Adam Sheldrick- Comparing Abram and Ong

When comparing what Abram and Ong have to say about oral and literate ways of living in the cosmos, they both talk about the effects of oral communication practices on human culture and the way human beings interact with the immediate surrounding world. Abram writes, “Thamus was approached directly by the god Thoth the divine inventor of geometry, mathematics, astronomy, and writing who offers writing as a gift to the king so that Thamus may offer it, in turn, to the Egyptian people. But Thamus, after considering both the beneficent and the baneful aspects of the god's inventions, concludes that his people will be much better off without writing, and so he refuses the gift” (Abram 113). This is an example in history where written communication was frowned upon. The king believed that the memories of the people would diminish as they would become reliant upon the newly written text.

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