October 14

On Kozol’s “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”

Please complete a rhetoric precis on the essay. Be sure to copy your work before you hit submit! I’d hate for you to loose your hard work over a technical mishap.  You can review the format on Blackboard, the Course Material page.

 

Due before class, Tuesday.

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email


Posted October 14, 2017 by tashak38 in category Uncategorized

About the Author

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area--Big Up to the East Bay

15 thoughts on “On Kozol’s “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”

  1. Tomas

    In the narrative, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, the writer, Jonathan Kozol, illustrates his perspective regarding the situation illiterates confront. As many personalities like parents, along with adults, fight to create a dwelling in the Earth, Kozol argues for much more instructional opportunities for illiterates to find out. The mom, in this story, learns more about how blessed the upcoming creation would be to find out over the preceding, but illiteracy remains a issue. The notion of illiteracy might haven’t just been addressed right but also figuratively. Kozol supplies a little note, at the start of the story, which introduces his own goal of automating illiteracy, so as to produce a more educated and more encouraging potential. The country we are living in is well trained, yet this nation can perform. Although we possess the knowledge in a variety of subjects, a lot of men and women lack the capability to demonstrate our own comments and donate our voice into society. The story suggests, “That is a society that the majority of us didn’t produce, but that our President and our leaders are prepared to conserve by virtue of malign neglect”, in which most could be indicated as illiterate or aren’t well-educated to behave in some specific scenarios. The objective of Kozol’s story might have been to instruct others about the issue of illiteracy.

    An individual can declare that the potent message involving illiteracy, was designed for individuals who weren’t too educated, or lack the wisdom of present scenarios. I think Kozol emulates a subject of understanding and education because he attracts different people’s standpoint where they aren’t able to distinguish between items like toxin and Campbell’s soup. Most metaphors are set into the narrative where it poses the threat of never being educated. I feel that Kozol generates this relationship because he’s hoping to demonstrate the risks you is surrounded by whether they can’t differentiate many knowledge and objects. For this very day, society is continually trying hard to make logical decisions on the planet. Individuals in poverty, as the north west, along with other nations might not have obtained exactly the exact same schooling as people in California and New York. Together with the shortage of understanding to make logical decisions, several have made bad decisions in discovering a variety of individuals into Congress and are very ignorant of the people who surround them. I feel that Kozol’s concept of illiteracy could be implemented now and everybody must realize that knowledge might assist others collaborate with one another.

    Reply
  2. Jennifer Valdez

    In the narrative “The human Cost of an illiterate society” by Jonothan Kozol (1985) Kozol writes on ‘illiterates’ and their experience as they live in a society where they don’t understand the language that they are forced to understand. Throughout the writing he describes the challenges one would face, embarrassment following closely behind. Connecting with his audience he gives out an example anyone can imagine happen to them as they themselves are in a different country. He emphasizes the point of being an illiterate, with the ingredients, directions and uses, of a medicine that can prove fatal if one didn’t know how to read the directions/instructions. His main goal in this writing is to show an audience that being an illiterate can be dangerous.
    This writing brings out the importance of ones education and how being educated can help people live understanding the things they come across and possibly helping others. Illiteracy in a real issue affecting not only Americans but also many people around the world. Many times it doesn’t those people as much as others, one can be traveling and ordering food they’ve never heard of in a menu from a different country with a different language culture, while others will be signing their name on documents that need to be read before signing.

    Reply
  3. Betel Etafe

    Rhetorical Precis – “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”
    In Jonathan Kozol’s essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” the author points out the hardships that people go through on a daily basis because they are functionally illiterate. He also describes the fact that many of these people vote blindly or do not vote at all. Kozol defines illiteracy through quotes from the people who are illiterate; using examples to support his claim that illiteracy not only affects the individual, but the country as a whole. “If even one-third of all illiterates could vote, and read enough and do sufficient math to vote in their self-interest, Ronald Reagan would not likely have been chosen president”, is a good example that Kozol gives to show how these illiterate people affect the whole nation. Kozol purpose in writing this essay was to show people who aren’t illiterate how to understand the life of those who are and in order to raise awareness on illiteracy and its huge negative impacts and encourage people to do something about it. This writing is directed to all of his readers and people who can make a change and come up with a solution to this problem. The author places blame on the leaders of American for not seeing this huge problem in front of them.

