CREATING TEXT
Writing, from the point of view of most modern, technological cultures, is such a common form of communication that we rarely separate it from speech. Children are taught to write at such a young age, that most can’t even remember their pre-writing life. Because writing seems to be such a natural part of our lives, it is difficult to imagine a time when there was no form of written communication.
In my attempts to create a form of writing that could be considered natural, I encountered a number of problems. Anything that can be found in or around my house was most likely brought there using some means of technology. Trees, grass and most other plants in the yard were brought in during the landscaping process. Anything that is inside my house had to be transported there with a vehicle. Most things I own are store bought. They are probably shipped to the store from other states or even countries. While some of these objects, such as trees, may be natural in and of themselves, the process of getting them here is by no means natural.
My first idea was to get a large piece of bark off of a tree. I than planned to etch letters into the bark using a sharp rock. I soon realized that I would need a tool of some sort to be able to get a large enough piece of bark. That would have necessitated the use of technology and therefore defeated the purpose of the project.
Another part of the tree, the leaf, seemed to be the next appropriate surface to attempt to write on. Using a small stick, I was able to gently form words into the soft, undersides of two leaves. This was apparently a success until the realization hit me that within a few days, the leaves would dry and crumble, leaving my work a distant memory.
Attempting a different approach, I decided to use a rock as my base. Using a small stick dipped in strawberry juice, I was able to stain letters onto the rock. Because the rock actually belongs to my son, I wrote, “This is a rock that my son found at the park. His name is Ben and he is four years old.”
As long as the rock is kept dry, the words should remain on it. Although this may appear to be a less than permanent form of writing, pen on paper is really no different. If the paper gets wet, the words will soon blur and the text will be destroyed.
This project revealed how very necessary technology is for writing. We are able to produce tremendous amounts of writing without putting forth very much effort. Technology is used to produce paper, which provides a smooth, flat surface, containing enough space to fit many words. This is contrary to my rock, which could only fit about twenty words on the whole surface.
When paper was first produced, it must have completely changed the way people looked at writing. No longer did they have to fumble with slabs of clay. Once the process was mastered, the perfect surface for writing could be attained every time.
The ballpoint pen definitely provides a simple way to write. Not only are we able to avoid etching words into clay slabs, but we don’t even have to dip quills into inkwells. Using the ballpoint pen produces a permanent form of text with a small amount of effort. My stick had to be constantly dipped back into the strawberry juice in order to produce a letter. It also made less precise marks than those of a pen. Many of the letters on my rock were blurred and not very legible.
Computers have added a whole other dimension to writing. By using computers, writers are able to produce permanent, legible text in a very short period of time. Instead of using WhiteOut or throwing the paper away when they make a mistake, they can discover and correct mistakes before they ever make it to the paper. This has changed the way most people think about writing. Gone are the days of waste paper baskets filled with crumpled papers. The writers are able to erase, correct and even move entire paragraphs without ever having a word actually touch a piece of paper.
Permanence, ease, and legibility of writing are all dependent on the
tools that are used. Writers need to decide how they want their texts to
turn out and choose their writing utensils accordingly. It must be said
that the tools with which one chooses to write definitely impact the process
and final product of writing.
Keturah White
Eng. 328
Sept. 27, 2002
Memo
Although I enjoyed working on this assignment, it turned out to be trickier than I had first assumed it would be. When I first read the assignment, I figured it would take one try to get the results I wanted. Well, I was wrong. After three attempts I had my finished product. It wasn’t as great as I had imagined it would be, but I had created a form of writing.