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Caleb Trantham
Lynn M. Raymond
UWRT-1103-E01
23 September 2015
The Progression of a Common Man

In life we progress in many areas, but one that stands out is our literacy narratives. A
literacy narrative is a personal account of how you learned to read, write and compose. There are
many influences on my literacy narrative, they can be seen in the cultural, technological, and
academic atmospheres of my everyday life.
Cultural influences can change as the culture fluctuates, but typically the impact renders
itself quite immense on literacy narratives. For me, as a white American from Winston-Salem,
culture has impacted my literacy narrative. All my life, I have grown up in a predominantly
Christian atmosphere. This has impacted my worldview shown in my literacy narrative. I have
certain principles and moral absolutes I believe in. I can relate to August, a character in The
Secret Life of the Bees in that sense. She portrays her beliefs and moral absolutes throughout the
novel. For example she said, Someone who thinks death is the scariest thing doesn't know a
thing about life. (Kidd, The secret life of bees, 2002). My family also has affected my literacy
narrative. They have always aided my improvement with critiquing my work and helping me
become a better writer and speaker. My dad always says use more vivid verbs, not just is, are, or
was. He also says speak as though you are speaking to the back of the room. The increased
use of pictures and vivid novels in culture has also influenced my literacy narrative. I love to
read novels with pictures and/or vivid descriptions so I can picture what I read in my head. The

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increase in picture and vivid words has led to technological changes that also impact my literacy
narrative.
Technological influences are often a result of the cultural trends. The creation of
Instagram and Snapchat are great examples of technology created based on the cultural
influences. The increased desire for pictures and vivid descriptions result in an overall trend in
society. I find myself using pictures to communicate more than ever. I also use apps like Yik-Yak
and Tweeter to express myself in vivid language as well. These technological advances reflect
the cultural change in our literacy narrative. Also, the technology of Microsoft Word has
impacted my literacy narrative. This software has given us the ability to write without worrying
about ink and has given us spell and grammar check, which allows us to write more error free
works. This has also helped create laziness within myself. I have trouble spelling and formatting
grammar correctly without the tools. I usually just say Word will catch it. This has effected all
users as seen in the article Has Spell-Check Ruined Us?. The article explains an experiment done
in 1988 and again replicated in 2008. Andrea Lunsford, a professor of writing and rhetoric at
Stanford University, wrote down the most common errors of students writings in 1988. Professor
Lunsford again did the same in 2008 and found that the list had grown tremendously (La Force).
This goes to show how the technology between the times has encouraged the acquiring of bad
habits. We cannot blame the technology though. Technology has given us a better access to
literature and other forms of expression. This influences our literacy narrative because we have a
chance to see others work. I love to read others ideas and develop my own, this in turn grows my
literacy narrative.
Malcom X wrote about the importance of this access to different writing from various
authors. For example he said, Much of the big private collection that Parkhurst1 had willed to
the prison was still in crates and boxes in the back of the library - thousands of old books. He

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would be so jealous of our technological abilities to access so many works online, which brings
me to academic influence. Potentially the most impact on my literacy narrative is my academic
backgrounds. From learning to read and write to speaking to an audience, academics has taught
me the basics and challenged my styles. This influence made my literacy narrative like running a
race. I am always seeking to improve myself to be better and do better in all aspects of my
writing and speech. Thanks to my academic history, I discovered the joy of reading and writing.
It all started with Rickenbacker, my favorite novel. After reading this novel for academic
purposes, I realized how much I enjoyed the novel. The work meshed my love for history into a
great novel. It was so vivid in details, I felt like I was in every situation Rickenbacker faced.
When I began to write the essay on this novel, I actually enjoyed it for the first time. With the
helpful motivation of my writing teacher, I developed a love for writing. This has led to my own
private writing where I often write about various topics. The academic influence on me has not
stopped at UNC Charlotte. I am now learning how to write like an engineer and sharpening my
vocabulary in writing class.
As shown from above, there are many influences on my literacy narrative, they can be
seen in the cultural, technological, and academic atmospheres of my everyday life. Recognizing
these influences is key to changing or improving your literacy narrative.

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Works Cited

Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Viking, 2002. Print.

X, Malcolm, and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Ballantine, 1992.
Print.

La Force, Thessaly. "Has Spell-Check Ruined Us? - The New Yorker." The New Yorker. 4 Sept.
2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.