Category: Uncategorized

Major Paper/Project

“That scorching sun, ” Ismail exclaims. “All it does is wait to hit my eyes and blind me whenever I wake up.” “Maybe you should try to move out of its way ghabiun,” said Aisha. Ismail was furious with his sister usually. She was charged as his caretaker of the family but Ismail felt as though he never needed it. Ismail washes the majority of the dishes anyways and even sweeps the entire floor including the outside so Aviv the landlord leaves his family alone. More so than his sister, Ismail absolutely despised Aviv. Ismail had been in a wheelchair for about three years now, losing his ability to walk around age 11 because of Aviv. 

One day Aviv drove home in a bright maroon scooter with a single, powerful headlight under the influence of who knows what. Ismail happened to be playing football with a couple of former friends from the complex they resided in. The complex was surrounded by identical buildings, all to keep Ismail’s people separate from the all-powerful state of Israel. Across from the complex on the other side of the dusty, wasteland-Esque road was a market that Ismail could’ve swore spread from the water to the border. Ismail finished playing football and had decided to go purchase meat for his family’s dinner tonight as he was instructed by his father, Iyad. As Ismail approached the market it was too late. Aviv had already been focused on commotion outside of his complex, forgetting to look for those crossing the street and come into contact with Ismail’s tailbone. Local authorities had rushed Ismail to a local clinic where they informed him of his paralysis. Aviv paid no consequences due to his Israeli citizenship and if the Israeli government got word of one of their people in jail the consequences would be dire for Ismail and his family. Ismail did not mind his challenge however for he believed that God must have done this for a reason. 

“Just go to school already, you’re not my caretaker anymore,” said Ismail. “But Mom and Dad said-” said Aisha. “I know what they said but just let me do this on my own for once,” said softly to his sister. “I am not just a kid anymore, I really am just like everyone else now.” Aisha smiled at her brother admiring his will for he had always possessed more willpower than his entire family since his childhood. “Okay, but you have to promise me you will take the road around the protest mom and dad are going to today,” Aisha said carefully. Ismail was already out the apartment door. The apartment hallway was caked in filth and cigarette ash-covered each line that ran through the steel-colored concrete floor. Ismail recoiled to the smell of the complex every time he exited. He despised it. He wanted nothing but the best for his family and every day Ismail daydreamed of his success in the future. Ismail loved to daydream. As he made it out of the complex he began to add to his daydream portfolio. This time Ismail dreamt of him and his father visiting the aquariums he reads about in books from the local market stand about a block or two from the complex. As his wheelchair hit the dirt the dream began. The curtains in Ismail’s mind open to images of his father standing with him in front of a giant glass exhibit filled to the brim with every type of garish-colored fish he could think of. To the left he saw a school of clownfish, hugging to an amber-colored rock with algae surrounding the circumference of the rock. To the right, he saw three dolphins, one infant dolphin being cared for by the other two almost as if they had just picked the infant from school that day much like a human. 

“What are you doing boy?” the strange voice said in the dream. Ismail snaps out of his fantasy back to the wasteland street he had been on. “What?” Ismail said. Ismail looked right to see a tall, broad sand-covered man that had glasses almost too big to fit his face. The man had just finished his cigarette and had flicked the butt in front of Ismail’s chair. “That way is the protest. You know it’s not safe for you to continue this way,” the strange man exclaimed. As the strange man stepped into the scorching sunlight Ismail noticed that he was wearing a button-up with a Star of David necklace draped over his collar bone. The man was older yet he seemed sophisticated in a way that Ismail wasn’t used to. In that instant, Ismail had begun an epiphany. He had always wanted change for his family and now seemed as though a perfect opportunity to contribute to that. Ismail had decided to venture to the protest as he could already feel the shaking in the ground from several hundred voices. “I know sir, I was going to cut to the right ahead towards my school.” The man glanced at Ismail from head to toe, almost studying his entire figure as if Ismail was something he had never seen before. “Just don’t go to that protest boy,” the strange man said as he disappeared back into the shadows of Gaza. Ismail nodded and continued on his path towards the protest, simultaneously turning around to check for the old intellectual he had encountered minutes ago.

The Protest   

As Ismail conquered the last hill in his sight he began to see the protest in view. In his mind Ismail thought the protest would be several hundred people, waving signs of freedom, chants that would rattle the buildings around, but he was wrong entirely. The City of Gaza houses over 500,000 people and if Ismail had to guess at least 10,000 of them had shown up. The crowd almost moved as one organism, shifting against the Israeli Defense Force at once with a synchronized chant. As Ismail descended the hill his only thoughts were with his mother and father. They had told him the protest was only going to be a small one, nothing like what Ismail was witnessing. Ismail kept advancing with strife, nearly reaching the crowd as they sang songs of independence. Suddenly, Ismail heard about 6 or 7 loud popping sounds and instinctively put his head down. The popping was loud and carried sound waves throughout the barren streets, bouncing off each building as the sound reached them. Ismail needed a bird’s eye view to figure out what these sounds were. As Ismail was descending the street he proceeded to look left and right to find a view of the protest. To his left was only apartment complexes much like the one he lived in, except as these buildings approached the border they began to look sorrowful as Ismail glanced at each building. As Ismail glanced to the left he saw what seemed to be a department store of sorts that had been recently boarded up to either curb any conflict or they had just closed for good. Yet at the base of the building was a fence circling it with a cliff extending from the left side of the building overlooking the protest. Ismail followed the fence until he found a hold that fit him perfectly. 

