English 101
1,545 words
Hedges’ Article Not Representative
First para is
intro:
Background,
with thesis
statement at end
of paragraph.
Summary of
article (thesis +
main points)
Analysis and
evaluation of
evidence
How many people in America are illiterate or semi-literate? According to
Chris Hedges about 1/3 of the population is. Hedges' article, "America the
Illiterate," discusses the consequences America is facing because of people being
what Hedges refers to as "illiterate." Hedges discusses illiteracy as having a low
reading level, but also includes people choosing not to have a high reading level,
and not wanting to process detailed information. He claims this is destroying
America's core values including thinking for oneself, being self-critical,
understanding intellectual topics such as history, and challenging authority, along
with others. In "America the Illiterate," Chris Hedges uses unrepresentative
evidence and unreasonable assumptions, and therefore doesn't prove his thesis.
In the article, Hedges gives statistics on illiteracy. He describes the
illiterate as rarely voting. When they do it's based off of information based on
images not intellectual information. He describes how the illiterate and semiliterate are powerless in society because they can't deal with everyday things such
as car loans. Then he discusses how presidents are all about image today, and how
they are lowering their speaking levels in speeches. Hedges discusses how people
want entertainment versus knowledge, and how America is turning into an imagebased country.
In this article Hedges uses evidence that often doesn't represent America
as a whole, and therefore doesn't prove his thesis. His evidence although
sometimes sufficient and relevant, is not representative. Hedges uses statistical
evidence in two paragraphs. One example of this statistical evidence is the
Princeton Review statistics on the reading level presidents spoke at during debates
over the years. Hedges picked out four debates. These debates show how during
the Lincoln and Douglas debates the speaking level was around 11th or 12th
grade. In more recent years such as the Bush and Gore debates the speaking level
was around a 6th and 7th grade level. Hedges tries to prove that over the years
Americans have become more entertained at a lower reading level. This piece of
evidence is not sufficient. There have been many presidential debates over the
years, and Hedges only picked out four. The evidence is relevant because it is
dealing with illiteracy. This evidence is not representative because Hedges only
picked out four statistics, so he could have picked the statistics that coincided with
his thesis. Because this evidence is not representative, Hedges can't claim the
majority of Americans are entertained at a low intellect level, and therefore
illiterate.
Hedges’ evidence also includes statistics on reading and Americans. This
evidence includes statistics on the number of illiterates, and how many purchase
and read books. There are six different facts within this piece of evidence. It tries
to prove that Americans are illiterate, and choose a lifestyle that complements
that. This evidence is sufficient. Hedges gives an ample amount of facts. It is
relevant to his point because it is dealing with illiteracy. However, this evidence is
Author’s
assumptions
Analysis and
evaluation of
article’s reasoning
(assumptions)
not representative. Hedges claims fifty million Americans read at a 4th or 5th
grade level. This doesn't represent America as a whole. The number of adults
doesn't cover the majority of America's population. Hedges said that eighty
percent of families did not buy a book. He makes it seem like Americans are not
reading when they are not buying a book. People can borrow books from their
friends, reread books they own, go to the library for books, or read articles online.
Therefore this piece of evidence is not representative of the number of people
reading books.
[577 words to here—first draft, nothing on reasoning]
While reading "America the Illiterate" I made a few assumptions. I
assumed that Hedges left out statistics from the Princeton Review presidential
debates because the facts would no longer fit in with his point that literacy rates
were declining I think this is a reasonable assumption because Hedges wouldn't
want to add a statistic that was going to disprove his statement. There were a lot
of presidential debates in between those four points, and it is hard to believe that
all of them fell into a pattern of decline. It is hard to believe because statistics
don't always fall into a nice pattern; they often can jump around. Hedges could
have given more statistics to strengthen his argument if they have been going
through a constant decline, but he didn't. I also assumed that when Hedges said,
"Eighty percent of families in the United States last year did not buy a book," he
meant they weren't reading a book.
Hedges made assumptions in his paper that are not necessarily true. He
makes the assumption that when people aren't buying books they are not reading
books. He uses the statistic that eighty percent of families didn't purchase a book
in the last year. By making this statement Hedges doesn't include the fact that
people can still read when they aren't buying a book. People often check out
books from the library instead of buying them. It helps people save money,
especially at a time when the economy isn't doing so well. Because Hedges
evidence does not prove people are not reading, he can't make the claim that
people are illiterate, and choosing entertainment over reading.
Another assumption Hedges makes is that people working at fast food
restaurants are illiterate and semi-literate. This relates to his thesis that people are
illiterate, and because of that they are becoming more imaged-based including in
places like fast food restaurants. Hedges also assumed people work there because
the images are easy to understand compared to writing. I disagree with this
assumption because I don't think he can make a generalization like that, because it
is not representative. Currently, it is very difficult to get a job in America. Many
people will take anything they can get. This includes literate people. I know
people who are always reading and very intelligent, but work at fast food
restaurants because it is an easy place to get a job while they are in school.
Working there has nothing to do with the fact there are images on the cash
register and the menu. I don't think this is a reasonable statement, because he is
making a claim that people are not very intelligent when they work at a fast food
restaurant. I don't think a person should have their literacy level judged based on
the job they are holding. Hedges didn't take the time to check his facts with this
argument. Why should any of his other assumptions be believable, if he made a
Counterargument (c-a),
focusing on why
the article’s
evidence and
reasoning could
be seen as
convincing,
contrary to the
thesis
Rebuttal,
answering the
specific points
raised in the c-a
big mistake like this one? Hedges made assumptions like these throughout his
paper, and this one weakens his credibility, and therefore all his other
assumptions, which tie in with the arguments he attempts to make.
[1108 words to here—second draft, no counter-argument]
To some people Hedges' article may seem like it has representative
evidence and reasonable assumptions, and therefore does prove his thesis. Hedges
said that people are fed phrases during political campaigns such as, "yes we can,
maverick, change, pro-life, hope, or war on terror." It's true that many presidential
candidates use phrases like this during their speeches. People hear these phrases,
and one might think people like these because the phrases are short and they don't
have to think. Who would want to hear a long speech when you can get the main
points of it in a few words that are easy to understand? That could be
representative evidence. An assumption Hedges makes is that the literate have
more power in terms of loan deals, mortgage papers, etc. I can see how someone
might think this because if a person is literate they will be able to take their time
and understand all the fine print, and have more power in making good valid
decisions.
While this view might seem convincing, it has flaws that make it untrue.
Presidents use short phrases, but it's not so people don't have to think. When
presidents use these phrases it's because they want you to remember them and
their views. A person can't remember an entire speech after hearing it once. If a
president enforces their views with these short phrases, then a person is more
likely to remember parts of the speech. They will hear that word and remember
the presidential candidates' views on that topic that came up during the speech.
Therefore this piece of evidence is not representative. There was also the
assumption that the literate have more power. There are so many scams out there
that even being literate cannot protect you. A literate person could read something
that is actually misleading or false. The ability to read isn't going to make them
realize they are being pulled into a scam. Many literate people send their children
to public schools, and like the illiterate they cannot protect their kids from the
"dysfunctional public schools." They aren't controlling the school, so they don't
have more power in this situation. Therefore this assumption, along with others in
the paper, is not reasonable.
Although Hedges may have used sufficient and relevant evidence in his
paper, it was generally not representative. This key factor destroyed his paper in
terms of being convincing. His lack of representative evidence is what makes all
of his points misleading and false, and therefore does not prove his thesis.
1,545 words