In chapter 6, Ong starts to talk about how literacy has shifted the way we express narratives, not just in that we write down narratives instead of strictly speaking them, but in the most basic format we use to describe narratives: The plot.
He talked about how unusual it is that we document things linearly, typically in a chronological fashion. To me, that seems like the best way to do it. I thought it was interesting how Ong keeps pointing us back to the roots of our literacy: orality. In oral cultures, you say things as you remember them. Sometimes orderly, other times not. Often you start in the middle and explain as you go.
Ong mentions "Freytag's pyramid" (p 139) as the most basic way that we conceptualize a plot. I was taught about Freytag's pyramid in middle school. You use it to analyze a story, break it down into its parts, and learn how to tell your own story. I remember sitting down in high school with a drawn out pyramid (building, climax, falling), and trying to write a story that includes all of the elements needed to fulfill the pyramid. The other day, I tried to tell a made up story just off the cuff, without writing any part of it down. I didn't get very far before giving up.
In our culture, narrative without a written plot is relatively non-existent. Everyone writes things down. Especially if you are telling some sort of story, conveying a message, or sharing knowledge. I find myself often taking notes when I am having casual conversations with friends, because I do not want to forget what they say. A reliance on writing may be the downfall of all memory. Because we are really not required to remember anything beyond the scope of a few moments, how long do literate cultures have until our long term memories fade completely?
One of the most memorable things that Ong mentioned was this idea that "you do not find climactic linear plots ready-formed in people's lives, although real lives may provide material out of which such a plot may be constructed by ruthless elimination of all but a few carefully highlighted incidents. The full story of all the events in Othello's whole life would be a complete bore" (p 140). It struck me that when you read about someone's life, you typically don't read about everything that ever happened to them. You read about the most interesting parts, otherwise you would be completely bored. It never really dawned on me until reading that that narrative is somewhat fictional. All narrative selects interesting aspects or events, and then only tells about those. This gives the reader an imperfect view of the characters and the events that are happening. Like watching a movie through a straw, you only see a small portion of the bigger picture, a small portion of the truth.
The most interesting idea that I am taking away from this book, is that literacy has changed everything about culture. Nothing has gone untouched by literacy, everything has shifted since writing was introduced to orality. The way we think, the way we talk, the way we tell stories. All has changed. I had never really thought about how much in our culture is credited to our ability to write things down. I used to look at oral cultures as if they were missing out, like they have simply not evolved into what they are destined to be yet. But that is putting the cart before the horse, for everything that we accredit to literacy, must be first credited to orality. Without the ability to speak, we would not have the ability to write, and therefore to create and live like we do.
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