the illiterate "reader"

The reader of a written language and the illiterate "reader" are of two different ilks. Having been a reader of written language most of my life, I have a very small grasp of what it must be like to be illiterate. This reading, "A World Without Print" by Victoria Purcell-Gates, gave me insight to the illiterate's experience. The illiterate "reader" is taking in a different kind of information than that of a literate person. They are not readers of words, but readers of colors, shapes and sizes. Whereas a simple word on the front of a store can tell a person what to expect in that store, the illiterate person needs to look at clues. They look at pictures in the store window, look at the type of sign that is posted and the size of the store, all in order to get clues of what they can find there. The external information is necessary to understand what one word can explain. The illiterate person must be fluent in deductive reasoning.
This reading shed light on what the thought-process of an illiterate person is and what the daily trials of a life without written language can be.