Writing and Technology
"The fact that we do not commonly feel the influence of writing on our thoughts shows that we have interiorized the technology of writing so deeply that without tremendous effort we cannot separate it from ourselves or even recognize its presence and influence (Ong, 317)."
In this modern age of computers, disposable pens, and mechanical pencils, it is easy to forget that at one time writing was not so simple or convenient. Most of us have ". . . become so used to composing virtual prose at a keyboard . . . (Baron 36)," that the thought of writing anything out by hand with a pencil, or any other implement, would not even cross our minds. The experience of trying to invent my own writing implements has given me a better appreciation for those who came before and the steps that brought us from hammer and chisel to keyboard and monitor.
I began my search for writing implements by heading to my apartment complex's "wilderness area," also known as the dog-walk. My first idea was to find some flowers. I figured I could smear them onto a rock or piece of wood like a kind of paint. Flowers being in short supply around my complex however, forced me to look elsewhere. I did find a shrub with some berries so I tried to use those instead. I got a handful of berries, found a rock and got to work. The berry idea proved to be very impractical. It was extremely messy. My hands became gross and sticky and the words I wrote looked like nothing more than a bunch of unintelligible smudges. Another problem with this idea was that any rock with a surface big enough to write on was too heavy to move anywhere. It is not an impossibility that some of the first writing was recorded on large rocks or cave walls in this wa...
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...rmation for posterity. Why spend many painful hours carving away when you can just have an oral tradition? It is the business world and man's desire for monetary gain that has been the driving force behind the development of writing technology. Thank you business world! It has been great typing this paper on the computer. I don't want to think about how long it would have taken me to etch this entire thing onto my branch.
Works Cited
Baron, Denis. "From Pencils to Pixels." Writing Materials. Eds. Evelyn Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 35-53.
Baron, Naomi. "The Art and Science of Handwriting." Writing Material. Eds. Evelyn Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 54-61.
Ong, Walter. "Writing Is a Technology that Restructures Thought." Writing Material. Eds. Evelyn Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 315-337.
De la Cruz, Sor Juana Ines. “In a Lighter Vein.” A Sor Juana Anthology. Ed. Alan S. Trueblood. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1988. 111-113.
Skinner, Curtis. “Eugenio Maria de Hostos (y Bonilla).” Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 10 May 2014.
The phenomenon of the American Dream has been engraved into the American culture since perhaps the beginning of post-revolutionary America itself. The classic belief that if you work hard, you would be able to reap the material benefits of what you sowed, at least enough to live comfortably is a myth that has been propagated in many literary works, deconstructed in many American literary works as a mere myth. And in Arthur Miller’s The Death of a Salesman and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, we see such deconstruction of the American Dream take place through both plays’ showcasing of the many complexities of the American life, complexities that are not taken into consideration with the black-and-white narrowing of the American Dream. While hard work does make up a part of the equation, it does not make up the entire equation of a comfortable lifestyle. That manifestation of the many facets of the American Dream is shown in both Miller’s The Death of a Salesman and Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.
Barack Obama made history by being elected President of the United States, twice. This is just one more example that the American Dream is without a doubt achievable. Its pursuit is not easy; it requires undeniable hard work, modesty and optimism. Armed with these characteristics, seekers of this lifestyle will undeniably succeed. Success, though, is an interesting concept, for it can entail many superficial qualities. Willy Loman, the tragic hero of the play Death of a Salesman, sees only the superficial qualities of this dream. He views success solely as likeability (linked with attractiveness), and wealth. Ignoring all methods to honorably achieve these, Arthur Miller demonstrates how Willy’s search for the superficial qualities of the American Dream lead him to his own despair.
“The American dream is, in part, responsible for a great deal of crime and violence because people feel that the country owes them not only a living but a good living.” Said David Abrahansen. This is true and appropriate in the case of Willy Loman, and his son Biff Loman. Both are eager to obtain their American dream, even though both have completely different views of what that dream should be. The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller shows the typical lives of typical Americans in the 1940’s. Miller’s choice of a salesman to be the main character in this play was not a coincidence, since it represents the typical middle-class working American, some of which have no technical skills what so ever. Miller’s play gives us insides on the daily lives of many Americans, this through the eyes of Willy and Biff Loman, he also shows what kind of personalities, what dreams they have, and their different points of view of what the American dream means.
