What College Can Mean To The Other America Analysis

Rose, Mike. “What College Can Mean to the Other America.” The Mcgraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Gilbert H. Muller, 12th ed., Mcgraw-Hill, 2014, pp. 195-197. In “What College Can Mean to the Other America,” Mike Rose discusses the issue of how America’s economy leaves the underclass without opportunities in postsecondary education. Rose seems to direct this issue towards an audience who can make a difference. At the end of his article, Rose states, “What kind of society do we want to become?” (p.197). By making this statement, Rose is implying that the upper class, or people with power, is his targeted audience. He wants his readers to understand the point of his passage, so they can be compelled to make a change within the economy. The purpose of the text is to inform readers about the social class divide regarding education, and to persuade those who have power to make a difference. Rose ties in his own experiences for forms of evidence. He explains that he went to community colleges to see the effects of poverty face to face. Since it was a first-hand experience, it …show more content…
I believe bringing in concrete evidence from another source would validate her argument even more. With this being said, Quindlen has achieved some parts of her argument. She ultimately does inform her audience about her argument by the end of the text. I believe Mike Rose’s “What College Can Mean to the Other America” and Anna Quindlen’s “Sex Ed” have some commonalities. Even though these writings have different arguments, both texts bring in evidence from personal experiences. Rose’s describes going to community colleges for his evidence, and Quindlen describes her own childhood for her evidence. Both of these texts are trying to persuade their audience in one form or another. By bringing in personal experiences and persuading their audiences, Quindlen and Rose achieve creating valid