The Essay 'Book War' By Wang Ping

In Dana Gioia’s article titled “Why Literature Matters”, he explains about the decline of reading literature for young Americans. Although “income rose to unforeseen levels, college attendance ballooned, and access of information increased enormously” he states, “the interest young Americans showed in the arts… diminished”. In his article, Gioia uses surveys, articles, studies, and statistics to persuade his audience that the decline of reading in America can have a negative effect on society.

Often, the things people consider to be valuable have the ability to influence them. For instance, one who values their family is likely to base important life decisions on the impact they would have on his or her relatives. People who value money are known to engage in risky behaviors, such as gambling, in hopes of making a profit. The books we read can have this same power. Books that have value, or merit, are not only able to entertain but also leave the reader thinking about the issues the book discusses long after they've set it down. These pieces of literature leave a lasting impression on their audience for both their artistic storytelling and the impacting message they leave behind. Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible displays

Rabury’s prophecy about society and books today is correct that most people honestly don’t check out or buy a book and read it anymore. The world is so focused on social media including; facebook, twitter, and instagram that they don’t use their free time to read, but to tweet or update their status. Technology has gotten more interesting, and even when some people to read, they can find the book online.

In the novel “Fahrenheit 451”, by Ray Bradbury, the people of society burn books and are evidently non-intellectual. They have no books to read, and the few that have stolen books, are considered criminals. Surprisingly, the loss of books drastically impacted the society. People committed suicide, many taking drugs, using violence. These are the possible occurrences if books are taken from society. Evidently, society significantly benefits from literature. Although we have our different reasons for why life is worth living, it is essential that you read, primarily because books teach us life lessons, and form impacts on how we view society, and our lives.

Imagine a world without books, without the pieces of literature and knowledge that throughout history have helped shape great minds and influenced the education system. Picture the extent of the effects of a world so insipid, one where socializing is no longer a norm and abstract thought is rare and frowned upon. That is exactly what Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 depicts through the perspective of its protagonist, Guy Montag. Through his eyes, we experience life with the consequences of the extinction of books. History itself has proven the devastating event that is book burning; Nazi Germany’s book burning in the 1940s is exemplary of this. Technology has slowly aided in the plummeting of reading with so much media and trivial information that fills our minds with ideas that lead us astray from anything of intellectual value. Through media political parties have the power to influence society like never before; because of this destructive power ignorant people are prevailing with their trifling thoughts and petty commentary. Although the improvement of technology has facilitated the spread of such things as fashion and gossip, there is evidence that rich culture and heritage is having a harder time surmounting inessential information for example, Kylie Jenner’s lip fad, languages have faded, great authors are of less importance and art is underappreciated. Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 shows us the standpoint of a man battling to save a derailing society that practices book

Dana Gioia, author of the article "why Literature Matters", writes about the decline of reading in the U.S. and how it affects our society. The consequences of people not reading are expressed through his specific factual evidence and his prediction of what is going to happen if the American people continue to ignore this issue.

Dana Gioia, an author of “Why Literature Matters,” addresses an issue in society of the decrease in reading during the past quarter century. This issue may seem little now, but will eventually have a negative effect on America as a whole and the business industry of America. Although reading may not be the activity for all, it is crucial to continue reading and learning to benefit the future people of American and the people after instead of the growing decline which affects society.

In an age where the printed novel has been somewhat on the decline, and the necessity of readable fiction has almost faded into obscurity. I believe that literature still harbours a crucial part within our society; from the very foundations of most theatrical adaptations, to preserving the culture and encapsulating the feelings of generations past. In this case literature cements itself as one of the most decisive elements of our civilisation, and combining it with history makes it become a testament to who we are as people, as well as the conservation of both our progression and degradation. I have always enjoyed reading literature, from reading J.R.R Tolkien’s classic ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy within my childhood, to perhaps more sophisticated,

“Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia is a persuasive text on how literary interests have fallen. Gioia starts this claim by giving very promising information. The information has a great accomplishments but, Gioia also tells of how our literary interests as Americans have fallen drastically. A 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts shows that eight of nine major forms of literature show decreased participation by many Americans. The “2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts” gives staggering results according to Gioia about many young Americans neglecting enjoying reading literature.

In this persuasive essay “Why Literature Matter”, Dana is trying to explain how our society is losing it’s best qualities by Americans not reading literature. Dana is persuading her audience by using facts from former research done. It is thought to be that who doesn't grow up around literature have less of an imagination and tend to work in factories. About 38% of employees working for the National Association of Manufacturers in 2011 were ranked second to argue how schools are teaching reading comprehension wrong. Society today is losing the uniqueness and individuality we used to have because of the nonreader people.

Many of the people who physically and/or tortured other people during the Cultural Revolution were never actually punished or judged for what they did after the Cultural Revolution ended. At the end of the memoir, Ji-li wrote “Those who persecuted others, even beat or tortured them, were victims too, after all.” (page: 270) This quote is very important because it might’ve been weird for some people because the torturers were not punished.

Though many people nowadays disregard the usefulness of literature in modern society I belong to the opposite sect of folk. Reading and literature is more than just words and writeing, its ways for the dead to speak and advise those to come through understanding of common feelings. Whether the author meant to mean something through metaphor or more literally is not important, what is important is that us as the readers are able to communicate and interpret needed information from the subject and author. Something that I sometimes think is lacking in todays society is not just this communictation but understanding. Furthermore reading it gives us a way to understand and invest in lives other than ourselves. Secondly reading and understanding what we read allows us to feel empathetic towards the subject thus allowing us to share our own story of feeling and ideas. This is

The readers are able to infer from the two pieces of evidence listed above that the serious problem with reading and interest in literature is not only aimed at young adults in America, but also full-grown workers all around the world. Gioia cleverly puts the two precise data together so that most readers can fully understand how significant this issue is and pay more attention on

Quality literature is important to society’s functionality. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 society’s right to have quality literature is taken away. In Joe Fassler’s “How Literature Inspires Empathy” spoken by Alaa Al Aswany, the positive impact of quality literature is displayed. Literature, or the lack thereof, has the ability to drastically change the way a reader views the world.

The Premature Obituary of the Book: Why Literature is an essay written by Mario Vargas Llosa. In this essay Llosa writes that it is crucial for literature to be a part of people’s lives. In Why Literature he writes that reading is important for the mind, communication, and developing knowledge about life and democratic ideals. Reading is not only important for one’s self but for the world. Just as he mentioned in his quote, it’s not just about the leaf, or the person, but its about seeing the world in different ways and being able to experience and gain knowledge on all subjects. Through his writing he gives many valid points as to why reading literature is important to people of all ages and genders all around the world. Llosa’s persuasive essay is relatable and can get readers thinking about the importance of reading by using many valid points in his essay. Llosa presents his reading to many different audiences and he effectively persuades the audience through his points given in the reading. He does this because he wants the reader to understand why it is necessary for people to learn and experience new things through reading literature and other texts.