Defining Moment: Kissing Hand

In first grade, I hated going to school. My teacher’s name was Mrs. Timm and she had tuna every day for lunch and it made the entire room smell. In addition to the icky tuna smell, first grade was the first year that I had to go to school for the whole day, instead of half-day kindergarten. I have always had a close relationship with my family, and the thought of spending my days in Mrs. Timm’s classroom instead of at home made me miserable. The first month of school, I would leave my house crying every day because I had to say “goodbye” for a few hours.

My mom found a book, “The Kissing Hand,” which is story about a little raccoon that would rather stay at home or play with friends than go to school. Needless to say, I really related to this raccoon. His mom kissed his hand in order to help him feel the warmth and comfort of home while he had to go to school. Whenever he missed his mom, she told him to put his hand on his cheek so that he could feel her love and be reminded of warm thoughts. At the end of the story, the little raccoon kisses his mother’s hand, too, and they are bonded by the love that they share even though they are far away. After reading the story, my mom would kiss my hand before school each day. Like the raccoon, I imagined the kiss radiating into my palm so that I could carry it with me throughout the day.

Ironically, first grade was when we were first taught how to read books in school. By the end of the year, I could read “The Kissing Hand” all by myself, and second grade seemed far less treacherous. This book was one of the first books that I truly connected to and remember to this day. At the end of elementary school, in sixth grade, I listed “children’s author and illustrator” as my future career in our yearbook. I love and remember many books from my childhood, and I recall my parents reading to me every night :), but this story in particular has a special sentimental significance to me. I truly latched on to the storyline and identified with the characters, which helped me transition to accepting that I had to go to school each day.

For me, this example speaks to the importance of connecting with your audience when writing. As we have read in Ong’s book and discussed in class, the author is not present while the reader is reading, and the reader is not present while the writer is writing. As a result, conveying thoughts and feelings through writing has a profound impact on the way the text is interpreted.

Whether the exciting exposition of an action-adventure novel, the dramatic loss of a character in a tragic play, or the heartwarming children’s story about a loving mother raccoon, it is imperative that the author can connect with his or her audience. Reading “The Kissing Hand” was a defining moment for me because it influenced my personal life. And my willingness to go to first grade and to understand the power of language and emotion through text has impacted who I am and how I write today.   

Ong Theorems

We're not in math class, but here are a few theorems... 

Theorem 1: Permanence

In his book, Orality and Literacy, Ong touches on the impermanence of orality. Without access to or knowledge of a written language, individuals in primary orality cultures rely solely on oral communication in all aspects of life. Oral communication, as we have learned, is subject to factual inaccuracies and often different variations of the same story. Primary oral cultures are also characterized by the temporary nature of speech because words disappear as soon as they are spoken. The emergence of writing, and later print, allowed for ideas, stories, and history to be recorded and preserved exactly. These inventions allowed for greater permanence and concreteness of information. As Ong mentions, “Print encourages a sense of closure, a sense that what is found in a text has been finalized, has reached a state of completion” (129). In our age of modern technology, however, we have regressed to a state of temporariness. Even Ong questions the concept of language as permanent and unchanging, “What leads one to believe that language can be so structured as to be perfectly consistent with itself, so as to be a closed system?” (166). With modern technological advancements, language is beginning to shift and change along with our shortening attention spans. The chief example of this technology is Snapchat. Snapchat is perhaps the best example of our growing obsession of impermanence. Snapchat allows users to combine snapshots, emojis, words, and drawing, and send them to their friends. However, each “snap” can only be viewed for up to 10 seconds before it supposedly disappears forever. After it has been viewed, the entire context of the conversation goes away. Before the introduction of technology, the words written or typed out on a page seemed to be concrete and permanent. “Under the author’s eyes the text lays out the beginning, the middle and then end, so that the writer is encouraged to think of his work as a self-contained, discrete unit, defined by closure” (145). New technologies, like Snapchat, redefine the permanence of language and draw attention to the differences and similarities of pre-literary and modern society.

