Community in Action SA 1

After reading Terkels piece, Community in Action, I came away with the strong feeling that his intent is to speak positively about the practice of working together within a community. This idea can be further solidified by looking at the context in which the article was written. As he says in the article, Terkel was alive at the time of the Great Depression. He speaks of his memories of his community coming together in order to help their neighbors, and how he believes that it was these acts of kindness which brought the country out of its depression. An example of this is his statement that "it's the community in action that accomplishes more than any individual does".

It is clear that Terkel is a very straight forward speaker who does not try to hind his intentions. He does, however understand the need to appeal to the readers in order to gain their support. In this article, I feel that he is appealing to the logos or logic, of the readers. He states his claim very clearly and gives reasons why it is best for people to work together as opposed to one man working alone. Terkel claims that "the individual discovers his strength as an individual because he has discovered others share his feelings". This also appeals to the values, or pathos, of his readers, because, although he is not writing to those during the Great Depression, the right of individuality is a strong value for those in our country today. It is a right that we take very seriously, and by bringing it up Terkel has incorporated a key American value and shown how this plan of working together can be used to accomplish individuality.

It is interesting to note the fact that his article is published on a radio stations website and was first spoken on the air. It appears to be a very liberal station where everyone is free to speak their beliefs. The title of the show is "This I Believe" which leaves it open to all. When considering this aspect, which Terkel was very aware of while writing, he was most likely writing to liberal people who greatly value individuality and the freedom of fordging ones owe path throughout life.