More popping noises. 

Ismail couldn’t believe what he was witnessing as he approached the cliff. As he glanced over the army of protestors, he saw a massive force of Israeli soldiers with shields holding the crowd back. Behind and above the soldiers were about 10 or 15 other soldiers with Assault Rifles. Ismail knew what was going on. The soldiers had fired on the crowd as Ismail could see a small opening in the front of the crowd with an older man holding a young woman’s head up as she laid on the ground. The woman was lifeless with several other injured individuals in the gap of the crowd. They had all taken gunshot wounds mainly from the waist down leaving the individuals with no way to move back out of the crowd. Ismail was horrified by the actions of Israel. He knew that there was a conflict between Palestine and Israel but never to this degree. A hate started to brew in Ismail’s body and the only thing he could do at that moment was cry. It was not a cry for help but a cry of frustration. How hard was it to not shoot someone? How hard is it to just let our country keep its independence? Ismail let out a scream of frustration as he was still looking out to the gap in the crowd. 

“I watch this every day. I do nothing but think and watch. I watch a sickly amount of oppression every day from this cliff and I cannot help but feel anger.” It was the older man again. This time he was wearing a tank top that was originally white but covered in a dusty film that only made the man look older as a result. “Do you understand why I told you not to come now? It wasn’t because I wanted to keep you completely safe. I just felt as though the last thing you needed was more anger in your life. More anger to spread to others as my people have done to yours,” the old man said softly among the noise. Ismail understood his reasoning. “You could’ve just told me what was happening!” Ismail said, yelling to beat the noise of the crowd.

 “What is your name, boy?” the old man said. “Ismail, sir.” Ismail quietly mumbled. “Nice to meet you, Ismail. My name is Shiloh. I live across the street here in the complex.” the old man said. A silence had fallen between the two individuals. The only thing Ismail could do at that moment was just watch the crowd being pushed back, beaten, and experience the effects of tear gas tossed from behind the shield barricade. 

“Come with me Ismail for I want to show you something that may interest you. This is no place for a boy and your parents would never forgive me if I let you stay out here.” Ismail was a stubborn individual but even he knew this was not a place for him. Ismail glanced at the crowd one last time before entering Shiloh’s complex. An ambulance had flown down the road as the two entered Shiloh’s room. 

Shiloh’s room was completely organized from top to bottom. Every surface, counter, and floor in the house was spotless almost as if Shiloh had not been here in weeks. “I have been traveling so nobody has been in this room for a while.” As Shiloh went to take a seat he began to move his arm sideways and popped his arm clean off. Ismail noticed the plastic/composite frame more so in the poorly lit room than out in the sun. Shiloh had a prosthetic arm for his left arm. 

“This is what I wanted to show you. This happened to me about 4 years ago when the protests first began. A bombing took place during the protest I was at. We are all the same. Even if you and I live in such a way it does not define us. My job is going around the world and convincing people to think like this.” Ismail was in awe at this point. Ismail’s first impression of the old man was that he was just some old mildew-covered old man. However, looks are always deceiving and Ismail understood that now. 

Word Count: 1938

Write Up: 

Prior to writing this story about the Israel and Palestine conflict, I did heavy research in order to recreate the world that Ismail lives in. However, it is important to note the way I feel about this conflict as I have been following the news about Israel and Palestine since I was about fifteen years old. Nothing saddens my conscience more than hearing about innocent people being bombed, killed, and maimed in order to maintain “control”. I could never understand the trauma these individuals went through. However, I feel as though my voice may have an impact in fighting this conflict if expressed correctly. 

Puar’s piece, Right to Maim, was my main inspiration for writing this story as well as several podcasts I have listened to. Ismail’s role in the story was to give an extrinsic view of the conflict further showing how Puar’s concept of debility, capacity, and disability all intertwine. Ismail’s form of mental debility (even debility in the form of Palestinian strife) through his anger throughout the story and the lack of mention of Ismail’s wheelchair was to show how capacity is furthermore an issue in countries that lack the capacity to support these individuals. My reasoning for providing the outside view of the conflict from Ismail’s point of view was to provide a metaphorical view of looking from the outside of a conflict. As one may look from the outside of this conflict and see the biopolitical population control that Israel has implemented. With the inclusion of the scene where Ismail notices the gunshot wounds are only from the waist down as Israel feels that since there is no death there will be no consequence. My goal was to connect the flaws of this conflict and the ableist reasoning for why such issues occur. The Israeli government shows the use of this by maiming Palestinian citizens as their reasoning is rooted deep in capitalistic power and control of disabled or debilitated individuals.  The Palestinian population itself is debilitated in their protests for freedom as the able-bodied monopoly continues to keep these people under control. 

As Puar defines maiming as, “Maiming is a source of value extraction from populations that would otherwise be disposable.” Shiloh’s role in this story directly reflects this process of able-bodied governments maiming those who they feel as disposable as he went through this experience of maiming. Able-bodied governments like these will excuse such actions by, as Puar describes, calling these injuries, “expected impairments.” 

