Harvey 1

Tristian Harvey

Prof. Stack

ENC1101

Major Project 1

15 September 2019

Word Count: 1274

Major Project 1: Literacy Narrative

The contexts in which we write and read are everchanging. A college student has had

varying experiences with being a writer and reader throughout their childhood and academic

careers. These experiences began with having a book read to you by a parent and extend to

possibly submitting a paper or work for publication. These experiences have established our

places within rhetorical ecologies using literacy artifacts. My experiences as a literate individual

has been aided by the introduction of artifacts, or agents that significantly encourages your

relationship with literacy in any capacity. These literacy artifacts have encouraged and guided

my path to literacy, provided me with the tools necessary to excel in varying discourse

communities, and broadened my world view. All of these things assist in making me a better and

more well-rounded writer and reader.

My earliest memories of literature involve a book from the Winnie the Pooh series. I am

unsure of the particular book, but vividly remember the cover. My mother read to me often as a

child before bed and I frequently requested this book. This was the beginning of my obsession

with reading. This book was not just a comforting story for me, it became what I would consider

to be my first notable experience as a literate individual. This artifact will help later in life with

any reflective works or work that requires me to consider past experiences or events. In All
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Writing is Autobiography, Murray supports this idea by saying “In writing this paper I have

begun to understand, better than I ever have before, that all writing, in many different ways, is

autobiographical, and that our autobiography grows from a few deep taproots that are set down

into our past in childhood (Murray 3). Recalling on past life experience is often present in

reading and writing processes. This can occur in events like writing this paper or just simply

reading something.

Reading is an experience that is heightened with the inclusion of our own ideas, which

come from our past experiences and knowledge. The first series of books I remember reading is

the Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. I rented the first two books from

the library and then bought the remaining books as they were released. I feel as though reading

book series are important because they teach an important tool necessary for reading; the ability

to recall and consider information that is not directly presented to you. This tool also helps us to

utilize literacy sponsors. In The Sponsors of Literacy, Brandt tells the reader a story of a son

retaining the information his father spoke of referencing unions and later used it for advancement

within his professional life (Brandt 10). The son used his father’s rants to formulate opinions on

the necessity of unions and how to successfully run them. This was not a completely deliberate

occurrence but was one that demonstrated this man’s literacy and furthered his career.

Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring made me interested in reading within

academic settings. Before reading Chevalier’s book, which provides a fictional background for

the girl in the famous Johannes Vermeer painting of the same name, I was extremely

uninterested in pre-selected texts. We had started Shakespeare the year before and while I

appreciate the importance of his works and their lasting literary impact, they were not interesting

to me. I suppose having to translate them to modern English was a large contributor to my
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attitude towards his work. There is also something strangely confining about being forced to read

something, it can be quite the commitment. Girl with a Pearl Earring managed to hold my

attention and made me care about a story that held no relevance to me or my life. This

occurrence made me view readings for class more objectively. A similar idea is expressed in The

Sponsors of Literacy, “Sponsors enable and hinder literacy activity, often forcing the formation

of new literacy requirements while decertifying older ones” (Brandt 16). Sponsors of literacy I

encountered prior to reading The Girl with a Pearl Earring hindered my literacy activity because

they appeared to not be positively impacting my literacy because I was not interested in them and

could not see any potential impact on myself.

Also, this outlook assisted me in the beginnings of my college career as well. Since I

began to view reading materials more objectively and positively, it became easier for me to

develop meanings for what I was reading and in general care more about the material. This

proved especially necessary because I had to adapt my writing skills to fit better within these

new academic settings. Before college, I had never written a research paper. My first research

paper taught me many things, like how to search for and use peer reviewed articles and structure

a paper of an extended length. This research paper has served as a tool for me to reference in

future papers and provided me with experience that will make future papers appear much more

approachable. Also, my writing changes based on the current field of study. I would not write a

project paper for English similar to an informal discussion post for a science course. These tools

allowed me to apply myself within varying discourse communities.

My journey to become a literate individual has also broadened my world view. Reading

A History of the World Through 6 Glasses by Tom Standage has contributed to that greatly. This

book concerns a timeline of world history told through the introduction or popularity of drinks
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like soda, tea, and coffee. This is not a book that I would have chosen for myself to read, but it

has been one of the most resourceful texts I have encountered. It has served as a loose historical

timeline for myself, I often consider historical events based on what drink was being popularized

when they occur. This is similar to an idea presented in All Writing Is Autobiography that

suggests that all work is somehow autobiographical because it utilizes things like your voice and

thinking style (Murray 67). These elements of your writing are representative of your past

experiences with reading and writing, how you feel about them, and what those experiences

mean to you. This occurs to me when writing because I have learned to consider what things

mean in a historical and universal world view to the best of my ability. This is also impacted by

what I am reading and writing and the various applicable audiences to those mediums and works.

Each of these artifacts has ultimately contributed to how I view myself as a literate

individual and are reflective of my attitudes towards literacy. Currently, I am reading A Little

Life by Hanya Yanigihara and Guapa by Saleem Haddad. It would appear daunting to begin

reading leisurely when you have begun to experience difficulty reading, like myself. But I think

these books will greatly benefit my path to literacy. They should provide me with great

references in my later assignments that I complete and as evidence of a specific time during my

path to becoming a literate individual. These artifacts and many more will also be noticeable in

my writing and readings. Writing is an ever encompassing and continuously developing skill.

Each time you write its considered practice because of shifting variables like intention and

audience. My writing is also reflective of my experiences. Reading will not go unaffected by any

artifacts either because it requires the reader to consider past experiences to fill in any blanks that

would allow for reading to be personal and interactive.

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Works Cited

Murray, Donald M. “All Writing Is Autobiography.” College Composition and Communication,

vol. 42, no. 1, 1991, pp. 66-74. JSTOR, www.jstory.org/stable/357540

Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of Literacy.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 49, no.

2, 1998. pp. i-26. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/358929.