"A Third of the Nation Cannot Read These Words"
             "A Third of the Nation Cannot Read These Words" was written by Johnathon Kozol. The reader can analyze the text in three different ways: analytically, interpretive, and normative. An analytical reading recognizes the elements of the text, an interpretive reading places the text in a larger context and a normative reading bring forth the moral and ethical concerns of the text.
             The major argument presented in this text is that the world is oblivious to illiteracy. In other words, you can't judge a book by its cover. Everyone usually assumes that everyone else can read. However, there is no way of telling if someone can read on the surface. The author uses a narrative to present this claim. By using a narrative, the reader can visualize the claim, rather than just reading it. He tells the story of the everyday life of a graphic designer. Everyday, a professionally dressed man buys a copy of the New York Times before going to work. He keeps the paper with him all day, but never reads it. While at work he has to ask his boss to clarify memos and he avoids talking about the news with co-workers. His supervisor and co-workers dismiss these things as reasonable. Little do they know, he is illiterate. The fact that he carries around a newspaper doesn't help. After work the man carries the newspaper back home and adds it to the pile of newspapers from the previous days.
             An actual date for when the text was written is not given. However, based on the context of "A Third of the Nation Cannot Read These Word," was probably written within the last fifty years as the illiteracy rate increased. The purpose of this text is to make the world more aware of illiteracy. Those who read "A Third of the Nation Cannot Read These Words" when it was first published probably stopped taking for granted that those around
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