Theorem 2: A tool for isolation and connection

As I mentioned in theorem number one, primary orality cultures are solely reliant on oral communication. As a result, interaction with others is the only way to communicate thoughts and ideas. The introduction of secondary orality in the modern world caused a shift in the way we interact with both ourselves and others. Writing and print made it so that ideas could be communicated without direct verbal expression to another person. As Ong points out, “Writing and reading, as has been seen, are solo activities (though reading at first was often enough done communally). They engage the psyche in strenuous, interiorized, individualized thought of a sort inaccessible to oral folk” (150). Both writing and reading allow for greater self-reflexivity because in order to read and write in a secondary orality culture, one must rely solely on their own mind. However, the paradox of this is that although reading and writing are solitary activities, they also help lead to expanded interaction. Technology, and chiefly, social media, turn the solitary act of reading and writing into a catalyst for conversation. Ong mentions, “Print was also a major factor in the development of the sense of personal privacy that marks modern society” (128). And although our culture does value personal privacy, we can choose to share pieces of our private lives (pictures, captions, posts, etc.) with the world through social media. Ong touches on this point in Orality and Literacy when he says, “Writing introduces division and alienation, but a higher unity as well” (175). Think of how a hashtag can go viral nation wide, how you can send an email across state-boundaries, or a text to someone living in a different country. Although the act of reading and writing are often very personal and private activities, they can be used as a tool for communication and connection with others. Without modern technology, our voices and conversations are limited by sound waves. With modern technology, our ability to share our thoughts and engage in writing and reading can help us be more connected than ever before.

Theorem 3: Creativity

Not only does reading and writing give us the ability to become more interconnected, but it gives us the freedom to be self-expressive and creative. In primary orality cultures, oral performers were subject to flaws in their presentation due to the lack of organization and planning. In epic poems, Ong mentions that Homer “had a huge repertoire of episodes to string together but, without writing, absolutely no way to organize them in strict chronological order” (140). As a result, the end-product lacked creativity simply because the performer was trying to remember a long list of episodes on the spot in order to construct a story. Today, we have the ability to copy and paste words, sentences, and paragraphs and re-order them however we want to. Writing allows us the freedom to construct a story, and change it if we want to. Various forms of modern technology allow us to add visuals, text boxes, different fonts and colors to match our current mood. In primary orality culture, “Oral poets commonly plunged the reader in medias res not because of any grand design, but perforce. They had no choice, no alternative” (140). However, the addition of writing and print to society gives us infinite choices and pathways to create and explore. In reference to manuscript culture, Ong points out that “it deliberately created texts out of other texts, borrowing, adapting, sharing the common, originally oral, formulas and themes, even though it worked them up into fresh literary forms impossible without writing” (131). In manuscript culture, and in secondary orality culture, writing can be combined with other mediums and collaged together to create something unique and original. For example, my “Listen to Molly Listen” blog allows me to post my own work in conjunction with borrowed images, videos, and articles. All of these types of media are combined to create a distinctive form of expression. As I publish each post, I have the freedom and creativity to construct a platform that is unique and individualized to me. Not only is “creative writing” is its own separate discipline, but the structure of writing in the modern age allows us to be creators of our own stories.

Quote-ally awesome

“Writing created history” (168)

“The very reflectiveness of writing – enforced by the slowness of the writing process as compared to oral delivery as well as by the isolation of the writer as compared to the oral performer – encourages growth of consciousness out of the unconscious” (147)

Personal Image.2

This week, writing means recording all of the things I have to do to stay organized. It means structure, planning, and scheduling. I remember in elementary school, I used to dread when my teacher would check to make sure that I had written all of my assignments down in my planner. But now I'm thankful that I have a way to sort through my seemingly endless list of responsibilities :)

Digital Reflection.2

I often hear people saying that kids see the world through a different perspective ("see through a child's eyes"). It is interesting to think that this unique point of view might come from their lack of exposure to reading and writing at such a young age. And perhaps this tells us something about the way that cultures with solely "primary orality" might see the world differently than we do.

Orality: A Thought Experiment

Primary Orality:

Spoken:

“This map for the University of Denver is facing north. It includes a “DU” logo in the bottom left corner. Black lines indicate major streets that cut through and frame campus. Blue squares indicate resident halls on campus. The yellow star indicates where my room is, in Nagel Hall. The blue car indicates where my car is parked in the parking lot in Nelson Hall. Red squares indicate academic buildings, or buildings that I have had classes in. A symbol of a teacher next to a chalk board shows where I have classes or labs this quarter. The library is illustrated with a stack of books. The purple square with yellow caution triangle shows “campus safety.” The red and white flotation devices indicate the Driscoll Center, which has a bridge connecting it on each side of the street. Green ovals denote “greens” or large areas of grass where events take place. A scale is used to signify the College of Law. Athletic fields and arenas are differentiated by sport with symbols for lacrosse, soccer, and hockey. The Ritchie Center's gold-topped Williams Tower is indicated with a gold triangle. In addition, various restaurants, coffee shops, and dining hall options are illustrated with the fork and knife symbol. Don’t worry though, I’ll walk you around campus and point out everything in person so you can find your way around!”

