A Better Pencil Part I

Personally, I find the lack of art in our penmanship extremely interesting considering how recently we have lost a desire to focus on the artistic elements of our writing as a result of computers. It seems this change has occurred most significantly during the transitioning stages of my parent's generation to my own. When I often compare my mother's handwriting with mine and notice her elegant cursive, I reflect on how my schooling taught me to type in year long classes while cursive was covered in a mere week.

However, it makes sense that an appreciation for beautiful handwriting has withered away. Clearly we write less than we type considering how much longer it takes to physically write something down. And by observing the historical progression of writing tools, from stone to clay to pencils to typewriters to computers, each invention boosts our writing efficiency. We therefore transition to that new technology because it makes communicating easier and we leave the dated method behind with other old inventions.

"Nonetheless, we still fear that the new communication technologies will sap our intellectual strength." While each new technology increases efficiency, it also increases our dependency on complimentary tools and we frequently resort to technological help. Although I no longer have the desire to memorize how to spell words or to know simple multiplication, it causes me to heavily agree with Plato on his point of our memories weakening. Yet my heavy editing and frequent errors will never be uncovered once I submit a typed assignment. The basic teaching of spelling, grammar and calculations seem no longer relevant, and while I have an appreciation for learning this in school, I doubt I will need to hold onto this knowledge. It makes me wonder if schools will stop teaching this material and resort to technological subjects, such as how to build iPhone applications, how to reach a potential customer base online or even how fonts effect content and are perceived by viewers.

Another point to mention is how significant fonts have become. Even as I enter the words, "good handwriting," Google suggests adding "fonts" to the end of my search for better results. "Typography has become a cultural phenomenon, and computer fonts are the new wine." While fonts automatically provide an artistic element to our writing and an aesthetic consistency, I find we still lack creativity unless design is the prompt. For example, teachers request Times New Roman for assignments, which perhaps ties to the past request for cursive handwriting to create a formal appearance. Based on these common requirements, I would hardly consider experimenting with other fonts unless the assignment was actually graded on design. 

While it may seem writing is dying, I believe it will continue to be used. Personally, I prefer writing notes in class because it helps me remember the content better and I don't get distracted by social media, online shopping or interactive games. While I appreciate the latest technology and have noticed schools, jobs and daily activities revolve around computers, I will continue to value writing regardless of my poor penmanship. It shows my individual personality better than any font will ever manage.

Things Fall Apart, Part II

I have to admit, it surprises me that Okonkwo committed suicide. He strived to be an honorable and respectable man and considering "it is an abomination for a man to take his own life," it almost seems unfitting that the book, and his life, should end this way. Nevertheless I enjoyed this novel and noticed a couple key points in the second half concerning the differences, and even disadvantages, between oral and literate cultures.


Firstly, the act  and ease of trusting another fluctuates based on individual experiences. Since the book makes no mention of trust issues within a tribe because everyone speaks honestly, I had not even considered a potential need for contracts or proof when a deal, proposition or trade takes place. Yet this idea was sparked toward the end of the book when there was a price of two hundred cowries for the release of the six men in captivity. "On the morning after the village crier's appeal the men of Umuofia met in the marketplace and decided to collect without delay two hundred and fifty bags of cowries to appease the white man. They did not know that fifty bags would go to the court messengers, who had increased the fine for that purpose." After reading this segment, I immediately refer to the trust I have among my neighbors. I have known them for a long time, we have many similar values and we maintain this trust in order to preserve a healthy relationship. However, when I go to the store and interact with the cashier, I would trust a price tag more than his or her word. Perhaps that is why we must have everything labeled or use some kind of a contract for an agreement. We have printed text to prove a fair price for everyone and contracts to ensure guidelines and rules. As a secluded, oral village, Umuofia has likely never encountered distrust and therefore has no need for this prior to the white settlers. It makes me wonder if an oral society could use currency to do business without trust. 


Another observation was the frequent use of stories to teach children morals and values. It seems every teaching came from a story in order to prove a point. While I personally love stories, I doubt I could spontaneously create one and have it convey a deeper meaning. I would imagine this is due to my lack of creativity as a college student. Classes require the evaluation of stories rather than telling them and straight forward rules are provided in a document at the beginning of each semester. Since the fictional stories told in Umuofia have been replaced in our society by clear rules, it makes sense why these types of stories seldom impact our daily lives and we refer to relevant books instead.


"The Commissioner did not understand what Obierika meant when he said, 'Perhaps your men will help us.' One of the most infuriating habits of these people was their love of superfluous words, he thought." Overall, the cultural differences are vast but I believe both literate and oral societies can live collectively by implementing respect and keeping an open mind. Obviously Okonkwo's stubborn attitude led to his death and the white settlers' unwavering beliefs caused constant conflict, but had everyone considered themselves equal, peace and appreciation may have occurred. Personally, although I am literate I do not consider myself more knowledgeable than someone who cannot read. We both would have a lot to learn from one another and I appreciate that this book gave me a deeper understanding of life in a primarily oral society.

