay, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” written by Jonathan Kozol and originally published in the book, “Illiterate America”, is a bundle of examples of how people who are illiterate live every day. It showcases the hardships they go through, and how much of a problem it is. He had quotes from various interviews with people who are illiterate, and how many become distrustful of people trying to explain what the written document or form says, for they can never know if they are telling the truth. Kozol heavily uses rhetorical strategies, mostly pathos related, to showcase these struggles and make us take notice of this problem. Overall, he uses the strategies of logos, ethos, and pathos to push his point across.

Statistically, based on reports from 2003, 99% of the total population ages 15 and over can read and write (CIA Library). Thus, one can conclude illiteracy is not a crisis. However, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” by Jonathan Kozol, implies something different. Kozol emphasizes the hardship of an illiterate, and briefly explains the importance of helping an illiterate without providing much of a solution, while Kozol’s essay was ineffective overall because of the lack of factual evidence and flawed conclusions, his strategic use of tone, repetition and rhetorical questioning provided some strength to his argument.

Imagine not being able to read this essay. Many Americans do not posses the ability to do what you just did. In Jonathan Kozol’s essay titled, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society,” he exposes the complications of being illiterate as well as how it affects a person on a social, personal, and financial level. He brings to light the troubles illiterates go through right from the beginning, and takes repeated stabs at the way they function, and how it brings extreme troubles. Kozol effectively educates and exploits the overlooked troubles of being illiterate, by providing examples of their embarrassment, using repetition emphasizing on their limitations, and making assertions to explain how they survive.

How does ip survive? How can ip get to places without having the ability to read and write? How can ip use medicines, without being able to read the description? How can ip help kids with homework without having an education? Which employer would hire ip for a long time? How can ip get involved in the community and be a part of our society? How can ip express inner emotions to anyone without having someone sit and listen? How can ip vote in official elections without reading articles about the candidate? Illiteracy is surely a curse on the human race; as Jonathan Kozol’s views towards growing illiteracy in America are mentioned in the introduction of the essay “The Human Cost of An Illiterate Society,” that, “Illiteracy in America is not an

In the article “Literacy and the Politics of Education,” C.H. Knoblauch talks about the concept of literacy. Knoblauch mentions that people who have power and are literate think they can set the literate standards for everyone, but that literacy is much more than just reading and writing. Robert Yagelski, the author of “Abby’s Lament: Does literacy matter?” also talks about the importance of literacy and why knowing how to use it properly makes a difference in our society.

More than 775 million people are illiterate, which will cost the global economy over one trillion dollars (theglobeandmail.com). Developing skills and knowledge of the labor force are seen as important in economic growth. Effective literacy skills provide people with more educational and employment opportunities so people are able to pull themselves out of