Whitney Swaim - Ong (Class Reading 2)

In Orality and Literacy Ong discusses how a speech given to an audience directly is completely different than a group of people reading that same speech individually. Ong says that when someone is reading, then he enters his own private world. While someone reading a novel might easily be understood as being in a "private world," it seems that someone reading a handout during a speech would be a bit different. However, the isolation that comes with individual reading stretches across the board. Although one written passage has the same words for all, the ways they can be interpreted vary greatly. For instance, emphasis can be placed on different words or even specific syllables of words. When compared to hearing the writer of this passage speaking the words as they were intended, reading is a drastically different experience.