Metaphors throughout this text include the lack of life described in many of the buildings and the poor living conditions that these people live in. This directly attributes to the capitalistic, able-bodied control that Israel holds over the Palestinian population by forcing such individuals into these poverty-driven situations. 

I would like to reiterate that through works of literature such as this story and theoretical pieces that activists such as Puar provide will further the knowledge, solution, and advancement of disabled body rights that will provide a hopeful future ahead for not only the disabled community but those who reside in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Word Count: 515

Works Cited

Farzan, Antonia Noori, et al. “How Conflict, Blockades and History Have Shaped the Geography of Gaza.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 May 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/14/gaza-strip-history-geography/. 

“Gaza Border Protests: 190 Killed and 28,000 Injured in a Year of Bloodshed.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2019/mar/29/a-year-of-bloodshed-at-gaza-border-protests. 

“Gaza’s ‘Great March of Return,” Six Months On.” Amnesty International, 15 June 2021, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2018/10/gaza-great-march-of-return/. 

Puar, Jasbir K. The Right to Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability. , 2017. Print.

Rachel Grace Chaos’ Major Project

“Once people understood the boundaries and nature of his madness they could fit him, so to speak, into the scheme of things”
“Golden”

The two paintings in this project are reflections of characters in Toni Morrison’s Sula. For the paintings, the mediums are collage and acrylic paint on canvas. The original goal in creating these paintings was an aim to reveal the implicit biases in each variation of a human and relate to our discussion of Sula that focused on how Morrison represents various disabilities. In the end, it became much more nuanced than that. The final works do, I hope, reveal the perspectives of disability that Morrison shows in Sula, but they also reveal the celebration of disability that Morrison creates in her text. 

First, a disclaimer: Morrison creates the characters in her novel to have complex identities that include race, gender, and physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. My pieces focus on textual descriptions and circumstances surrounding disability, I am not in any way trying to speak about Black individuals’ identities and their experiences, I am just continuously inspired by Toni Morrison and her work and created these pieces in response to her text.  

The physical process of creating these pieces centered around finding the appropriate clippings from magazines that I felt illustrated each idea best. In looking through the catalogs and catalogs and catalogs of magazines in my collection, the vision of the paintings comes together. The paint plays a big part in creating these pieces because color holds a lot of meaning to individuals. The left side of Sula’s piece could not just be a plain grey because her view of life still has depth. Can one properly convey madness without paying close attention to how they use the paints at their disposal? Once I finished combing through Morrison’s text, clipped the magazines, and mixed the paint, it was time to assemble the masterpieces. 

The first piece of work is an illustration of Morrison’s perspective of madness as illustrated through the character of Shadrack. The title of the piece is the quote that inspires it: “Once the people understood the boundaries and nature of his madness they could fit him, so to speak, into the scheme of things” (Morrison 15). Shadrack’s madness becomes the “fabric of life up in the Bottom of Medallion” (Morrison 16) and essentially, he fades into the background of the town, therefore the grey landscaping, grey clouds, and grey painted background show how the world exists with Shadrack; people simply “had no attitudes or feelings about Shadrack’s annual solitary parade” (Morrison 15). Morrison describes Shadrack and his “madness” on the “first… National Suicide Day” with “eyes [that] were so wild, his hair so long and matted, his voice so full of authority and thunder” (Morrison 15). Shadrack wears striped pants in the painting to represent his madness and has a small breaking bomb at the bottom of his feet as a metaphor for his “thunder” cracking the foundation of the town. 

Shadrack has an ability that no one else has in the novel, he empathizes with Sula. His ability to connect and reassure Sula, an almost untouchable entity, makes him one of the sanest characters in the novel, although the town sees him as “wild”. The yellow growing out above and beyond Shadrack shows the light that Shadrack brings to Sula in providing permanence in her life with his word “always”. The spirals spanning outside of Shadrack’s yellow identity are a metaphor for his National Suicide Day. Morrison introduces the act of National Suicide Day as an act of madness, but in the end, it is Suicide Day that recognizes suffering as human because “the same folks who had sense enough to avoid Shadrack’s call were the ones who insisted on drinking themselves to death or womanizing themselves to death” (Morrison 16). Shadrack, a madness-aligned character exists as a disabled identity in the town because of his mental disabilities from the war, but also in celebrating the same day every year, he provides sanity to the people who otherwise would not receive it. 

The second painting displays on the left how Sula sees the world and, on the right, how the world sees Sula. This painting is titled “Golden”. Sula exists, both through her birthmark and through her actions, as a spectacle and a body that violates the norm. Sula is a disability-aligned character because of the way others view her, she exists as “the devil in their midst” (Morrison 117). The right side of the painting reveals the spectacle and disgrace others see in Sula through the image of red representing the image of the “devil”. On this side, Sula wears a red dress, exists in a red cloud, and thinks in red thought bubbles because she is “the fourth” face of the “God of three faces they sang about” (Morrison 118). The fire, a symbol of something that continues to grow and devour surroundings, serves as a metaphor of the “birthmark that spread from the middle of the lid toward the eyebrow” which “grew darker as the years passed” (Morrison 53). This side also features a bird to represent “the plague of Robbins” (Morrison 112) with Sula’s return and a thought bubble with the image of a person jumping out of a window to represent the trauma of Hannah’s death that Sula carries with her. 

