Literacy: Then and Now

Literacy in its formal form has been described as the ability to read for knowledge and write coherently and think critically about the written word. In “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass, literacy became his salvation. His literacy became his reason to learn more, to learn how to write, etc. and the reason for his quest for knowledge. However as time has gone on literacy has changed and evolved with the introduction of technology as Lee Siegel stated in his essay “The World is All That Is the Case”. Like Siegel said:

“I go to starbucks, sit down, open my laptop, and turn it on. In the old days-ten years ago-I would be sitting with a pen and notebook, partly concentrating on my writing and partly aware of the people in the room around me. Back in that prehistoric time my attention faced outward.” (Siegel 274)

 
Unlike Douglass who wanted to become literate in an attempt to become a man in the prejudiced, social caste society that he was in, nowadays we all take being literate for granted due to the fact in America we have all forms of learning about literacy at our fingertips (even homeless people can go into a library and use a computer there to practice for the short amount of time that the librarians allow) and now literacy isn’t paper and pen, it is now can be considered digital literacy and we learn how to read and write through the internet. We forget that years ago being literate was not privy to everyone and for many people the materials needed for learning to be literate was also not privy to everyone.

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I can't smell...deal with it.

You know that feeling when you have a cold and your nose is so stuffed up that you can’t smell? Annoying isn’t it? Well get rid of the stuffiness but keep the inability to smell. And you have what I live with every day. The story of how my family found out was more of a chance happening. We were driving down the highway and I was sitting in my usual spot in the car; right behind the driver and was staring out my window. On the other side where I didn’t see a hog truck that apparently passed by and stunk to high heaven. Long story short we figured out I have NO sense of smell. Now don’t get me wrong, my inability to smell doesn’t bother me, in fact sometimes it’s helpful for me to get stuff done if the environment (of course the environment has to be safe) smells to high heaven. However there are several pet peeves I have with the general population and them trying to understand my inability to smell. My first one is them asking WHY I can’t smell. I really don’t have a clue. It’s not believed to be genetic, the only two people who couldn’t smell in my family is my grandfather and my great grandmother. My grandfather lost his sense of smell after falling off a sky-scraper, landing face first on the concrete, breaking all the bones in his face and surviving. My great grandmother lost her sense of smell due to what we believe is to be diabetes-which I do not have. I didn’t have a severe ear infection when I was little which can be attributed for the loss of smell. My father asked a doctor to which his medical reply was:

“Some people have a sense of smell, some people don’t.”

Another pet peeve I have is once I tell people I can’t smell they never stop asking me if I can smell this or that. I understand and tolerate the first few times, but once it becomes repetitive and for a long period of time in one day, I get annoyed. People when I say I can’t smell…it means I CAN’T SMELL. Not “I can smell this” or “I can smell that”. The only thing I can “smell” which is really just a tingling in my nose is gas from a gas station, which I guess will be helpful for me in the long run and when I have to live by myself.

I understand that it’s an odd occurrence and there are very few people that are like me who can’t smell. I don’t think I’ll ever know why I can’t smell and I don’t really care anymore that I can’t smell. Sure I miss the fact that I can’t smell any good food, or the fact that my sense of taste is essentially gone. But I think of it this way; when something putrid fills a room I won’t be wishing I can’t smell.

The Girl who silenced the World for Five Minutes

An example of oral text, impacting the audience

Text....

Throughout or childhood and our lives, we are always taught about writing, speeches, how we speak to others and other ways that text is involved with us. However we never really discuss certain questions. What is a text? How is writing a technology? How do we experience oral versus written texts differently? Text for one is a representation of writing whether it is an oral or written document. Writing as stated in Walter Ong’s Orality and Literacy chapter 4 “Writing Restructures Consciousness” is in a strict sense of the word, the technology has shaped and powered the intellectual activity of modern man, was a very late development in human history (pg 82) and is utterly invaluable and indeed essential for the realization of fuller, interior, human potentials (pg 81). But Ong also calls writing as artificial. Technology for the most is considered an artificial means for interior, and or exterior aids of the consciousness. Ong also stated that just because writing is artificial doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing but actually praises it because it becomes invaluable and essential for the realization of fuller, interior, human potentials. But text is not just about writing. Texts can also be pictures which can be aides to the memory or to the point (a pathos point to an argument) and also helps identify specific words with grammar relations to each other. But also oral talking is a text. While you aren’t reading the words, you become involved with the words. For example in MLK’s speech ‘I have a dream’ the way he speaks to the crowd gains their attention and the attention to the issue at hand. A speaker must be able to seem relatable and their words have to strike cord with the listeners. We have to hear their sincerity about the issue in their voice. With written texts we have to make that judgment for ourselves and try to imagine their voices involving with the issue. With oral speeches and texts, the voice is there and we can hear their emotion in it.

Horror movies and why they're so popular

In Stephen King’s essay “Why We Crave Horror Movies”, he uses a mixture of pathos and logos to talk about his opinion on why horror movies are so popular to a general audience, most likely adults or kids who enjoy watching horror movies.

Stephen King is by far one of the best horror novel writers and movie directors, giving himself credibility as to what he is talking about and probably understanding as to why the human race is so drawn to the sights of blood, gore, the occult, etc. (he is probably one of the people who crave horror movies too…how many people do you know would willingly make horror movie after horror movie and didn’t enjoy making them).

“We also go to re-establish our feelings of essential normality; the horror movie is innately conservative, even reactionary” (King, 210). This makes sense in the long run. While most people (I have a fear of horror movies…only saw two and I hated both of them) go to horror movies, most likely for the adrenaline rush, it also puts us at ease. They constantly remind themselves that this should never happen in the real world and therefore are safe. It makes the watcher feel normal, no matter how abnormal they may be to the public, going to a movie where things are flying all over the place, monsters are around every corner, deranged men wearing hockey masks wielding chainsaws, makes one realize that they are just human beings and hopefully realize that most of the time this never happens.

Virginia is for lovers=BIG road rage!

In “Road Warrior” by Dave Barry he using pathos to describe and relate to any audience member who can drive and their frustrations that are on the road due to other slow drivers either in the car, in the store, or anywhere.

Now I actually agree with Barry. Living in Virginia and driving in Virginia…is hell. People drive all over place, and have the worst road rage. I know quite a few people who yell at other drivers, calling them moron, idiots, etc. The same goes in stores when people are going down an aisle slowly. Others become haughty and belligerent before trying to weave around the offending person and their cart, sometimes nearly taking out a child or an unsuspecting shopper. Barry uses humor to convey his message which is ironically is true.

Nowadays everyone has to have to be somewhere and quickly and they don’t want to be stuck behind anyone who is going too slow for them in their opinion. I ironically am one of those slower people (I’m in the right hand lane and I still get angry glares…got to love Virginia drivers) that everyone passes by.

“My point is that there are many causes for rage in our modern world, and if we’re going to avoid unnecessary violence, we all need to ‘keep our cool’.”(Barry, 57). While I agree with this statement, the way the world is now, it is incredibly unlikely and rare.