A Different View of Literacy

In Heath’s essay she talks about a community who has a different view of literacy than many people in other portions of the country. The community of Trakton had all the essential things for literacy that every other community had, but since they had a different view of literacy these things were not implemented into their everyday life. It was because of a different type of lifestyle that there is a significant impact on the literacy of the community. Even with all the same things present, there is something that changes the way people view literacy.

In Trakton people learned differently than people in other cities of the United States. Never seeing reading as a leisure activity or even as an activity that you do alone. Reading was seen as a group activity or simply as a social activity. In her essay Heath writes “Literacy unlocked a variety of doors, but it did not necessarily secure admission” (Heath 35). I believe that this shows that the residents of Trakton had all the essentials necessary to be passionate about literacy, but it was not necessarily viewed as an important aspect in their lives. Many people believed that there was no need for literacy; there was no need for it at their jobs or even at church. It is obvious that Trakton is a close-knit town where people live for their entire lives. It may be because of the presence of tradition that literacy has not evolved with the rest of the country.

The way of life that people have in Trakton is different than that of other communities. There is a type of literacy in Trakton, however it is not the same as in other communities. Trakton’s version of literacy is more of a social activity than a reading or writing activity. They are able to get by with the little reading and writing that they know. Since the town is somewhat self reliant it is not very necessary for them to learn any more reading or writing than they already know. While the reading materials that they do use have “unlocked doors,” these people understand only portions of what they do read. This fact shows that reading these materials has not “secured admission” due to the fact that after reading they usually turn the reading into a social activity. There are discussions about the news and the bible so it is not necessary to understand the material when it is read.

Heath gives us an example of how other people view literacy. This example is much different than what we are used to; most people have not witnessed any communities that function like that. She shows us that the doors to literacy are clearly being opened, but the tradition of the community is not letting them stay open for long.