America's Wandering Families

In “America’s Wandering Families,” a chapter in the book Growing Up Empty, Loretta Schwartz-Nobel presents a touching and potentially emotional topic to the reader.  Schwartz-Nobel begins the chapter by stating simple facts and statistics.  These facts help the author develop her voice or ethos.  It is apparent from the beginning that Schwartz-Nobel is very knowledgeable about the topic which she is writing about.  Knowing that the author is well-versed in the topic encourages the reader to believe that what he or she is reading has some level of importance.  Also, this is a great example of logos or support. This informational background is important to setting up the future stories and dialogue. 

In addition to the author developing a strong voice, she also appeals strongly to the author’s emotions.  Nobody (or at least no sane person) would want people to be living out on the streets starving and homeless.  Therefore, the topic which Schwartz-Nobel writes about is able to draw the reader into the story.  While, the topic is certainly appealing, it could also be quite depressing if overused.  Thankfully, the overuse of this possibly depressing topic is avoided by Schwartz-Nobel by incorporating personal stories of homeless people and those helping these unfortunate people.  These stories are effective in making the chapter more approachable and interesting. 

Aside from the more technical aspects of the writing, there are also smaller aspects of the chapter which help to make it very effective.  First of all, Schwartz-Nobel uses a great amount of dialogue, including some extended quotes.  These quotes add a more human and welcoming aspect to the chapter.  This makes the piece much easier to read, therefore creating an overall effective piece of writing.  In addition to dialogue, the author also writes in an orderly manner which allows the writing to flow very nicely.  From the statistics to the stories about homeless shelters and homeless people, there are always smooth transitions will help to make the piece seem completely cohesive.  Any lack in cohesion could distract the reader and create an ineffective piece.  Overall, these minor features combined with the more technical feature lead to a very effective and influential chapter.