Kobayashi 1

Kiara Kobayashi
Professor Tricia Serviss
ENGL 16
25 September 2016
Response Essay #1
In Richard Enos essay, Writing Without Paper, featured in On the Blunt Edge:
Technology in Compositions History and Pedagogy, he takes an alternative perspective to
analyzing the representation of ancient Athens as a literate community. Rather than focusing on
the great works of literature that have originated from classical Athens, Enos examines the
commonplace, everyday writing that illustrates the impact and value of literacy in all aspects of
ancient Athenian society. The type of writing that Enos chose to study differs from existing
Athenian works of literature, which were written on durable material and intended for
permanence or preservation (Enos, 5). The writing Enos analyzes was composed for practical
purposes, for a target audience, and for immediate or contextual use (Enos, 5). In particular, the
four types of graffiti writing Enos chose to focus on were educational practices, civic literacy,
commercial transactions and expressive writing (Enos, 6). Through these examples, Enos shows
the function of writing for average citizens as a recording and labeling device as well as a form
of conveying emotions.
The writings that Enos investigates are artifacts and inscriptions discovered from the
Agora excavations, which have been organized and recorded mainly for classification and easier
retrieval purposes (Enos, 4). However, Enos method of analysis in unique in that he proposes
that the reorganization and reexamination of these discoveries are necessary for creating a more
accurate, comprehensive picture of the writing and literacy in ancient Athens. His perspective

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that the great masterpieces of literature from ancient Athens that remain till today take away
from the true dimensions of writing in Athenian society seems to contradict the traditional
viewpoint. Based on Enos claims, the history of written rhetoric in ancient Athens is not fully
understood or studied. While his essay attempts to fill in these gaps, it also brings about new
questions.
One question is how big of a role does writing as a recording and labeling device play in
the history of written rhetoric? Majority of Enos examples are writing for the use of recording
and labeling, as he focused on mundane, commonplace examples of writing. However, the one
category that stood out was expressive writing, which revealed the function of writing for
showing emotion, attitudes, and character. This form of expressive rhetoric shows the ability of
average Athenian citizens to self-express through writing. This category seems to hold the most
worth for the history of written rhetoric.
Enos focus on commonplace writing brings to light the idea that literacy had function for
both artists and everyday citizens, which also brings about the question, how many Athenians
were literate? While it may seem like a simple question, it also highlights other issues such as,
who had access to education? Were Athenian females given the same opportunities to learn how
to read and write as males were? Who taught the skill of literacy? Based on past history lessons,
I would infer that only the elite in Athenian society had the privilege of literacy and the access to
education. However, Enos essay seems to prove otherwise. An example Enos used for
commercial transactions involved a message about an errand with reference to boy, which
would infer that the boy the message and errand is meant for was able to read (Enos, 9). Since
errands were typically run by those on the lower end of society and boy implies young age, it
would seem that perhaps young children of any level in society had the ability to read. However,

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most of this speculation is based on inference, not actual facts. Although his analysis
demonstrates the use that literacy had for everyday citizens, it does not create an accurate
statistic of the number of people who could actually read and write.
In a sense, Enos choice to explore the practical functionality of literacy draws similarity
to the Rawnsley article, Motivation for the Development of Writing, which describes the
history of printing technology as being primarily motivated by economic reasons. Rawnsley
explains that writing technology was a result of market conditions and innovators who aimed
towards discovering more efficient ways to write and produce written work. This emphasis on
the adaptation of writing for efficiency draws a similarity to the example Enos brought up about
writing that followed the boustrophedon style, which is writing that moves right to left but then
reverses order when reaching the end of the line (Enos, 6). This example shows the efforts of
early writers to master a technology for broad based civic purposes (Enos 7). Thus, the
evolution of writing in ancient Athens demonstrates the ways in which writing adapted to be as
more functional and efficient for communication.
Enos focus on the commonplace, everyday writing of ancient Athens breaks down the
stereotypical idea associated with Athens of great works of literature and art to emphasize the
daily function and civic purpose of writing. In this sense, Enos essay shows how the past can
provide new perspectives on writing technology in the present day and the future. The different
functions that composition and rhetoric provided for average citizens of ancient Athens illustrates
technologies that aided in civic purposes. According to the summary featured on the Parlor Press
website page for On the Blunt Edge, the essays featured in this book tell the story of rhetoric
and compositions long and intriguing history with writing technologies, revealing the ways that
they have transformed the teaching and understanding of writing throughout history (On the

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Blunt Edge). Through this lens, it is clear to see how Enos Writing Without Paper fits into
On the Blunt Edge. As mentioned in the summary, teachers and scholars are the main audience
members of this book, which is interesting as Enos article does not focus on the typical Athenian
literature taught in classrooms. In this way, Enos demonstrates how the actual writing
technology associated with the culture and time was able to play a part in both the great literature
produced as well as many other aspects of Athenian society.

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Works Cited
Enos, Richard. Writing Without Paper: A Study of Functional Rhetoric in Ancient Athens.
On the Blunt Edge: Technology in Compositions History and Pedagogy, edited by
Shane Borrowman, Parlor Press, 2011, pp. 3-13.
On the Blunt Edge: Technology in Compositions History and Pedagogy. Parlor Press, Parlor
Press, n.d. 26 Sept 2016.