The left side of the painting represents how Sula sees the world and is based on the description of Sula’s eyes at the beginning of the novel, she has “gold-flecked eyes, which, to the end, were as steady and clean as rain” (Morrison 53). Sula remarks that “the real hell of Hell is that it is forever” (Morrison 117), which shows how dull she feels forever is. Consistency is Hell and “ugliness [is] boring” (Morrison 122) and Sula’s “lonely is [hers]” (Morrison 143), so I painted the background of her perspective grey with white flecks throughout. Sula’s overall perspective on life is that it is dull and boring, which so contrasts with how the town sees her. So, the two perspectives now live in conversation together on this painting revealing how Morrison writes Sula as a disability-aligned character and uses her to illustrate implicit biases. 

On the topic of implicit biases and devaluation of disabled bodies in disability studies is Snyder and Mitchell’s Introduction to Cultural Locations of Disability. Snyder and Mitchell discuss that “the devaluation of disabled bodies places in jeopardy all bodies that exist within proximity to ‘deviance’” (Snyder and Mitchell 5). This relates to my illustration of Sula because she exists less as a disabled body and more so as a deviant body in Morrison’s text and it is her “deviance” that marks her identity in the town, as illustrated on the right side of “Golden”. More so, Snyder and Mitchell discuss the cultural model of disability and come to an “understanding that impairment is both human variation encountering environmental obstacles and socially mediated difference that lends group identity” (Mitchell and Snyder 10). The idea of impairment as something that is socially mediated is relevant to my discussion earlier of Shadrack’s othering at the hands of the town. Shadrack exists as an othered body because “Once the people understood the boundaries and nature of his madness they could fit him, so to speak, into the scheme of things” (Morrison 15). Shadrack’s disability is, in part, a result of social mediation and how they designated him in society, which is visible in my portrait of him. The paintings reveal the idea of implicit biases of disabled bodies and Mitchell and Snyder’s discussion of “deviance” and how society deems what is acceptable and in what category it is. 

1252 words

I pledge- Rachel Grace Chaos

Works Cited

Morrison, Toni. Sula. Vintage Classics, 2020. Print.

Snyder, Sharon L., and David T. Mitchell. Cultural Locations of Disability. The University of Chicago Press, 2015. Print.

Chy’Nia Johnson Major Project

Word Count: 503 (TW: Full Nudity)

For my project, I chose to create a piece of artwork that shows four disabled persons and their bodies to talk about the subject of Sex and Disability. Each body is in a different color to talk about in an easier manner for this write up. I will start with the Red. Red is a feminine body that is displayed in lingerie and is sitting “provocatively” in their wheelchair (their legs are spread apart further than normal). Yellow is a feminine body this is displayed wearing only underwear with their breasts visible but also slightly covered. Yellow is also a person that uses a colostomy bag (the lighter color blob located in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen, left for the viewer). Green is a feminine body that is standing and wearing lingerie and is an amputee (amputated right arm, visible from our left side). Blue is a feminine body but could also be a nonbinary body, the display is of their backside and also with a view of their prosthetic leg.

I wanted to try to express further knowledge on Sex and Disability with these paintings. In the introduction of Robert McRuer and Anna Mollow’s Sex and Disability, there is a section called Lives and this introduces the three chapters that will be talking on the analysis of the writers’ experience with sex and disability as well as the ableist viewpoint of sex and disability. The specific sentence from the introduction that my project was produced on is, “If there’s disability, according to ableist logic, then there can’t be sex (hence, the “tragedy” of a “beautiful woman in a wheelchair”); and conversely, if there’s sex (a casual encounter initiated in a park), then presumably there is not the insertion or removal of a pair of hearing aids…,” (McRuer and Mollow). I interpreted this sentence as from the ableist viewpoint and then came up with my counter argument. The ableist way, which is something I have heard more times than enough is “You’re too beautiful to be in a wheelchair” or one that I and Anna, one of the writers, have heard personally “You’re don’t look disabled so why would you park in this designated spot?” I oppose this way of thinking and think it is very belittling and deprecating of the person being attacked.

My counter argument was to show that you can be pretty or sexy and disabled. Each person in each piece is expressing their sexuality and sexual desires along with their disability. Each persona that was created in my artwork would, in my views and opinions, be able to have sexual desires and sexy time with people if they wanted to. The ableist way to say it would be Sexy or Disabled however the way I’m portraying it is Sexy and Disabled. I purposefully chose visible disabilities as a way to show my vision but it is known that you can also have invisible disabilities and be/feel sexy or beautiful or whatever adjective you would want to use.

Citations:

Mollow, Anna, McRuer, Robert. “Introduction.” Sex and Disability. dis/lit fall 2021, http://dislitfall21.chris-foss.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Mollow-and-McRuer.pdf. Accessed 2021.

