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Analysis of Gloria Jimenez's "Against All Odds and Against the Common Good"

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Essay Analysis Gloria Jiménez wrote an essay at Tuffs University in 2003 named, “Against All Odds and Against the Common Good (Jiménez 116). The purpose of this essay is to persuade and support the following thesis: “Still, when all is said and done about lotteries bringing a vast amount of money into the lives of many people into the lives of a few, the states should not be in the business of urging people to gamble (Jiménez 116).” The evidence given in support of toward this argument does not point toward the proper thesis identified in the beginning of the essay. Jiménez begins with little confidence in her ability to persuade the states to get out of the …show more content…

The author than fails to tell the source of this experiment so the reader of her essay is left wondering if it is even valid evidence from a reliable source. These viewpoints are better placed with a thesis that reads, “States should no longer be in the business of the state lottery.” The evidence she brings at that point covers most of her essay and I do not find them addressing the issue of “the states should not be in the business of urging people to gamble” (Jiménez 116-119). The second to last paragraph actually has the most associability with her main thesis. The logical argument she uses here is a very good point, “Everyone knows tobacco is harmful. What if the state enticed people to smoke (Jiménez 118)?” This is a very good point except the author failed to address why the harmfulness of the state lottery should be compared to the health risk of cigarettes. The issue is not directly addressed as to why playing the state lottery is bad. Without that supporting evidence that argument leaves much to be desired. It can also be argued that no one ever wins from smoking tobacco even if they never get sick from it; their family and friends suffer. Someone eventually does win the lottery and it may truly be a ticket out of poverty. The circumstance surrounding her addresses concerning poverty is where the author makes an appeal to pathos. She states,“the poor

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