TOW #17 - Summer Bummer

In Summer Bummer, an essay that appeared in the New York times, Joe Queenan discusses the treacherous obligation that almost every high schooler faces: summer reading. This piece was similar to the piece, I Know Why the Caged Bird Can’t Read by Francine Prose, due to the fact that they both discuss the pitfalls of what schools are requiring their students to read and how certain students react to such requirements. However, their purposes have slight variations. To both parents and students alike, Joe Queenan emphasizes the importance of summer reading by using personal anecdotes and extremely eloquent diction. He talks much of his son and his experiences with books he was required to read. He says, “Even my son, now a classics major in college, seemed to realize that summer reading was, on balance, a valuable experience. “I hated ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ until I got to the end,” he told me recently. “I wasn’t interested in the characters, and I didn’t believe the history. But then when I got to Sydney Carton up there on the scaffold, I thought, ‘Wow, what a great ending.’ I really liked it the second time I read it.” “You reread ‘A Tale of Two Cities’?” I gasped in disbelief. “Yes,” he replied. “It wasn’t as good as ‘Great Expectations,’ but those last 25 pages were amazing.” This admission impelled me to re-evaluate everything I’d ever believed about summer reading.” Queenan’s experience with his son helped him change his perspective about the overall benefits of summer reading. This use of a personal anecdote emphasizes its importance and how it can really help students. His use of eloquent diction also helps Queenan to achieve his purpose. For as long as anyone can remember, well-meaning pedagogues have been sabotaging summer vacations by forcing high schoolers to read “Lord of the Flies,” “All the King’s Men” and “A Separate Peace.” By using big, complex words like pedagogues, Queenan establishes credibility as an author in order to emphasize the importance of summer reading. I believe that Joe Queenan did an excellent job of achieving his purpose. Through his use of anecdotes and complex diction, I felt much more convinced of summer readings importance. In Summer Bummer, Joe Queenan proves that summer reading is not a bummer and is very beneficial for all students.