Secondary Orality:

Written as an email message to my dear friend:

Hey! Hope you’re doing well! I wanted to give you a quick overview of the DU campus, so I thought it would be easiest to type it out. Please let me know if you have any questions! To figure out how long it will take to get to campus, use Waze, it’s my favorite traffic app. The main streets running north to south are High Street and University Boulevard. From east to west, the campus is split by Asbury Avenue, Evans Avenue, and Iliff Avenue. Coming off of southbound I-25, you’ll be on University. Turn right on Buchtel Boulevard and then left on High Street. You can park on the street for an hour. Don’t stay too long or you’ll get a ticket! You can also park in temporary parking on Asbury. I don’t remember the name of the parking lot, but it’s on a sign on your right if you’re headed east on Asbury. Starting on Asbury, the lacrosse and soccer fields are to your left. The Ritchie Center and Magness Arena are right next to each other next to the gold steeple! All of the academic buildings that you’ll be looking for are south of Asbury, in between High Street and University. You’ll pass by Sturm Hall, which is where a lot of classes are – I have four in Sturm this quarter! If you keep heading south, the bookstore is in Driscoll, which is sandwiched between Asbury and Evans. There are a ton of flyers in Driscoll – be sure to check them out for ways to get involved on campus! You can use the bridge to get to get to the other side of Evans. The library is huge, also feel free to waste some time there – there are tons of books and magazines to read. If you keep walking straight and then turn right, you’ll find my residence hall, Nagel. Feel free to explore around!

A list of food places on campus:

-Dining Halls in Nelson, Nagel, and Centennial Halls

-Bagel Shop in Daniels College of Business

-Coffee Shop/Subway in Driscoll North

A list of food places nearby:

-Jerusalem (1890 E Evans Ave)

-Starbucks (2000 S University Blvd)

-Illegal Pete’s (1744 E Evans Ave)

-Jelly U (1700 E Evans Ave)

-Noodles (1737 E Evans Ave)

There are also a ton of places on Yelp that you can check out :)

I also sent you a pdf of the campus map where you can find most everything you’ll need. Everything is clearly labeled. There are lots of people on campus that you can ask at the “Information” desk, and please feel free to text me if you have any more questions – you have my number!

Reflection:

As mentioned in the first chapter of Orality and Literacy, Ong defines “primary orality” as “the orality of a culture totally untouched by any knowledge of writing or print” (11). On the contrary, “secondary orality” is a part of “present-day high-technology culture, in which a new orality is sustained by telephone, radio, television, and other electronic devices that depend for their existence and functioning on writing and print” (11). With these definitions in mind, I constructed two separate scenarios for giving directions to a friend touring DU, one for someone part of “primary orality” and the other a member of “secondary orality.”

I found it difficult to try and describe DU to someone who is only versed in “primary orality.” To aid this process, I used visuals, and no text, to provide an overview of DU’s landscape. I utilized colors, images, and scale to differentiate between academic buildings, residence halls, outdoor spaces, entertainment, food locations, resources, and points of reference. Knowing that this theoretical person could not read signs or directions, I thought it would be helpful for them to have a visual aide when exploring campus. I was much more comfortable writing the response directed toward a member of “secondary orality.” I used an email format because if I were getting directions, it would be helpful for me to print it out and read it while I was walking around. Of course, I might not even bother printing it out, I may just read it off my phone… As mentioned in Orality and Literacy, Ong quotes Olson when he says “orality relegates meaning largely to context whereas writing concentrates meaning in language itself” (105). With this idea in mind, I used my constructed visual map as a context platform for the folks versed in “primary orality,” where the text in my email alone did this job for the “secondary orality” audience.

Despite the fact that the “primary orality” audience may be equally or more intelligent than the “secondary orality” audience, I felt the need to make an entirely different map for the “primary orality” audience. Without modern technology (printers, cell phones, applications, internet, or the ability to read a labeled map), I found that communicating directions could only be successfully done with the help of a visual aide. I also figured that it would be imperative for me to be present while giving the tour and pointing things out, because my “primary orality” subject would not have the luxury of simply reading building names, looking on a labeled map, or texting a friend if they had a question. Ironically enough, I used my computer to make the map for the “primary orality” audience. But before we get on the topic of how sad it is that technology is taking over our lives, etc. etc., even Ong reminds us that “essentially the same objections commonly urged today against computers were urged by Plato in the Phaedrus (274-7_ and in the Seventh Letter against writing” (78). Within the context of any time period, I suppose all new technology must face its share of criticism.  

Not only am I thankful for the advances in writing and technology because it makes communicating and giving directions easier, but just a short while back in history, as a female, I would not even have the luxury of writing this paper. “For well over a thousand years, it was sex-linked, a language written and spoken only by males” (111). Of course, the language Ong is referring to is Latin, although I’m pretty sure females weren’t allowed to write down a scathing rant about Ong’s book back in the olden days…