Precis: Heath: Protean Shapes in Literacy Events

Heath's essay describes the importance of literacy value of communities. She explains traditions that have changed throughout the years and the society with the use of literacy. Heath goes on to explain the term “Literacy Event", which meaning " is any occasion in which a piece of writing is integral to the nature of participants' interactions and their interpretive processes" and this is a helpful tool in describing the communities of today's society. Heath gives the examples of a Girl Scout is selling cookies to you and gives you a paper to look at plus she gives her speech which includes everything on the paper, so the speech is more important than the paper which is the reading part. Concluding her example she states, “there are more literacy events which call for appropriate knowledge of forms and uses of speech events than there are actual occasions for extended reading or writing." Heath continues her main argument by using ethnographic work to experience the society using literacy in their daily lives. Tracton is a literate community because the members could read printed and use written materials. In a work setting is different because it restricts the types of materials. But looking at these examples enable us to see only the protean shapes of oral and literate traditions and language.