Analysis of Gloria Jimenezs Against All Odds and Against...

Essay Analysis Gloria Jimà ©nez wrote an essay at Tuffs University in 2003 named, â€Å"Against All Odds and Against the Common Good (Jimà ©nez 116). The purpose of this essay is to persuade and support the following thesis: â€Å"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 (Jimà ©nez 116).† The evidence given in support of toward this argument does not point toward the proper thesis identified in the beginning of the essay. Jimà ©nez 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, â€Å"States should no longer be in the business of the state lo ttery.† The evidence she brings at that point covers most of her essay and I do not find them addressing the issue of â€Å"the states should not be in the business of urging people to gamble† (Jimà ©nez 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, â€Å"Everyone knows tobacco is harmful. What if the state enticed people to smoke (Jimà ©nez 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,â€Å"the poorShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Odds And Against The Common Good990 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of the odds The lottery in this country is a big past time for Americans. It gives hope to the hopeless and disappointment to a multitude of participants. A quick view of statistical information regarding the lottery shows that out of all people who take part in this country wide phenomenon, each individual person has a 1 in 175,223,510 chance of hitting the jackpot (AmericanStatisticalAssociation.org). The author of â€Å"Against The Odds and Against the Common Good†, argues that theRead MoreAnalysis of Against the Odds and Against the Common Good1735 Words   |  7 PagesThe following two paragraphs are a summary of Gloria Jimenezs essay Against the Odds and Against the Common Good. States should neither allow nor encourage state-run lotteries. There are five major arguments that people use to defend lotteries. One is that most lotteries are run honestly, but if gambling is harmful to society it is irrelevant to argue if they are honest or not. The second is that lotteries cre ate jobs, but there are only a small handful of jobs that would be eliminated if lotteries