“I hereby declare upon my word of honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized help on this work.” –Chy’Nia Johnson

The Curious Incident Reflection

I went to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time last Friday night, and I found it to be a thought provoking, well done production that connects to what we have discussed in this course on many levels. Very early on in the play, Christopher talks about the other children at his special school and shockingly assigns more value to the tragically murdered dog, Wellington, than to one of these boys who cannot even feed himself. Christopher’s genius in math and his repetition of the prime numbers as a calming mechanism for himself reminded me of several case reports in Dr. Oliver Sacks’ The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, one of which follows twin brothers with intellectual disabilities who can do complex math in their heads instantaneously without actually understanding how to do the math. There is a scene in the first act where Christopher’s dad argues with the principal of his school to allow him to take his math A levels that I found particularly relevant to our class discussion. The principal’s reason for not allowing Christopher to take the test is that she cannot allow him to be treated like he is special, all the while he is at a special school for children with disabilities. She comes across as simply very unwilling to ensure equity of access for her students but must eventually have a change of heart as she allows him to take the test even after his mother calls to cancel it. Another small connection I saw to our class was when Christopher names the models of cars he saw driving by in London as a tool for self-regulation. This reminds me of the poem “Normal” by Jim Ferris where the children watch cars drive by out the window of their institution and name them. 

To me, the most impactful part of the play was Christopher’s relationship with his mother. The scene at the close of the first act where he discovers she is not dead and that she left him because she did not know how to connect with him and was ashamed by her faults in raising him and her lack of patience was very raw and emotional. His mother seeks to reconnect with him in the end, but, as an audience member, I still was not sure whether I forgive her character. In a way, she adopts the cure or kill mentality and “cures” her son in her mind by running away and idealizing what his life must be like with his father who can better understand him. I was also left to wonder whether the mother had some form of mental illness herself because the first thing Christopher asks when his father lies and says she is in the hospital is whether she is in a psychiatric hospital. Overall, I thought the play gave a rich look at the different implications of living with autism or being intimately connected to someone who does, both the highs, lows, and confusing times in between.

Reflections on Murray and Walker

When we met in class today, we briefly discussed Walker’s article on the definition of neuroqueer. We found it interesting how much of the definition was based on the verb form first. She compares this process to that of the transformation of the word queer from the verb to adjective form. Usually, when I think of the word queer, I think of it as an adjective, but it gives a lot of insight to know that the verb for came first. Walker says, “One can neuroqueer and one can be neuroqueer”, and she defines neuroqueering as actively subverting and defying neuronormative and heteronormative standards. It is a reminder that, not only is this a label one can give themself, but it is also a way of existing and shaping one’s own life.  

In skimming Murray’s book, I found the author’s approach to the medical versus social model of autism interesting. Some of the medical evidence, such as differently shaped brains, denser brain matter in certain regions, and functional differences seen on MRI point to the tangible differences that account for behaviors seen in autism. I also liked how Murray made it clear autism is not an epidemic as some people have been recently implying. Yes, the number of occurrences is increasing, but this is due in large part to the broadening of the definition of autism spectrum disorders and increasing awareness of the condition. However, referring back to the medical model, if a biological marker or gene connected to autism could be discovered, their diagnoses would not need to rely on the somewhat subjective questions asked by psychologists that are currently used as criteria for diagnosis. This would take the subconscious opinions of others out of the diagnosis. Moreover, the use of the word epidemic gives a strong negative, frightening connotation that should not be connected to autism. Finding a particular cause would also help lead to a cure, but Murray asserts a cure is not really necessary because autism does not come from a lack of function but an excess of it; it is the most true representation of humanness.

Major Project, [Jamie Keller, and Secret Garden]

I hereby declare upon my word of honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized help on this work.

Word Count (Not including above): 522

I had two main goals for this project. The first goal, though not entirely designed for this class, but more to make this project entertaining to watch, was to record it for my youtube channel. The second step of that goal was to make it multi-purpose, so that those who didn’t care about the Secret Garden story could still enjoy it. The second goal, and the one for this class was to help make something that could help visualize the secret garden while also talking about the meaning behind it. I talked a little about my process through the videos, but I will explain the basic thought behind the overall process. I had to find a place where I could build the garden and terraform it so I could properly build the garden. The next thing I did was build a working “gate” or “fence” around the garden with vines to represent the overgrown nature. I knew I had to have an iron door with a lever to represent the locked door. Over the remaining things was to do the flavor designing, such as the trees or the roses or the robin. I feel like showing the overgrown nature of the garden can relate to the mindset of those with a mental illness as it goes against the “social norm” of someone with a healthy mindset. Those with a normal mindset try their best to “clean up” or “correct” those who have a different mindset. Even as the Secret Garden joked, good thoughts, vibes, and working hard to try and correct that mindset should work, but in actuality, it doesn’t always work.

Originally, I was planning to clean up the garden as well to talk about rebirth as well to talk about how some people can feel “reborn” if they get the proper treatment that they need. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I am choosing not to do that and re-aligning my focus. Being able to show that it is okay to have a broken world and being able to make the most of it, shows that those who seem “broken” can still have an amazing life. They can still like who they are and not be thinking about fixing themselves. Even if someone isn’t viewed as mentally or physically able, someone could view themselves as healthy as they can be. That does break the social “norm” of being okay with something that makes someone appear as weaker.

The reason why I tailored these videos for my channel was because I was inspired by a handful of minecraft youtubers and I wouldn’t be where I am right now because of those youtubers. I wanted to try and inspire those who would watch this in the future and not in relation to some project for a class. Hence why there was a vagity of what I was talking about in each of the videos. If I pressed further about the class, I would be concerned that some people would try and find more about me. At the end of the day, that isn’t a thing to worry about or the intention of it.

