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Eden Creamer

Professor Rothwell

ENGL 1103

17. October 2011

Looking Literally at Literacy

The growth of an individuals literacy, I have noticed, follows a combination of paths.

Either literacy is accumulated through exposure for a certain length of time, literacy is

accumulated through the support of a third party, or literacys antagonist opens the door for

expansion. These methods are evenly identified in the work of my peers, and in my own work.

For starters, lets look at the assignment. Using our own personal history, we were to

create a narrative of a moment that defined our literacy, or made an impact upon it. Through

meetings with our professor and revisions with our groups, students in our class developed the

scope of the narrative to include more specific information. The changes made to the narratives

allowed students to identify elements of their literacy past that they had been unaware of, and

elements that held merit in their stories, although they didnt know those elements existed.

James Dicus and Chesney Klubert both are clear examples of Father Times helping hand

with literacy. Dicus, who finds himself secluded in a moist Alaskan tent, find the time to read.

Looking back on his newly available reading time, Dicus realizes all of the distractions of

life, which never go away in society, wouldnt permit me enough time on my own to improve in

any way (Dicus 2). Dicus explains that at his home, friends, family, and other assignments

eliminated spare time that he could have devoted to improving his literacy. Given unsavory (to

his standards) circumstances in Alaska, Dicus neglected his desire to crawl in a hole and die

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(Dicus 1), and instead read. Not only did he read, he read The Brothers Karamazov, which is

fabled to be a difficult, but satisfying read (A Difficult, But Satisfying Read).

Klubert found herself with a different sort of time. She set aside the time for herself, on

purpose, to pursue something that she already knew she had an interest in. As she delved deeper

and deeper into the world of fan fiction and fiction writing, Klubert developed a personal

writing voice. She quickly decided that original fiction writing was her niche and stuck with

it (Klubert 2). Through online mediums to post her tales, Klubert received feedback and

critiques on her stories. Through time, she grew to be someone that felt like she was meant to be

an author (Klubert 3), and was able to write with confidence.

Third party support also lifted the literacy of many. Klubert became involved in online

ficton writing due to the encouragement of one of her friends. She decided in her narrative that

she had a wonderful childhood friend to thank (Klubert 3) for her improvement as a writer, and

her ultimate feeling of fulfillment. As time wore on with her writing, she also found that the

positive reviews she received on the website added to her desire to continue writing. As she

concludes her narrative, Klubert says [she] knew she was never going to give up on writing

fiction as long as someone was there to read her stories (Klubert 3).

Lauren Johnsons teachers that she had in the years that followed the year that is focused

on in her narrative are some that facilitated her literacy. Teachers like Mrs. Oakley restore[d

her] confidence in [her] ability to read and write (Johnson 5). Other teachers, like Mrs. Myers,

gave [her] the confidence to speak out loud about what [she] had read and written (Johnson 5).

My story is also one that tells of a third party helping my journey. Mr. Deloma and Mr.

Harrison, two of my teachers, helped me to become the writer I am today. Mr. Deloma lead me

to write numerous short stories, just for the sake of writing (Creamer 3). He forced me to work

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without my fear of my peers, and because of that he made me more confident as a writer. Mr. Harrison

also forced me to look into a career, and through his class I fell in love with newspaper (Creamer 4).

Antagonists also presented an obstacle to the literacy development of individuals in my

group. Johnsons narrative is a precise example of this. Her teacher, Mrs. Merrill, brought down

Johnsons literacy level through one quick conversation, probably without even realizing she had

done so. Johnson concludes her narrative by stating it is ridiculous that the degrading of one

teacher in a matter of 30 minutes took an entire two years to correct (Johnson 6). When her

teacher told her that she had [her] doubts about [Johnsons] capabilities for [that] year

(Johnson 3), Johnsons literacy development immediately shutdown, and she was required to

push herself in order to get back to the top of her game.

Bobby, and the other children of my past presented an impediment to my literacy as well.

I was unaware of this, however, until later in the editing process of the narrative. As I improved

my drafts, I learned more and more about what had shaped me into the writer I have become, and

I realized that my peers had made me afraid. My fear of reading aloud motivated me as the

game began. People in Charlotte were so mean, so uncaring (Creamer 1), was what I realized as

I wrote my narrative to be more detailed. Those who had mocked me throughout my early years

in Charlotte caused my hatred of reading aloud and answering questions in class, ultimately

causing my literacy development to be stunted.

While numerous other elements may find themselves present in the development of ones

literacy, and each individual persons situation is unique, I find through the works of my peers

that three components are some of the most significant factors in literacy. Without these

components, most people would not be at the literacy level that they are today. Time and other

people are generally vital in the acceleration of ones writing.

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Works Cited

"A Difficult, But Satisfying Read The Brothers Karamazov." Beltwayliterature. 18 Feb 2011.

Web. 17 Oct. 2011. .

Creamer, Eden. "Literacy Narrative." Diss. UNC Charlotte, 2011.

Dicus, James. "Changes Abroad." Diss. UNC Charlotte, 2011.

Klubert, Chesney. "Chesneys Center of Gravity: Fiction Writing." Diss. UNC Charlotte, 2011.

Johnson, Lauren. "Center of Gravity Assignment." Diss. UNC Charlotte, 2011.