Close Reading

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/2003/09/brooks.htm

Here is the link to the Article I read. It is called People Like Us by David Brooks.

If you were asked the question, "Do you consider America diverse?" I guarantee most would have answered yes. Many have heard that America is considered "The Melting Pot", but are you sure that is fact? Brooks does an amazing job of showing how culturally universe America is. Brooks write with great persuasion and uses details, diction and syntax effectively to prove his point.

When the main purpose of an article is to persuade someone that what they have believe most of their lives is wrong, the author is going to need to pretty strong evidence. However, for this evidence to be affective, it must be relatable. Brooks accomplishes this by specifically naming states and cities that many of the readers might live in. For example, Boulder, Colorado, Burnsville, Minnesota, and Bensalem, Pennslyvania. Brooks also doesn't use vague estimations, he uses specific percentages and dollar amounts. Did you know that faculties reflected by the general population 32 percent are democratic? That seems pretty normal, but later in the paragraph we learn that elite schools are highly undiverse and 90 percent are registered Democrats. surprising right?

Brook's word choice is this article is amazing, and excuse my pun, very diverse. He describes a group of people as "similar" but then can later describe them as "homogeneous". His word choice adds sophistication to his writing and makes the reader feel more secure with Brook's knowledge. His writing relates to all ages because he also corporates more modernistic language like "uncool" and "mainstream". With out this diction the article would lose its flow and flair.

The setup of this article really optimizes Brook's use of syntax, but it also incorporates imagery.  Never does he repeat a point that has already been mentioned. He is able to illustrate his point by having each paragraph focus on a certain area or type of people. This way with each fact he adds, the reader is able to build to the mental picture they are forming. Also, the paragraphs seem to alternate length, first with a longer paragraph then followed by a shorter paragraph. The shorter paragraph is almost to emphasize the ideals Brooks states in the paragraph form. His writing style appeals to many readers this way; short and concise or detail oriented.

This is a great piece to read; its interesting and possibly adds a little perspective. So now i beg to question, actually how diverse is the town you are living in? The place you go to school? Your friend group? This article really makes you question is diversity becoming extinct?

~Dana Page