Major Paper; Lily Shirley

The Animalization of Disabled People:

Boo Radley, Lenny Small, Julia Pastrana, and other “Freaks of Nature”

Positive representations of disabled people are a modern notion often overlooked in the current social climate. Society, and standards of beauty, are not inclusive so accurate representations of any person who is not white, and not able bodied, are hard to come by. However, the disabled community still fights for just and positive portrayals in popular media, and works to include themselves in political protests and intersectional debates. Some protest the often offensive depictions of people with disabilities, comparing a piece of literature to the Fries test- the Bechdel test of this community. Positive portrayals in a piece of literature would include a disabled character being central to the plot, rather than just an object of pity  or ridicule. 

Young students read books with potentially problematic depictions of disabled people, in opposition to the wishes of those in the disabled community. Authors uses the “r” word and overcommitt to the supposed hilarity of dumb or feebleminded disablity aligned characters. With such widespread depictions, it is hard to break free of the representation so prevalent in our favorite classic books, such as To Kill A Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men. While both of these works were revolutionary in their time, and have truthfully been eye-opening in many ways, it is essential to move forward and recognize the harmful connection of disabled men and women to simple or violent animals. Afterall, both previously mentioned titles quite literally have animals in the name. 

To Kill a Mockingbird has acted as a mode of “wokeness” for white saviorism, and the animalization of characters like Boo Radley and Tom Robinson have reflected the true impact of the text. Of Mice and Men, often seen as a problematic work in Disability studies, goes as far to equate Lenny Small, the gargantuan and small brained man to a disabled dog who gets shot in the head- a fate similar to Lenny’s at the end of the novel. It is not uncommon to have a crazy dog shot in a book with disability aligned characters- a character in To Kill a Mockingbird also shoots a rabies-infected, crazy dog. And in fact, those dogs often act as a metaphor for those “animal” characters. Of course, popular books are not the only example of the raw animalzation and connection to the disabled body- it is extremely apparent in twentieth century freak shows and the gawking of a man who looks vaguely lobster or bear-like. It is essential to discuss the impact of such depictions, and offer a more inclusive view of the disabled body and mind. It is time to forego the offensive characterization of the disabled man to animals. 

Many older white women of the baby boomer generation claim that Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a literary piece essential to the newfound inclusivity of discussion. However, Atticus Finch, the father and lawyer central to the plot and central to “saving” Tom Robinson, is often seen as too powerful, and as though the black characters would flail pointlessly without his strength. Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, is compared to a harmless mockingbird, but only after his death. Earlier in the book, Atticus explains that it is a “sin to kill a mockingbird”, and later, Mr. Underwood, the town news source, states “it is a sin to kill a cripple” (Lee, 220.) The juxtaposition and relative sentence structure shows that these two phrases were meant to be compared- Lee encourages the audience to see Robinson as a bird. Robinson is a disability aligned character who injured his hand at a young age in a cotton gin accident, rendering it essentially useless. When trying to escape from this wrongful imprisonment, Robinson is shot many more times than necessary, showing the racism and ableism of that time period. 

Boo Radley, is described as “frightening” and “animal-like” in his mannerisms. The Maycomb county folklore centering around Boo does little to depict him as the careful, kind, and empathetic character the readers find out he truly is. Jem, Scout’s older brother, and Atticus’ son, emphasizes the horror involved in the crime of Boo stabbing his father with a pair of scissors- then later explains that Boo “dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained” (Lee, 10). 

While the differences between Tom and Boo are apparent, the two animals that they are represented by does little to reflect them in a positive light. Tom is the innocent, sweet, little, weak, bird, but only after being shot seventeen times and unfairly imprisoned based on racist falsities. Representing Tom as something that can only be helped by the able bodied white man furthers his animalization as a delicate mockingbird. Boo, depicted as a wolf-like, dog-like, and bear-like dangerous man, can not elegantly break free of the restraints Lee places on him as a violent animal and freak of nature.

John Stienbeck’s Of Mice and Men, a classic tale of “friendship” and farmhands, commits to the idea of Lenny as a poor, innocent puppy. Lenny is viewed as both harmless, as he is unintelligent, but also as harmful, as his body is towering and extremely strong. Steinbeck takes little time to compare Lenny to an animal- on page four, the first time the audience meets Lenny- he describes his walk as  similar to “ the way a bear drags his paws”. This is not the only time Lenny’s movements are described as bearlike. On page hundred, Stienbeck does it again, outlining Lenny’s stride as akin to a “creeping bear moving.” Lenny is also described as a terrier, a small but mighty dog, when George Milton, his best friend, makes him set a mouse free from his grip. George is described as his master, as any loyal dog should have an able bodied master. George often infantilizes Lenny, and in the end of the book, makes a life or death decision for him, much like Candy, another farmhand, does for his old sheepdog. 

Because Lenny is both strong of muscle and weak of mind, it is interesting to compare the differences in the wide array of animals Stienbeck compares him to. It is no secret between the characters of the book that Lenny could easily kill any of them- but those same characters treat him as one would treat a small, idiotic terrier. Stienbeck goes as far to equate his personality as both bear-like and tiny puppy-like. Those two animals could not be any farther apart in terms of size and capability. However, Lenny is both meek and boisterous, as are both the animals stated.  

