Walter Benn Michaels's The Trouble With Diversity

In the introduction to his book, The Trouble with Diversity: How We Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality, Walter Benn Michaels introduces his views on why diversity has come to be more appreciated than in times past, as well as his main point and goals for his book. Michaels organizes his introduction with an approach that allows a reader to fully understand his goals for the book, but uses a style of writing that may prevent an audience without extensive knowledge of the subject to fully grasp the meaning of Michaels’ message on diversity.
Michaels begins his introduction by discussing The Great Gatsby. In which, a penniless man, Jimmy Gatz, transforms into a rich man that is an epitome of the American values of the 1920’s but is still unable to win …show more content…
His topic is not one that most of the population fails to understand, but his style of delivery requires a few read-throughs of each paragraph before a complete understanding of his point can be reached. Because of this, Michaels’ book may reach a smaller audience due to the time and intelligence required to reach the book’s goals. Also, although his reference to The Great Gatsby may have been beneficial to his organization, it may have confused a reader that has not read the book or did not understand how the novel related to Michaels’ topic. This may have caused frustration in understanding his view point on the modern benefits and appreciation of diversity.
Walter Benn Michaels chooses an effective organization process to maximize the ability for his readers to follow his thought process. However, he chooses a style of delivery and vocabulary that may deter and/or confuse potential readers. Overall, The Trouble with Diversity: How We Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality likely reached the audience Michaels had expected and accomplished the goals he set forth for his