Things Fall Apart, Part I

Before reading this book I felt nervous it would be similar to the last. Don't get me wrong, the last book was interesting and forced me to consider new perspectives, but I really wasn't in the mood for concepts quite as challenging or difficult to grasp. Luckily, I learned it was the story of a man in a village and found myself whipping through pages in no time. Although I found myself intrigued with the plot, I noticed fairly often how it tied to Orality and Literacy, the very concepts I initially wanted to avoid. Yet this book clicked with everything I learned last week about oral societies and it was nice to tie that newly acquired knowledge to a realistic story. 


For me, the first indicator that his village was an oral society was due to the daily ceremonies and traditions. "As he broke the kola, Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health, and for protection against their enemies." This instance frequently repeats throughout the book, along with many other formal customs and religious rituals. Additionally, the process of asking for a woman's hand in marriage tends to follow the same pattern as asking for a favor or making a request. When there is a particular topic one intends to discuss, he waits until drinking and casual conversation have occurred. Clearly, this is a huge difference between oral and literate societies considering we value immediacy more than tedious formality.

Also, I observed that how one speaks demonstrates his or her role in the village, which then reflects what that society values. In particular, supplying for your family, which primarily consists of hard labor, shows that strength is worthy of respect. "Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success. And so he did now. His mind went to his latest show of manliness." Additionally, considering this is a society of tradition, respect is also given to the wise, such as the Oracle or the elderly. Yet, of course, this makes women and children insignificant and weak. 

While I have no disagreement that in Okonkwo's society, judging a man by the work of his hands is credible, I can't say it surprises me that the result of this ideology leads to a masculine culture. It makes me wonder if all oral societies are primarily masculine since strength and survival tends to be valued most. Regardless, I feel fortunate to live in a society where we can afford to appreciate thought more than physical strength.

Orality and Literacy, Part II

After reading Orality and Literacy, I must admit to experiencing an overwhelming number of thoughts running through my head. In very few pages, Ong covers a vast number of topics and explanations that I may never have come to realize or consider had I not read this novel. But perhaps the most intriguing idea brought up for me is how we express our written thoughts in a form that attempts to represent the emotion and gestures that naturally come with oral conversation.

This concept portrays a glaring disadvantage of writing. As Ong shares, "To make yourself clear without gesture, without facial expression, without intonation, without a real hearer, you have to foresee circumspectly all possible situation, and you have to make your language work so as to come clear all by itself, with no existential context. The need for this exquisite circumspection makes writing the agonizing work it commonly is." Obviously our attempts to achieve clarity consist of effective punctuation, placing content in an orderly format and matching our writing style to the character of our intended audience. Yet I have found that a conversation through text is far less effective than speaking regardless. Usually I become frustrated and resort to a phone call, or better yet, schedule a time to meet  in person.

There is a reason why we use all of our senses in oral conversation and why words in a space will never meet that standard. Most of communication comes from subconscious bodily gestures and while writing tends to be a pain more often than not, thanks to work related or school assignments, I find it to be remarkably helpful when I am in the process of organizing my thoughts and usually prefer it to giving speeches.

"With writing, words once "uttered", outered, put down on the surface, can be eliminated, erased, changed. There is no equivalent for this in an oral performance. Corrections in oral performance tend to be counterproductive, to render the speaker unconvincing." Through writing, I find further confidence in my opinion due to the structure text brings and my ability to constantly move information in order to strengthen an argument. Although the full potential of personal meaning is only met in oral conversation, I believe this opportunity cost is low enough to remain fully appreciative of writing and the benefits it brings.

If I learned anything from Ong, it would be encapsulated in this quote, "What functionally literate human beings really are: beings whose thought processes do not grow out of simply natural powers but out of these powers as structured, directly or indirectly, by the technology of writing. Without writing, the literate mind would not and could not think as it does, not only when engaged in writing but normally even when it is composing its thoughts in oral form. More than any other single invention, writing has transformed human consciousness." Without writing, we would never reach the full potential of language and overall, I believe writing is a key reason for our remarkable progression in society today.

Orality and Literacy, Pt. I

The first half of Orality and Literacy, while daunting, provided me with a plethora of new insight. Although it's a bit slow for my taste, I was extremely impressed with how Ong managed to successfully integrate an immense amount of complex information into the first three chapters. While I frequently struggled to grasp concepts Ong mentioned, I found immediate interest with a few points.

The idea that because we are not part of a primary oral society, we can never fully understand or would never be able to live life without literacy is a concept that makes perfect sense but is an idea I've never even considered. While I believe I hold a partial mindset of primary orality, particularly due to the sounds in my head spilling out as I type this, my daily habits and actions constantly intertwine with literature. And as a student, this literary dependance impacts how I learn, interact with others and overall, my progression through life.

I also found it interesting that there is an overwhelming amount of languages spoken but only a small handful that have literature. Luckily Ong covered characteristics of orally based thought and expression and my understanding significantly increased. This portion of the book is where I learned that aural language in itself is a phenomenon we must naturally pick up through experience. Once we have accumulated enough knowledge of this basic form of language, we are then are we able to "study" literature.

Although I believe that writing has enhanced orality in many ways, like by giving it structure and freedom from a constant dependance on patterns, my original ignorance of primary oral cultures will no longer go unnoticed. As a result, I look forward to increasing my knowledge and awareness of this topic as I continue to venture into the second half of this book.