The connection of able bodied people and the racism affecting our world is also apparent in these connections. While some wish to “reclaim” their animalazaion as a disabled person, we must recognize the racist roots that animalization clearly has. It is not uncommon for black men and women to be described as ape-like, and in blackface shows, the actors would often make monkey sounds or pretend to throw their feces. Much like the reclamation of the “q” and “n” slur in LGBT and black communities, some disabled people involved in freakshows took advantage of their inherent “animalness”. Percilla Bejano, a notable example of such reclamation, was involved in many freakshows and exploited her hairy body and freak of nature appearance. She later married the “the alligator” man, and the two had a happy life together, working as two animals in love. It is possible that Bejano was insulted by her animal name, but at least maintained some autonomy. 

 Otis Jordan is another example, a black man billed as amphibian-like, who wished to be referred to as “frog boy”. He enjoyed his life on the road as a disabled performer. Jordan pointed out that, given his condition, there wasn’t much else work he could get, therefore, the freakshow was a positive, money-making experience for Jordan.

Animalization in freak shows can be an overly negative thing. P.T Barnum, whose name is synonymous with the circus, was at the forefront of exploiting disabled people, making them an “animal” entertainment, rather than a human. Circus shows, like the one Julia Pastrana was in, perpetuated the animalization of people with disabilities and placed them in unsafe environments in order to pursue their career. Pastrana, described as the “ugliest woman alive”, had a case of hypertrichosis, which covered the body and face in copious amounts of hair. Pastrana was billed as the “ape-women ”, because of her hair and naturally feminine figure. Because able bodied humans found her so enticing, after her death, she was embalmed with her recently deceased son, to be gawked at for years to come. Even after her death, Pastrana had no peace.

In the theory piece, Beasts of Burden, Sunaura Taylor describes hands as “human” and mouths as “animal.” Her point in detailing this is that able bodied people often view the use of one’s mouth to open things, or to move objects around, as disgusting and improper. Taylor’s ideas are revolutionary- as she does explain in further detail the essentiality of some disabled people using the animal to describe oneself. Much like some overweight people are fighting for the word “fat” to be used as a descriptor rather than an insult, Taylor admits that some of her movements are rather animal-like, and it would not necessarily be unfair to describe them as so. However, she does recognize her privilege in being a white woman comfortable in her animalization.

Essentially, the problem then lies with the able-bodied making decisions for the disabled. George places himself in the role of executioner for Lenny , and Lee and Stienbeck take on the important role of describing a person with disabilities. Pastrana had her whole life planned out by a man of more power, capability, and “normalcy”. This is simply not the job for an able bodied person. All people, including disabled people, must have a say in their depictions, be masters of their fate, especially their mortality. Taylor, Bejano, and frog-boy can do whatever they like with their bodies and physicality, but authors and able bodied characters can’t decide for them.  

Animalization is popular in modern media, and even in the books that every child reads in order to pass a required class. It is ingrained in our minds to compare man and animal, and even more so when the man is overly hairy, or his appearance is otherwise aberrant,and thus, doesn’t fit into the abelist ideals of America. Aversion to normalcy is seen as wrong, offensive, and unsuitable, and this is prevalent in classic literature. 

It does not matter how it makes the able bodied feel when talking about the disabled body. The disabled body should have say over their bodies and reflections in art and books. 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

On Friday afternoon, I attended the UMW production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, a play that centers around a disabled character, Christopher. The beginning of the play starts out with a cruel murder of a neighbor’s dog, and the plot surrounds Christopher’s detective work to see who the killer is, which reveals truths about his own lie. The depiction of Christopher was an interesting one- the play and book is infamous for it’s relatively inclusive motifs, it has settings of over-stimulations and tries to explain how a person with autism may think. The actor who played Christopher, however, did not have autism. I found this to be an interesting choice. We have discussed in the class that an able bodied person should not act as a disabled person, and here it happens on our own turf.

Ren’s Class Summary for Tuesday October 26th

Class began with an excited “Happy Birthday” to no one in particular and a five-question quiz on the readings for today. We went back and forth between large and small groups about the Weise poem we didn’t get to the day before, the Hershey poem, the theory piece on the intersection of capitalism and disability, The Wedding of Tom to Tom, and Good Kings Bad Kings.

Our large group discussion started with a recap about the major paper/project proposal and then about the poem from last time The Old Questions by Weise. It was read aloud and the poetic speaker seems to be in another place with someone and they were potentially going to be intimate before there are many questions. Leading into our discussion today about sex and disability. How is this poem asking us to think about sex and what’s healthy? The comparison of peep shows with a sign saying “hands off our girls” and how the speaker wants to not be touched. The constant questions feel like prerequisites and barriers to making love that the speaker has gone through many times before. One student is actually having their birthday in class. “Can I touch it coming right off of hands off our girls” as the last thought on the poem.

Onto Working Together by Hershey and the two ways that people read the poem as an apathetic caretaker or two people working together and being used to their roles. Is the title indicative of the dynamic or a little bit ironic? Questions of who the caretaker is and how the two are related. The ending not being clear cut and the last stanza is ambiguous and unanswered by the poem. “Emotional support” for the caretaker from the one they’re taking care of. Loaded relationship when it comes to ‘what no one thinks of doing/except for self or child’ the speaker is saying it as something grateful. “We take ableism and autonomy for granted…so much that we don’t even consider those with mobility impairments and how much of a struggle that everyday tasks would be.” Use of the word heft rather than something gentler making it feel a little more impersonal. “Tell her that she can” and giving her permission to take care of the speaker who is vulnerable to read that line as a more intimate connection. “Across the spectrum of these relationships they can be abusive or neutral…there are people in institutions who genuinely care.” This is connected to the Banner short story and Good Kings Bad Kings.

