White Lies Essay Summary

White Lies

        I believe that Blakely succeeded in executing his plans that he stated in his overview. Blakely began his essay with plans to “analyze the state of white collar crime and how it is perceived by the general public and the justice system.” (Blakely) His plan is incorporated in his essay though information of various sources. Blakely talks about how the white collar crimes are often taken less seriously than those of street criminals and that the sentencing can be much different as well. “Researchers used data from a national phone poll of 1,106 participants and found that three-quarters of the sample believed that street criminals were more likely to be caught and more likely to receive a harsher punishment.” (Blakely). Blakely also give many examples of high stakes white-collar crimes that have caused the downfall of a few companies.

        Blakely’s major target audience is business students, but the audience can be anyone. He talks about wanting to inform the public along with the justice system. Blakely wants to hit hard with the business people because they shape the business world around us and the choices they make could lessen white-collar crime. He believes that “If they have a better understanding of the term, as well as a sense of how damaging it can be, businesses may act more ethically” (Blakely)

        Blakely creates a graphic novel at the beginning of his essay to give a better visual example to students reading his essay. The visuals are a great addition because the audience can perceive a concept much faster in a visual like a cartoon than an informational essay. The use of visuals as a basis makes the essay very effective for those with little knowledge of white-collar crime and could possibly make them more curious and more libel to read the essay to find out.  

Works Cited

Blakely, Chris. “White Lies: White-Collar Crime in America.” The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2014. Print.