    Reply
  4. Ti Faotusia

    Ti Faotusia
    Professor Keeble
    English 1A
    October 17, 2017

    In “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, by Jonathan Kozol, literacy is the main focus that the author argues will indicate a more equitable society. By providing a variety of personal stories, studies, and ideas Kozol was able to present the dangers and/or inevitable situations that illiteracy creates on its own. Kozol aims to create awareness within his audience in order for them to digest the severity of his topic and possibly take initiative. His audience being the general literate public in which he tries to create a form of trust by using multiple stories from different illiterates.

    The author’s theme became more severe than I had intended after reading his essay. Due to my background, having dozens of family members who are high school drop-outs, I didn’t think illiteracy was a serious and impacting conflict within the US. I also realized that there was more to literacy than just being able to speak and knowing the basic words of a language. Although many of my relatives could speak English, mostly slang, I understood that they could get through life day by day and worked “okay” jobs. But then I realized that although construction and care giving were well-paying, they were the best jobs obtainable at their reading level. One example that I could relate to my family would be when Kozol explained, “Illiterates live, in more than literal ways, an uninsured existence. They cannot understand the written details on a health insurance form. They can not read the waivers that they sign preceding surgical procedures (pg 41)”. I could relate to this example on a personal level because whenever it comes to serious matters in my family, I always have to present. I didn’t have to translate but I had to “do the thinking”, as my family would say it. Majority of the decisions made in my family are based on my understanding of each situation and understanding of the information a representative would provide — with doctors, bills, contracts, voting, and sales people. I’ve come to the conclusion that my US family would have been continuously manipulated if it weren’t for myself or a few other cousins, with all due respect to my family’s ability and intelligence.

    Kozol’s ideas are still present today. As we learned in class, the rate of illiteracy in the US has not changed within the past 10 years. I found one specific idea of Kozol’s to be apparent today, “The number of illiterate adults exceeds by 16 million the entire vote cast for the winner in the 1980 presidential contest. If even one-third of all illiterates could vote, and read enough and do sufficient math to vote in their self-interest, Ronald Reagan would not likely have been chose president (pg 40)”. Initially I found the idea — not fact — humorous and it reminded me of Trump. Yes, he cheated his way into presidency with the Russians, but what was also understood was that a large portion of the US population was not registered to vote. Many of which I believe would not have voted for him if they were. Yet in a less conspiring sense, a more literate society would lead to a less corrupt government. As Kozol had provided, “‘A people who mean to be their own governors,’ James Madison wrote, ‘must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both.’ (pg 39)”. Thus, if the US or any society had access and were able to acquire and fully digest information, we would not be under the rule of our current government. Knowledge and literacy must be dispersed evenly and at advanced levels.

    Reply
  5. Jose Guzman

    English 1A
    Rhetorical Precis- “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”
    In the essay “The Human Cost of an Illitereate Society”(1985), by Jonathan Kozol argues about the necessity of reading in the U.S. Kozol brings up a variety of stories to support that illiterate people are a danger to themselves and as a whole to the society. Kozol purpose on this essay is to inspire the reader that there’s a lot of people out there who can’t read. they could be friends, family, even strangers next you. This issue has been occurring for many decades and will continue in the future; in order to help is for those who can read, to help those who can not. Konzol intended audience would be anyone who can read the essay and understands that the situation not only affects those who are illiterate but as a whole.
    I believe that Konzo has a very strong point on how something so small can impact the whole country. I agree that being illiterate can be life threathening, manipulative, and dangerous to others. An example from the esssay is when a man was stranded on the highway and called the police, the police asked for his location and his reponse was that he didnt know where he was. Another example is when you sign a contract you don’t know what it says. The lanlord or banker can easily manipulate you to paying them more money then what you’re intended to. In politics being illiterate has a major cause, not understanding what the person is talking about and only acknowledging the key words they use, symbols or even their appearance can manipulate many people to vote for them. Someone who’s poor and illiterate are the main targets for scammers and some companies. They can be asked to pay a late fee or sign up for a contract without their knowledge and they wouldn’t know how to defend themselves. Konzol ideas lead up to major flaws in the society and how many dont put much effort to those who struggle and feel that they aren’t humans.

