“The chief problem of the financial crisis is that it has made inequality systematic and created two political systems, one for Wall Street and one for everybody else, a financially torturable class.” (Taibbi 264).
Essay Requirements
1. Your thesis in this essay should address this question: is Matt Taibbi accurate in making the claim above in Griftopia, or is he a fine example of Hofstadter’s “paranoid spokesman”? Your thesis may express a strict agreement or disagreement, or you may agree with some aspects of his position but not others. These are complex issues.
2. Students must focus on one major scam or event described in Griftopia to support your arguments.
3. Students must cite Hofstadter and at least one of the other theorists from Module One to define
“paranoid” or “hysterical” as it applies (or doesn’t) to Matt Taibbi’s claims, style, and evidence.
4. Students must cite at least three other sources to corroborate, contextualize, or contradict Taibbi’s facts
and credibility as a reporter (one of these may be relevant, informative graphic evidence).
5. The paper must be preceded by an abstract of no more than 350 words. Consult the UNC Writing Center
handout and follow the directions for crafting a “descriptive” abstract (also linked in Canvas Writing and Research links folder).
Writing A Text Analysis
A text analysis essay delves deep into a piece of writing (in this case, Griftopia), dissecting ideas, sources, structure, language and tone to arrive at a full understanding of it. In the essay, there is, necessarily, a great deal of quoting as well as interpretation and critique of the author’s presentation. In the body of your essay, you should quote and paraphrase liberally from Taibbi to illustrate his take on the events and people involved.
Use the questions below to help plan your essay, assess Matt Taibbi’s reliability and intentions, and select pertinent quotes. Do not simply answer these questions in a list as your essay; instead, adapt whichever are useful to your chosen scandal, event, or conspirators from the book.
Taibbi is a journalist by trade; are you persuaded that he grasps the financial concepts firmly enough to make the claims he does?
• Taibbi often uses lay (everyday) terms and scenarios to explain complex business practices and products. Do these interpretations seem reasonably accurate in this case?
• What do his language choices (diction) and his tone reveal about Taibbi’s potential bias?
• What evidence and sources does Taibbi present of conspiracy or collusion in this episode or scam?
• What do his footnotes reveal about Taibbi’s research process and reliability?
• Who were the alleged or proven major perpetrators?
• What has been their punishment?
• What was the cost involved and who paid for it? What, if anything, has been restored to them?
• What was the role of the government in this situation (officials, regulators, agencies, etc.)?
• What do you think these scandals say about corporate culture in the financial sector?

Must make up a creative title