Summarize, Paraphrase, and Quote

Summary

Melanie Luken uses her literacy narrative “Literacy: A Lineage” to show us how her father shaped her perspective of literature, in essence, that her father instilled in her a great appreciation and understanding of literature (ctd. in Lunsford et al. 133-136 ).

Paraphrase

Melanie Luken sought the fresh challenge of learning French to the same level of understanding as she knew English. Alas it proved too difficult. While she suspects that she chose to major in French in part because of her link to “this tradition of language and literature” and so learning French could be as learning English was. However she was doomed to failure, likely, she thinks because the French language lacks the tradition inherent in one's native language (ctd. in Lunsford et al. 135).

Quotation

“Because of my father and our shared love of literature, my definition of literacy is intimately linked to the idea of tradition.”(ctd. in Lunsford et al. 135)