In 1943, Leo Kanner observed eleven children, each with similar behavioral patterns, and published a paper in which he stared,” The condition differs markedly and uniquely from any reported so far” (Miller). Although many cases of autism, and autism-like disorders appeared before throughout history, no one ever properly defined this disorder until Kanner’s paper. The first said to mention the word autism was Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation, while describing a severally autistic boy, but this is a doubted speculation. The first to medically coin the term autism was Hans Asperger. Even though, he thought he was observing autism, he was actually observing and describing Asperger Syndrome, which doctors realized was a different disorder in 1981 (“Who discovered Autism?”).
In The Power of Writing by Joel Swerdlow, we are introduced to the definition of the word “writing”, its history, context and evolution over time. Writing is considered to be one of the most important forms of communication we possess. From books, to newspapers, birth certificates, to healthcare records, writing provides us with vital information that can be used endlessly. Swerdlow makes a flawless connection between writing, to one’s personal identity. To his understanding what we express in a piece of paper, is part of our individuality, creativity and part of our imagination. Personally I consider myself an enthusiastic writer, who enjoys writing about my family genealogy, living experiences, plans for the future, poems and religious beliefs. Writing is one of the most important skills I possess, because it lets people understand important aspects of my persona.
Throughout history, writing has had many various uses that have helped record information from history to the present day. Writing has obtained many different uses as to how and what we use writing today. When writing was formed in 3200 B.C. it was used to record and communicate. We have since then used writing for numerous issues such as recording information in which we may learn about the past, and for poetry or literature for people, both children and adults, to read and learn from. People throughout history and today even use writing for religious reasons such as writing out a prayer to God or even taking note on what has happened or talked of in the sermon.
Many reviews have been written on Julia Alvarez since she is a Dominican Diaspora, a Jew who lived outside of Israel, who wrote in a Latina perspective in the country of Uni...
Robert Frost is known for his poems about nature, he writes about trees, flowers, and animals. This is a common misconception, Robert Frost is more than someone who writes a happy poem about nature. The elements of nature he uses are symbolic of something more, something darker, and something that needs close attention to be discovered. Flowers might not always represent beauty in Robert Frost’s poetry. Symbolism is present in every line of the nature’s poet’s poems. The everyday objects present in his poems provide the reader an alternative perspective of the world. Robert Frost uses all the elements of poetry to describe the darker side of nature. After analyzing the Poem Mending Wall and After Apple Picking it is clear that nature plays a dark and destructive role for Robert Frost. This dark side of Frost’s poetry could have been inspired from the hard life he lived.
Ong, Walter. “Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought.” Writing Material. Ed. Evelyn Tribble. New York. 2003. 315-335.
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” show the readers similar struggles of life. “The Road Not Taken” is about taking control of one’s life and living it aside from how others live theirs. While “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening” shows the desire for rest. Sometimes people regret the possibilities of the road not chosen, sometimes people feel proud about the road that they
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” provide us contrasting and sometimes similar glimpses of life. “The Road Not Taken” is about taking control and living life. “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening” entails the desire for rest, perhaps due to the speaker’s feelings of weariness from facing life’s struggles. The poet also explains the tough choices people stand before when traveling the road of life. Sometimes people regret the possibilities of the road not chosen, sometimes people feel proud about the road they have chosen.
The ability to write well is not a naturally acquired skill; it is usually learned or culturally transmitted as a set of practices in formal instructional settings or other environments. Writing skills must be practiced and learned through experience. Writing also involves composing, which implies the ability either to tell or retell pieces of information in the form of narratives or description, or to transform information into new texts, as in expository or argumentative writing. Perhaps it is best viewed as a continuum of activities that range from the more mechanical or formal aspects of “writing down” on the one end, to the more complex act of composing on the other end (Omaggio Hadley, 1993). It is undoubtedly the act of
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