Argument Summary 1 Draft

Literacy is the ability to read and write, and this ability has been believed to give people who
posses this to be seen as better human beings. This has been believed for centuries and according
to this belief, also, countries with high literacy rates are better developed than others. Literacy in
fact is what makes the human being civilized, and this includes economic development and even
a lower birth rate, among other powers of literacy. There is not enough evidence to support this
belief as a true claim, that is the reason why is considered a myth about literacy.
One person to question this myth was Plato; he was one of the first great writers in western
culture. Plato believed that writing had a negative effect in peoples memory and a superficial
view of knowledge. For Plato, one knew only what one could critically and reflectively defend
in face-to-face dialogue with someone else (Gee 2). Written word cannot defend itself, it can be
misused or misinterpreted, and in that case it needs its writer to explain the true meaning. Plato
believed that his writing should only be accessible to a certain group of people in his own inner
circle. For Plato, it did not matter how well a person read or how much effort they put in it, he
believed if hes writings came to the wrong hands it could be interpreted wrong. He wanted
people to know and understand only what he wanted them to know. He did not want people to
make their own conclusions as the text cannot respond to someones question. Plato also
attacked oral culture from Greek literacy. He believed that since this form of literacy was passed
from generations to generations in a verbal story it could be easily changed. There was always a
possibility that it could be changed from the way it was said by its father or his author. Since,
it could be explained in a different way to someone that did not understand it in its original form;
therefore, poets lost some power of their own poetry. Plato wanted to make sure that there is
always a voice behind the spoken or written text that can dialogically respond. A desire to honor

the thoughtful and critical voice behind the text, to allow it to defend itself, which proves that
Plato had authoritarianism on literacy. There is contradiction between literacy myth and history
of literacy, for instance, Sweden reached a high level of literate people in the eighteenth century.
According to the literacy myth, Sweden would have been capable of setting an example of
reaching economic development, modernization, among others. But this was not the case.
Sweden was promoting the Christian faith in life through literacy, using the individuals needs to
have religion in their life. The purpose of The Church Law of 1686 was for the lower rank
people to read with their own eyes god commands, but in fact they were seeing through the eyes
of the state church. Platos dilemma has not been resolved. People can read the text for
themselves but authority has to ensure that they are interpreting it the right way, it is clear that
the individual reader does not need to be very skilled in writing and comprehension mastery.
There is another side, the liberating side of the dilemma, that is, the use of emancipatory literacy
for religious, political, and cultural resistance to domination. (Gee 12). And no one was more
linked to emancipatory literacy than Paulo Freire. Freire thought that literacy gave power to
people when it provides questions that concern to the social reality. He also approaches the
concept that learning how to read and write, also brings the compromise to think correctly,
dealing with the person who received the message. Frier looks at the listeners side of view. He
believes of much of what we learn its through a two way conversation, interaction from teacher
and student. In the end, we might say that, contrary to the literacy myth, nothing follows from
literacy or schooling. Much follows, however, from what comes with literacy and schooling,
what literacy and schooling come wrapped up in, namely the attitudes, values, norms and beliefs.
(Gee 14). Literacy associates real dilemmas and both Plato and Freire addressed them head on,
although they both had different opinions and contrasting value systems.