Gerald Graff Disliking Books Summary

Disliking Books by Gerald Graff outlines his growth towards liking books. Graff has received his BA in English from the University of Chicago and his PhD in English and American literature from Stanford University and is currently working as a professor of English and Eduation in the University of Illinois. Graff begins his work with recounting how, as a child, he has an aversion to books regarding history and literature for he cannot find their application to his life. Moreover, students who cultivated these skills are looked down upon and being a Jew, this would put him in danger of being beaten. Observing another side of his argument, he references Lives on the Boundary, in which the author implies that the working class found knowledge as saving grace, however, Graff takes for granted his education as part of the middle class. Frustrated at his avoidance of books, Graff’s father attempts to force him to read many different types of books, though this ended in failure. Once he enters college, where boys of his background are expected to get serious, he knows not of what he is going to do and thus pursued a major in English. At this

He is not interested in the novel until his instructor mentions the critics of the novel and where it should end. Similar to these critics, the class debates whether Twain’s ending draws away from his critique of Racism and Graff found that even famous authors were capable of mistakes that could be found at his level. Now that the author has controversies to watch out for, he is able to draw a personal engagement form the books he reads as the arguments of critics guided his reading. Due to the controversy over Twain’s novel, the author then has a realization that reading and intellectual discussion could have an effect on his life, and he became less embarrassed about doing such