We were sent to small groups to talk about the theory piece. Look at the anecdotes as a jumping off point and go over the intersection of sex and disability with the headings of access, histories, and spaces. “Compulsory able-bodiedness and compulsory heterosexuality” are what most people are operating. Questions of intellectual disabilities and consent on a tangent about The Wedding of Tom to Tom. In specific queer or women studies disability isn’t considered and it isn’t acknowledged and how disabled people are thought of as an enigma where they don’t think about gender or sexuality when it’s not true.

He called our attention back to large group to talk about The Wedding of Tom to Tom and the conflicting receptions of it. Is the wedding some sort of acknowledgement of their personhood or is it seen as a joke or in pitying infantilization? The potential contrast of healthy versus unhealthy relationships with Tom A and Tom B compared to Anita and Archie. The use of the R word in the story and how unprogressive that is and if the presence of that word is to view a character negatively. The conflicting view on the word and if it is important in a conversation about caretaker attitudes, but it is upsetting and potentially triggering. Surprise over the narrator being a woman with the way that she responded to things. The disturbing implications are with the wedding. Is it progressive to think about Tom A and Tom B as sexual beings are? It is also coming from Anita’s perspective and if it really is happening all the time. Is them holding hands really that big of a deal or will it really lead to something more? Raquel and Anita treating Tom and Tom as a side show and if we are invited to critique them for thinking that. “The big thing that makes her realize she loves Archie is that he just acknowledges Tom and Tom and didn’t think it was weird” space for humor in the piece. “General feeling of a lack of consent” because Tom A isn’t verbal and the parallels of relationships with one person in more power of the other. “There was just something wrong with it…not the disability or their kind of relationship” was the final remark.

Back into small groups to finish out on Good Kings Bad Kings. Quite liked the book a little worried about the Teddy and Mia. Teddy wanting his own agency and fear over what’ll happen. We dislike Michelle because she is only in it for the money while pretending she isn’t. She also chooses people who have a disability of some sort and she is presumably able-bodied who prays on young disabled people in a rough environment and judges them the entire time. Not having powered wheelchairs could be not having the funding or they don’t want them to have autonomy and independence.

“I hereby declare upon my word of honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized help on this work.” Ren Hadeishi

Jacob Lertora’s Class Summary for 11/1/2021

Dr. Foss began our class by having us wish a happy birthday to someone in the other section of Disability and Literature, which must have been some sort of strange joke, because no such section exists. He then had us take out paper for a quiz, but we promptly put it away as there was no quiz scheduled for that day. We proceeded to talk about two other course offerings: Global Issues in Literature and Intro to Disability Studies, both of which are being offered in the spring, while going off on a slight tangent regarding penguin literature.

Our first activity was a small group discussion on Susan Nussbaum’s “Good Kings Bad Kings”. We talked about the realistic depiction of Mia’s abuse in the section of the reading, as well as the unique perspective of Ricky as he is growing up. However, our discussion focused largely on Joanne, whose experiences and actions mirrored what we had read in the vast majority of the theory pieces for this class. For example, Joanne muses on the term “crip” as a way to empower people with disabilities by assigning it new meaning, which is reflective of a discussion we had towards the beginning of the semester on similar terms. We also connected one passage where Joanne “cringe[s]” at the dentist to the “sneer” of the narrator in last class’s “The Old Questions”.

Joanne’s observations were further expanded upon in the class discussion that followed. One student found that the waiter ignored Joanne while she was eating with Ricky, showing the lack of presence that people with disabilities have. Dr. Foss was quick to point out how Ricky and Joanne’s relationship is connected to many of our poems and short stories which depict such inter-disabled relationships, such as “The Wedding of Tom to Tom”. Lastly, we explored Joanne’s perspective of corruption in her organization, with the board meeting exposing a shelter-to-hospital pipeline that involved millions of dollars.

Next, we moved to discussing the poem “Tulips” by Sylvia Plath. The class did not have much to say on this poem, but we did explore the connection between the tulips, how they made the author feel (bad), and the author’s surgery.

We returned to small groups to discuss “The Yellow Wallpaper”. We agreed this was a very intense and disturbing story, while also containing insight into how a person experiencing a psychotic episode feels. My group noted that the main character does not have a name, despite the other characters being named, though it was pointed out that the narrative was written by the narrator. We connected the bars on the window and the nailed-down bed to a feeling of captivity. One group member questioned the timing of the story, thinking that perhaps she was here for longer than just one month.

Lastly, we joined in a whole class discussion about the short story. The notions of forced prescription and doubt of the disabled condition were reinforced through analysis of the text and the character of John. We found that despite the story being written, the main character lacked a voice: her dialogue did not seem to change the opinion of a single side character. Unfortunately, due to the length of our previous discussions, we were unable to look at Russell and Malholtra’s Capitalism and Disability, and thus class was ended.

Word Count: 556

I pledge.