Joey Scaglione

AP English 11
1st hour

Why Literature Matters

Dana Gioia’s Essay “Why Literature Matters” it talks about how reading has declined

through the 21st century. He argues that less people are reading and how reading is still an

important activity that is needed in people’s lives. The author builds the argument by

using logos, a paradox, and exaggeration.

In paragraph four of Why Literature Matters, Dana Gioia writes “That such a

longstanding and fundamental cultural activity should slip so swiftly, especially among

young adults, signifies deep transformations in contemporary life.” The author included

this quote as logos to show that people are slipping away from reading especially the

younger generation. His language choice and his logic assist in his claim becoming more

understood.

In the last paragraph of Why Literature Matters, the author writes “Reading is not a

timeless, universal capability.” Dana Gioia includes a paradox here to put emphasis on

how important reading is to him. He says that it is something that we can eventually lose

through generations as the younger children dislike reading, and eventually we could lose

it.

In the introduction paragraph, the author writes, “College attendance ballooned”. The

author includes this phrase as a type of exaggeration. The college attendance did not
Joey Scaglione
AP English 11
1st hour
literally “balloon”, but Dana Gioia uses this word choice to exaggerate his sentence to

make his passage more interesting.

To conclude my statement, the author Dana Gioia argues that less people are reading

and how it is still something that should be implemented into students and the next

generation of people’s lives. Dana Gioia includes Exaggeration, paradox, and logos to

prove his claim in a more appealing fashion.