    Reply
  6. yuliaojhon

    Jhon Yu Liao
    Professor Keeble
    ENGL 1A
    17 October 2017
    Rhetorical Precis
    Jonathan Kozol, in his essay, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” (1985), argues that illiterate Americans are suffering exclusion from their society because they cannot read nor write. This makes difficult to them to take care of themselves, to understand many things that is going out in their daily life and to not think critically.
    Kozol supports his claim by first using quotes of people who are illiterate. Then he talks about the danger of illiterates in places, where they cannot read signs, make difficult for them to understand, comprehend and communicate with others the environment they are, he uses this quote to describe this issue “There was a phone. I asked for the police. They was nice. They said to tell them where I was. I looked up at the signs. There was one that I had seen before. I read it to them: ONE WAY STREET. They thought it was a joke. I told them I couldn’t read” (45). Next, Illiterates could change the history of the government in the United States if they could read and write because they do not vote or vote blindly, “This is the nation that we live in. This is a society that most of us did not create but which our President and the other leaders have been willing to sustain by virtue of malign neglect” (45). Last, Illiterates are in healthy danger because they cannot read the medicine prescription or do not know the cancer symptoms.
    Kozol’s purpose is to let the literate people to know the situation and the crisis of illiteracy in order to prevent illiteracy and to start to educate people to be able to communicate and not be in danger at all times.
    He creates a critic tone for the audience to make them think critically and analytically the consequences of being an illiterate person.

    Reply
  7. Nicholas Pynchon

    Cost of Illiterate Society – Rhetorical Precis

    “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” (1985) is an essay written by Jonathan Kozol which asserts that illiteracy is an incredibly important issue that threatens the equality of members of American society. Kozol does this by presenting a series of examples which illiterate individuals would likely struggle with and how such a struggle often times leads to an undesired outcome and sometimes even exploitation. Kozol intends to show to his audience just how disadvantaged illiterate people are in order to emphasize how important it is that we, as a society, work to lower illiteracy rates. Kozol wants to reach those of us privileged with literacy in an effort to increase awareness of the problem of illiteracy and hopefully rectify it.
    While I believe that Kozol intends well with this writing, I fear it will only fall on deaf ears. The majority of students, like myself, will read this piece, feel sympathy for the unfortunate members of our society who are unable to read, but not actually do anything to make the problem any better. Kozol makes it obvious that illiterates must work harder in every facet of life. Anything from attempting to decipher lease or residency terms, to purchasing the proper groceries for daily living, to finding directions to a specific location become much harder when an individual is unable to read. I realize now that I am incredibly fortunate to be able to read. I was shocked to hear that a staggering thirty-two million American adults are unable to read. That is thirty-two million individuals who have little to no idea of the intricacies of the power which governs over them or how they might go about contributing to change in that power. Kozol is certainly not wrong when he says that our government is not of the people but rather, “at best, of those two-thirds whose wealth, skin color, or parental privilege allows them opportunity to profit from the provocation and instruction of the written word.”

    Reply
  8. Krystal Cooper

    English 1A
    Rhetorical Precis “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” Johnathan Kozol

    In Jonathan kozol’s narrative “The Human Cost Of An Illiterate Society” he states that it is dangerous to not know how to write or read, I believe it would make life easier, but it is not necessary. Kozoll gives many examples of what it is handy to know how to read, but if you live in the country reading is a necessity.
    Our languages were not always a written. It used to be by word of mouth only. That is how stories were passed along they were not read out of a book. We can give directions without signs or roads. You would say go over the hills till you hit the forest then go toward the setting sun. There was no written word but somehow they kept living thus here we are. Same thing as the country, head down the road make a left and then the second right. No reading was needed. GPS today will say to take the next right, an illiterate can follow its directions without reading the signs. If they had a paper map they could see that the “chicken scratch” words match the signs.
    Kozel wrote this I assume to say we need to teach them to read making them compromise for us, but we can take a step toward them by using last names. By using more directions and landmarks both of us taking a step to help each other.
    I believe this essay is intended for friends and family of those who are illiterate to help them. But I feel as though kozol has a harsh tone toward those who are illiterate. They do need help, but you have to be willing to change with them.

