The writing that I chose for this blog was Orality and Literacy by Walter Ong. In his writing, Ong talks about life in a primary oral culture meaning a culture that only relies on speaking for communication. This means that things such as texting, email, or event writing letters do not exist. There is no knowledge of writing (Ong, 64). One part of Ong’s writing that really stood out to me was in the beginning where he says “a culture where no one has even “looked up” anything” (Ong, 64). For me this crazy to think about because when I need to learn something, the easiest way is to look it up on the Internet or in a textbook or through notes that I wrote down. This leads to second thing that stood out to me on page 66. Ong talks about being able to produce the same thoughts without being able to write them down. In an oral society, it is all based on memory and nothing more. He says that it is nearly impossible to have exactly the same thoughts without writing (Ong, 66). If someone were trying to solve a complicated math problem it would be impossible because you can’t write anything down. Also you wouldn’t even be able to see the problem because that would require writing. Overall I don’t think I would like to live in an oral culture. I definitely need to be able to write.
Blog Report Week 1
The article with which I decided to write my blog report on is “The Almanac of the Dead” by Leslie Marmon Silko. This excerpt resonated with me a definite substantial amount more than the other assigned readings because it seems more relatable in a way. To be honest, Book one of the novel already shows the darkness of a different world then we are accustomed to; almost creepy I can say. But it’s relatable because life isn’t all roses and daisies. Life is made up of ups and downs, lefts and rights, making it into a complete and utter roller coaster of experiences, with some definitely not being positive, upbeat experiences. In fact, they can be quite the opposite, such as sad, or fearful, or disturbing or whatever else. Silko herself sort of hints how the concepts in her book are so layered because their isn’t one story or one angle to tell. When she writes about the various different concepts and theories, stories, and dreams, and ideas, there is so much to unload. This excerpt resonated with me because life has plenty for us as humans to load and unload, the way we handle and communicate it all is the key.
