The Human Cost of Society Discusses the drawbacks of illiteracy for both the literate and the illiterate. Kozol uses repetition in the structure of his essay to amplify the point he is trying to make. Most of the paragraphs that make up this essay begin with Illiterates and is followed by something bad that stems from illiteracy. This repetition Strengthens Kozol's point that illiterates try over and over again to acclimate to normal society, but they will never succeed as long as they remain illiterate.
So unrustled. I agree
ReplyDeleteI agree that Kozol uses repetition to amplify his point. He continually repeats his thesis to try to convince readers that the illiterate are truly at a disadvantage in our society, which is incorrect, and I agree with you on that as well. By the way, my jimmies remain unrustled, nice try op.
ReplyDeleteRobert, I respect your opinion though am slightly offended that you refer to people who have not had the same opportunities as you as "savages" even if it is in quotes. Kozol's point it to show that even people who perform manual labor do need to be able to read to simply function in society. Yes, some of it may be a product of "laziness" but most people do not have the time or resources to be able to teach themselves to read. Some people need to work to support their families and are not supported by the system or given the educational opportunities.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, this blog post does not thoroughly address the writing style and structure so much as your opinion on the point of the essay.
The point of the quotes is to point out that that's what the author of the essay was referring to them as. I don't believe they are.
Deletealso, no one else discussed structure either, EVERYONE else discussed the content not the structure (structure does not equal the content of the essay, which is what he and everyone else addressed)
DeleteI think it is interesting how you pointed out the repetition and the author's purpose for using that techique. However, I respectfully disagree with your perception that people who are illeterate are too busy or lazy to learne how to read. I think you are imagining illeterates as American born citizens with a free education. This is not the case. There are many immigrants who came to the US with no formal education. I believe this is the audience the author is discussing in his essay.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed the repetition of negatives following "illiterates," and it made the problems with illiteracy seem overwhelming. I also find it ironic that the illiterate subjects of this essay will never be able to read what is said. In response to your elaboration about their choice not to read, I think that as well as not having learned to read, illiterates have not been taught why reading is important.
ReplyDeleteThis post was supposed to be about structure and technique and so it did not contribute to anyone's understanding in terms of writing. What you pointed out in the first paragraph such as repetition and examples, you should have some quotes or at least some analysis on how that is effective to the point of the essay. And as to how if they are in manual labor why would they need to read: reread the essay and the example of the janitor. Your analysis was short and did not add understanding to the passage.
ReplyDeleteActually, Plato's Phaedrus was a topic in a class last night; the section we read, and then read several essays about, was about the primacy of oral debate and culture and the inferiority of the written. Of course, the supreme irony of the argument is that Plato WROTE the dialogue of Socrates and Phaedrus.
DeleteAt any rate, the blog post isn't hard-and-fast, and I think the technique of writing about illiteracy provides us with much to discuss.
Yes, you have a point with repetition, somwething that usually is pretty obvious in a passage like this, although I missed it at first. I think I was distracted by the amount of examples Kovol gave us, which puts each structure in a different setting.
ReplyDelete