    Reply
  9. Angelika Ramos

    Angelika Ramos

    Professor Keeble

    English 1A

    15 October 2017

    Rhetorical Precis: “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”

    “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” written by Jonathan Kozol(1985), asserts the hardships that people in the illiterate community had to face. The author develops his claim by giving numerous examples of the struggles that illiterate people have to go through. For instance Jonathan Kozol put a warning sign for the product draino regarding that it was poisonous, however if you were not able to read that may lead to a dangerous outcome. The authors purpose is to bring up the problems of illiterate culture to stop the egocentric mentality most people have about this group, in order to help keep them safe and encourage them to learn how to read and write. Most of the time literate people would look down on illiterate people and think that they are ignorant or unknowledgeable. But this is wrong in most cases because most of the time these people had obstacles that prevented them from learning to be literate. The intended audience maybe for literate people so we can reach out and help these people, thus making the illiterate society smaller one person at a time.
    Being able to read is very important because it allows us to be educated and also most jobs would require the ability to do so. Not only would it help us advance through life, but it also protects us from harm. For example literate people are able to read labels of poisonous products and won’t be taken advantage by con artists, that easily. This would make a difference in the community by giving a more equal chance to succeeding in our society. Not being able to read is more of a disadvantage compared to a community that can read and compete for a job.

    Reply
  10. Jacquelyn Garcia

    Rhetorical Precis – The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society
    In “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” a chapter from “Illiterate America” (1985), the author, Jonathan Kozol gives a description of real life examples of parents and adults living with the struggle of illiteracy in America. Kozol argues that illiterates should have more educational opportunities to learn and lists many situations that are affected by Illiteracy. Kozol’s goal for writing this essay is to inform and educate people who may not know about or may have never thought about this issue that is still affecting our society today.
    Illiteracy affects the most simplest situations and tasks such as buying food, driving, navigation, paying bills and rent, ordering at restaurants, employment, hospital visits, and most importantly voting. The purpose of making more people aware of illiteracy in America could influence others to go out and make a difference because it affects more than just illiterates. In the fifth paragraph, Kozol uses the presidential election of Ronald Reagan as an example of how illiteracy can affect us all, “The number of illiterate adults exceeds by 16 million the entire vote cast for the winner in the 1980 presidential contest. if even one-third of all illiterates could vote, and read enough and do sufficient math to vote in their self-interest, Ronald Reagan would not likely have been chosen president.” If illiteracy can alter a vote in an election, then everyone as country is affected. The message Kozol brought to us is strong, influential and very relevant even after 32 years.
    Kozol’s passion for reaching the goal of a literate society is powerful and most and most influential through this essay.

    Reply
  11. Aaron Gesmundo

    Rhetorical Precis-“The Human cost of an Illiterate Society”
    In “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, the author, Jonathan Kozol, explains the issues illiterates face each day and the effect illiterates have on society as a whole. Kozol skillfully uses numerous examples of issues that illiterates face to shed light onto the daily lives of illiterates. The purpose of this chapter is to educate people on the issue of illiteracy in society in order to give insight in a problem that most people are not aware of. The intended audience is illiterate people because it is made for people who can read and not for the illiterates struggling in society.
    The author’s theme is that illiterates have an impact in society even though people are unaware of it. For example, in the fifth paragraph, Kozol talks about Ronald Reagan and how if a fraction of illiterates that voted learned to read and do the math on the situation, Ronald Reagan wouldn’t have been voted into office. In other words, illiterates have a voice and their actions affect the world the same way literates do and they may not know the consequences of their actions since they cannot read the news. Even if they can read on a basic level, they won’t be able to process or understand the information given to them unless they know how to think critically and analytically. Society should address and face the issue of illiteracy before we inevitably cause our own self-destruction.

