Libraries Face Sad Chapter

Libraries Face Sad Chapter

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Literary Analysis: Persuasive Essay

A persuasive essay is a short nonfiction work that tries to persuade a reader to think or act in a particular way. Persuasive essays usually include one or both of the following:

• Appeals to reason: logical arguments based on verifiable evidence, such as facts, statistics, or expert testimony

• Appeals to emotion: statements intended to affect listeners’ feelings about a subject. These statements often include charged language—words with strong positive or negative associations.

Open Ended

What is Pete Hamill’s opinion and suggested course of action in his essay “Libraries Face Sad Chapter”?

Open Ended

Identify two logical arguments Hamill uses to support his case for the importance of libraries and freely circulating books.

Open Ended

Reread the following excerpt from the essay:

No teacher sent us to those leathery cliffs of books. Reading wasn’t an assignment; it was a pleasure. We read for the combined thrills of villainy and heroism, along with the knowledge of the vast world beyond the parish. Living in those other worlds, we could become other people.

In this passage, what are two words or phrases with strong emotional associations? Are these emotional associations positive or negative?

Open Ended

At the end of his essay on libraries, Hamill stresses a “debt” that must be honored. On the lines below, explain how Hamill conceives of this “debt” and why it does (or does not) constitute an effective conclusion for his persuasive essay.

Reading: Reread to Analyze and Evaluate Persuasive Appeals

Persuasive appeals in an essay are the arguments the author makes to persuade readers or listeners to think or act in a particular way. To analyze and evaluate persuasive appeals, identify passages in which the author makes an argument in support of his or her position.

Then, reread those passages to test the logic and reasoning of the author’s arguments. Ask yourself these questions:

• Is the author’s argument supported by evidence, or is it based on faulty assumptions?

• Does the author demonstrate clear connections between ideas, or does the author make leaps in logic?

Open Ended

Why do you think Hamill chose to open this essay with a reminiscence of how he and his friends used libraries in their childhood?

Open Ended

According to Hamill, why are libraries more important than ever in hard times?

Open Ended

Reread the section entitled “Immigrants’ Appreciation.” In your opinion, does Hamill appeal primarily to reason or to emotion in this section?

Multiple Choice

In "Libraries Face Sad Chapter," how does Pete Hamill describe his childhood visits to the

library?

• He visited the library only to do his school assignments.

• He went to the library because it was a great pleasure

• His parents forced him to go to the library whenever they went.

• He did not visit the library very often

Multiple Choice

In "Libraries Face Sad Chapter," which reason does Hamill use to support his argument that library hours and services should be maintained?

• the need to preserve historic buildings, such as those housing book collections

• the need to keep library buildings available as emergency shelters

• the need to make books and other reading materials available to the poor

• the increasing need for computers and access to the Internet

Multiple Choice

Which passage from "Libraries Face Sad Chapter" is

most clearly an appeal to emotion?

• Such reductions are absolutely understandable.

• Since those ancient nights around prehistoric campfires, we have needed myth. And heroes. And moral tales.

• This would be an involuntary tax.

• The Harry Potter books show that the audience for young readers is potentially immense.

Multiple Choice

Which passage from "Libraries Face Sad Chapter" is

most clearly an appeal to reason?

• But once again, ...the teeming imaginative life of libraries is in danger of being curtailed.

• Unlike the...federal government, the government of New York City can't print money to keep things going.

• We read for the combined thrills of villainy and heroism, along with knowledge of the vast world beyond.

• But above all, it would be a means of honoring the labor of those men and women who got us here.

Multiple Choice

"Libraries Face Sad Chapter," what evidence does Hamill offer to support the idea that young readers are a large audience?

• the popularity of books about pirates

• the success of the Harry Potter books

• the fact that many books are published for children each year

• a petition to the mayor signed by young readers

Multiple Choice

According to the author of "Libraries Face Sad Chapter," which group in particular needs public libraries?

• professors

• the elderly

• immigrants

• public officials

Multiple Choice

"Libraries Face Sad Chapter," what source does Pete Hamill use for most of his emotional appeals?

• a speech by the mayor

• quotations from immigrants

• the experiences of friends

• his own experiences

Multiple Choice

"Libraries Face Sad Chapter," which of the following claims does the author most thoroughly support with reasons and evidence?

• In hard times, libraries are more important than ever.

• Books and movies are more expensive than ever

• Television entertainment is in free fall to the lowest levels of stupidity.

• Parents and teachers all moan about the refusal of the young to read

Multiple Choice

Which of the following counterclaims does Hamill address in "Libraries Face Sad Chapter"?

• City funding to support libraries has to be cut for budgetary reasons.

• Donations to libraries from the wealthy need to be reduced in hard times.

• Libraries are much less important now that most people have home computers.

• Many immigrants do not use public libraries because of language barriers.

Multiple Choice

Toward the end of "Libraries Face Sad Chapter," what proposal does Hamill make to solve the problems facing New York's public libraries?

• Shorten hours, cut services, and reduce staff at all public libraries.

• Pass a new city sales tax to raise funds specifically for the libraries.

• Ask people to contribute to a private fund to maintain the libraries at full strength.

• Appeal for financial help only to the wealthiest of the city's population.