I'd assume that putting a high value on literacy is actually a Literate thing, not something that can be linked to any "race". It not only allows the (reliable!) transfer of information between the dead and the living (which, in Middle-earth, would be relevant for the Elves as well), but also between the past and the future (useful if you live for a very long time) and across long distances (useful if you spread out across a continent and possibly work out a relais system for letters, rather than sending one messenger all the way). Of course, oral societies tend to be mistrustful of letters ("You can tell me this piece of paper says whatever you want it to say, give me five witnesses to testify to your words instead!"), so it really goes both ways!

(SHUT UP, LYRA, NOBODY CARES THAT THIS WAS ONE OF YOUR EXAM TOPICS AND YOU'RE BORING EVERYBODY TO DEATH.)

Anyway! As the chroniclers are a) Noldorin and b) literate, I guess it isn't surprising that the narrative is biased towards both the Noldor and literacy. Heck, out-of-universe, the author would have been highly biased towards literacy, coming from an Oxford background!


And the Noldor had plenty of reasons to look down on the natives, regardless. They had swords, better jewellery, and shiny, shiny eyes.

True dat! (Although unless you follow the very first drafts, the Sindar had swords as well, and didn't even need Melkor's teachings to get them! ;)) Of course, the Sindar in their turn probably looked down on the Noldor for being coddled philosophers with no clue about the harsh realities of life in a less-favoured part of the world...