    Reply
  12. Hunter Phelps

    Rhetorical Precis – “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”
    In the Narrative, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, by author Jonathan Kozol, explains whats happening to illiterates in our society. Jonathan Kozol argues that, “We are speaking now of human suffering and of the ethical dilemmas that are faced by a society that looks upon such suffering with qualified concern but does not take those actions which its wealth and ingenuity would seemingly demand.” He supports his claim by listing many examples of things that would be very difficult if one was not able to read. He continues to write examples and how their outcomes would be for someone that is illiterate. The author purpose seems to be a desire to inform readers about the issue that faces the country, that people that are illiterate need to be helped in order for them to be able to make informed decisions derived from their own conclusions and not just what someone has told them. The directed audience of this is those of us that can read to be able to help those that can not read.
    It is easy to understand Kozol’s purpose in writing this narrative, he makes it clear and gives countless examples to why and how illiteracy is an issue for those of us that are literate. I believe that this message is still prevalent today. In our most recent election the most educated parts of the country voted one way. Then those that had lots of hate and also were in the less educated parts of our country voted another way. Despite the literate collecting the most as a popular vote and the electoral college went another direction. This narrative was written after the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan. Kozol’s main purpose is to persuade us as readers to help those be able to make informed decisions, especially in the direction of voting.

    Reply
  13. Diana Perez

    Rhetorical Precis – “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”
    In “The Human Cost of an illiterate Society” by Jonathan Kozol the speaker is Kozol himself although he includes quotes from other people as well. Kozol is a Harvard graduate and author of many books concerning issues in education and homelessness. The occasion takes place in the United states.” The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” is a chapter “Illiterate America” which was published in 1985 however the amount of illiterate Americans still continues to be an issue 32 years later.
    The audience that I think Kozol is trying to reach out to is the literate ones who can be of help to the illiterate. I think his main goal is to make people recognize the issue and be aware of it so that they can provide aide and resources for people who can not read or write. I think the purpose of this essay is to let other know of the dangers that illiterates face in their everyday life and how we can be of help to them.
    The subject of this essay is a big issue in America that many don’t seem to be aware of. To us reading signs on the freeway, reading bus signs or even cautionary labels comes so easily when in fact it is something that a big chunk of Americans have to risk living without. The tone of the essay is very activist like he is trying to get his point across. It is however very academic and passionate at the same time.

    Reply
  14. Bryant Tong

    Rhetorical Precis – The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society
    In the narrative, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, the author, Jonathan Kozol, describes his point of view about the situation illiterates face. As various characters such as parents, and adults, struggle to make a living in the world, Kozol argues for more educational opportunities for illiterates to learn. The mother, in this narrative, learns more about how lucky the future generation is to learn more than the previous, but illiteracy is still a problem. The idea of illiteracy may have not only been addressed directly, but also figuratively. Kozol provides a small note, in the beginning of the narrative, which introduces his purpose of resolving illiteracy, in order to create a more educated and supportive future. The nation we live in is well educated, but this country can do more. Though we have the knowledge in various subjects, many people lack the ability to show our own opinions and contribute our voice to society. The narrative implies, “This is a society that most of us did not create, but which our President and our leaders have been willing to sustain by virtue of malign neglect”, where many can be implied as illiterate or are not well-educated to act in certain situations. The purpose of Kozol’s narrative may have been to educate others about the problem of illiteracy.
    One can infer that the powerful message towards illiteracy, was intended for those who were not as well educated, or lack the knowledge of current situations. I believe Kozol emulates a theme of education and understanding because he brings various people’s perspective where they are not able to differentiate between things like poison and campbell’s soup. Many metaphors are placed into the story where it introduces the danger of not being educated. I believe that Kozol creates this connection because he is trying to show the dangers one is surrounded by if they cannot differentiate various objects and knowledge. To this day, society is constantly struggles to make rational decisions for the world. People in poverty, the southeast and other states may have not obtained the same education as individuals from California and New York. With the lack of knowledge to make rational decisions, many have made poor decisions in electing various people into congress and have become ignorant to the people that surround them. I believe that Kozol’s message of illiteracy can be implemented today and everyone should recognize that knowledge can help others cooperate with each other.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *