Composition

The article “Death by Civilization” by Mary Annette Pember is structured in four parts. 

Before the article begins, Pember engages her audience with the headline, which plays an important role in sparking readers’ curiosity from the start. The contrast between the word “death” and the word “civilization” is intriguing and hints that the text is going to deal with some of the negative aspects of civilization. 

In the first part (ll. 1-35), Pember offers a brief history of boarding schools for Native Americans. The opening sentence shows readers the article is going to talk about Native American boarding schools, while also highlighting the author’s personal involvement. The sentence “My mother died while surviving civilization” (l.3) is striking and captures the reader’s attention.

In the second part (ll. 36-76), Pemb...