Readong Response One
Dan Feuerbach
English 354
Reading Response One
1-22-05
The essay Literacy and Individual Consciousness Niyi Akinnaso is a call to arms for an empirical study of the ways in which literate people in non-literate environments use their ability to comprehend and understand language. It is Akinnaso’s personal tale, about how he fell in love with reading and writing and the advantages and disadvantages that came along with it in his hometown of Ajegunle, Nigeria.
The main point of the essay is that his shit from non-literacy to literacy changed his whole perspective and role in life. He started as a worker on one of his father’s plantations and then went to school. While in school he learned to read and write English and a dialect of his native tongue and a little bit of Latin. After he returned from school he gained positions of power in his local community and farmers’ union.
Akinnaso emphasized that his literacy separated him from his community, even though he was a respected member of it. He shows this separation through his relationship with his cousin “F,” who is non-literate, and his friend “B,” who is literate. Although he is close friends with both of these individuals, he can only talk to “B” about books and other advanced ideas because both of them can read. He is only able to talk about local people and events with “F” because she has no concept of life outside the village.
A long-standing notion illustrated in this piece is that the cost of being intelligent is separation from the average person. I find this to be true in my own life. The ideas that I wish to discuss, and have become part of who I am, cannot be discussed with someone of different intelligence, and as a result that person cannot know me. The reverse of this is also true. I may not be able to comprehend ideas that someone of different intelligence may present to me.
Throughout the piece Akinnaso is caught between literacy as a necessity and as a passion. His community members and father tell him throughout the book that literacy for its own sake is a waste of time and energy. When his studies lead him to question the traditions of the community he is confronted and told he will become useless if he continues his pursuits. The humor lies later in the book when the people asking him to stop studying and accept tradition ask Akinnaso for help negotiating business deals.
The weakness of this piece comes at the beginning. He discusses two schools of thought on literacy and I believe this is unnecessary and bland. The language is too scientific and creates confusion about what the piece is about. If I were writing this piece I would leave that out.
In conclusion, this is a strong piece of writing on the effects of literacy on an individual in a non-literate environment. Although he is valued for what he can do for the community, he is also held at arms length for wishing to know more about the world outside the village.
English 354
Reading Response One
1-22-05
The essay Literacy and Individual Consciousness Niyi Akinnaso is a call to arms for an empirical study of the ways in which literate people in non-literate environments use their ability to comprehend and understand language. It is Akinnaso’s personal tale, about how he fell in love with reading and writing and the advantages and disadvantages that came along with it in his hometown of Ajegunle, Nigeria.
The main point of the essay is that his shit from non-literacy to literacy changed his whole perspective and role in life. He started as a worker on one of his father’s plantations and then went to school. While in school he learned to read and write English and a dialect of his native tongue and a little bit of Latin. After he returned from school he gained positions of power in his local community and farmers’ union.
Akinnaso emphasized that his literacy separated him from his community, even though he was a respected member of it. He shows this separation through his relationship with his cousin “F,” who is non-literate, and his friend “B,” who is literate. Although he is close friends with both of these individuals, he can only talk to “B” about books and other advanced ideas because both of them can read. He is only able to talk about local people and events with “F” because she has no concept of life outside the village.
A long-standing notion illustrated in this piece is that the cost of being intelligent is separation from the average person. I find this to be true in my own life. The ideas that I wish to discuss, and have become part of who I am, cannot be discussed with someone of different intelligence, and as a result that person cannot know me. The reverse of this is also true. I may not be able to comprehend ideas that someone of different intelligence may present to me.
Throughout the piece Akinnaso is caught between literacy as a necessity and as a passion. His community members and father tell him throughout the book that literacy for its own sake is a waste of time and energy. When his studies lead him to question the traditions of the community he is confronted and told he will become useless if he continues his pursuits. The humor lies later in the book when the people asking him to stop studying and accept tradition ask Akinnaso for help negotiating business deals.
The weakness of this piece comes at the beginning. He discusses two schools of thought on literacy and I believe this is unnecessary and bland. The language is too scientific and creates confusion about what the piece is about. If I were writing this piece I would leave that out.
In conclusion, this is a strong piece of writing on the effects of literacy on an individual in a non-literate environment. Although he is valued for what he can do for the community, he is also held at arms length for wishing to know more about the world outside the village.
posted by Dan at 12:42 AM
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