Jason Ahmed

Twilight of American Culture Essay 2

      “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” George Santayana spoke these famous words. Now, history has been defined by the achievements of Humanities greatest empires: Egypt, Greece, Babylon, and Rome. However, history has also been defined by the fall of these great domains. This fact is interesting, as the modern world is defined in many ways by the achievements of its strongest nation: The United States of America. In the novel, The Twilight of American Culture, author Morris Berman argues that America is on the decline. He argues that the defining nation of the last 400 hundred years will fall like all of the great empires before it (Egypt, Greece, Babylon, and Rome) unless serious changes are made in the country. Berman makes this argument through the use of various rhetorical devices, such ethos, logos, ethos, and tone.                                            To begin, Berman uses logos to show his readers why his views are correct. Logos is defined as the use of logic to persuade. Berman does a fantastic job in his novel of backing up his beliefs through the use of facts. For example, to support his theory that America is on the decline, he notes how America’s middle class is declining. He notes how “In 1973, the typical CEO of a large company earned about forty times what the worker did; today he earns from 190 to 419 times as much” (21). This fact proves his theory of the widening wealth gap in America. He compares America to the Roman Empire, and notes how, in Rome, most of the land was owned by a few. As previously stated, the Roman Empire was once a great empire that fell. Berman theorizes that Rome’s large wealth gap contributed to its downfall, and he uses facts to confirm that the American wealth gap is becoming more and more similar to the Roman wealth gap every year. The author uses facts to suggest that America’s growing wealth gap is a confirmation that we are following the path that the Roman’s took to destruction. Also,  Berman uses facts and logic to prove that America is on a path to decay by recording that reveals the stunning fact that (at the writing of the novel) “The United States ranked 49 in literacy in a ranking of the literacy of the 158 countries of the UN (36). Obviously, a nation ranked 49 in literacy cannot be expected to compete with the rest of the world in pretty much anything. As if this is not shocking enough, “forty-two percent of American adults cannot locate Japan on a world map, according to Garrison Keill (national Public Radio, 22 March 1997)” (36). Again, a nation that is uneducated obviously does not have a bright future. Again, through the use of facts, Berman convinces his readers that America is indeed heading to a decline. By doing this, he grabs the reader’s attention, and he uses this to talk about his ideas to try and save the country.                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Second, Berman uses pathos as a way to motivate his readers to listen to his message. You see, ethos is the use of one’s emotional beliefs to persuade them to believe adhere to certain ideologies. Berman uses his reader’s ethical beliefs to persuade them in a variety of ways. For one, Berman notes how, during the Roman ages, monks would record historical texts that they thought to be of value. By doing this, they preserved their culture for later generations. The author implies that a small group of people can preserve a culture that can inspire future generations. Bu comparing his followers to ancient monks, he gives them the emotional motivation necessary to take his advice. After all, who does not want to be s modern monk an preserve the positives of American culture. To add on to this, Morris Berman relates a story about an inner city school dedicated to helping out at-risk teenagers in Washington D.C. Berman recalls how, in a private conversation with him, the school’s founder questions if his efforts will actually make a difference in the grand scheme of things. However, the school founder refuses to stop his work, as “what else should he do with his life.” The author uses this story to portray the founder’s outlook on life on the novel’s readers. The author uses this story to motivate his readers to continue in their efforts to make the world a better place. After all, what else is there to do?                                                                                                                                                            Last, the novel has a tone that can be described as direct and educated. The novel does not waste time painting grand, useless information. It lectures the reader like a college professor would lecture his class. As a result, the reader feels like the author is treating him or her with respect, keeping them motivated to listen to the author. Also, the author does manage to add small bits of humor. For example he ends chapter one with the quote, “I promise to do my best not to entertain you.” This piece, however insignificant in the grand scheme of things, does help to keep the reader entertained and focused on the work by lightening the mood. Obviously, a focused audience is an easier audience to persuade.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Similarly, in his article, “Ghosts, Monks, and Bobos,” Michael Quirk supports the assertions made in The Twilight of American Culture. He backs up Berman’s claims by comparing and contrasting them with the claims in other the novels The End of Ideology: on the Exhaustion of Political Ideas in the Fifties, Bobos in Paradise: the New Upper Class and How They Got There, and After Virtue: a Study in Moral Theory. Quirk uses logos to support his opinion.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             In conclusion, both Michael Quirk and Morris Berman use rhetoric to convince the reader to place a greater awareness on the decay happening in America today.

Bibliography

Ghosts, monks, and bobos

Quirk, Michael

Cross Currents;

Fall 2001;

ProQuest Research Library

pg. 405

http://media.proquest.com/media/pq/classic/doc/85560733/fmt/pi/rep/NONE?hl=the%2Ctwilights%2Ctwilight%2Cof%2Camericans%2Camerican%2Ccultures%2Cculture%2Cmorris%2Cbermen%2Cberman&cit%3Aauth=Quirk%2C+Michael&cit%3Atitle=Ghosts%2C+monks%2C+and+bobos&cit%3Apub=Cross+Currents&cit%3Avol=51&cit%3Aiss=3&cit%3Apg=405&cit%3Adate=Fall+2001&ic=true&cit%3Aprod=ProQuest+Research+Library&_a=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%3D&_s=%2F6E49PHj%2FTDPc%2FE2r43wZF1V9lY%3D

Berman, Morris The Twilight of American Culture, W. W. Norton & Company, 2001, Online

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