Chapter 2 Writing and Power: Defining World-Views

We may not think about it as much, but it truly is fascinating how much of an effect literature has had on society - the laws we make, the common language we share, and the history we create. It started out between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern day Iraq when various forms of writing were first put on stone, clay, tablets, and papyrus in the many ancient towns in that area. Even before that, though, cultures in Egypt, North America, Australia, and Nigeria had different forms of "writing" that started the age of written communication. Egyptians told their history by painting pictures on their temple walls to indicate the thoughts and actions of the people in the paintings. This is known as ideographic writing or thought writing. Another form of writing is phonetic writing, the ancestor of writing that we use today. It's mainly signs (letters in our writing) that represent a sound and combines with another sign to make the sound come out of a word. Western Europeans created a new form of phonetic writing, using the Roman alphabet to create new words and give them usage. I had no idea, until I read this chapter, that the Roman alphabet originally had only 21 signs (letters). It eventually expanded to 26 letters, but that section of the chapter didn't explain why. Most likely the need for more letters to create more words came up among the scribes back then. The nice thing about phonetic writing is that it requires memorization for only a few signs, which can be grouped to make new sounds, as well as new words. It made sense to me that historians highly benefited from the earliest forms of writing so they can study and understand more about the people back then, their culture, their way of life, the events that took place, and so on. Ancient writings allowed historians the opportunity to read how people back then interpreted the world, the role of humans, and the universe itself. This eventually led many to believe that there was some kind of creator that build the universe and created humans for a purpose no one can quite uncover. The Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist religions came out from the ancient times when certain people began to think this creator(s) had given them life and for that, they felt the need to pay their respects and thanks for the life they cherish. This has given many religious followers a reason to think about why they're here in this world or so their religion says. Some religions, such as Buddhism, believe that people can live and relive again, depending on the direction they went in life. The belief of reincarnation has been widely adopted by many Buddhist followers since then. Yet, for all the progress and agonizing events that earlier humans went through, literacy has improved people's way of thinking for thousands of years. It has given them the knowledge to interpret and question the laws they abide by, as well as provide new ideas to improve the status quo. Sadly, not every part of the world, is so strong in literacy to understand enough to take a stand against the actions created by their government or society. Even today, we still have quite a ways to understand the relationship literacy has with politics and economics.