Deafening Chapter Summary

25. Historically, the educational system viewed sign as a language for animals. It was thought by teaching speech, deaf students would be molded into

In the book, How the García girls lost their accent, by Julia Alvarez, who utilizes rhetorical devices in the passage chosen to develop the conflict that Yolanda is facing in the story by using imagery, simile, and anaphora in order to evince how Yolanda’s conflict with her husband John plays a role in her horrible breakdown and her journey to revive the love she had for her native language and culture.

Deaf Like Me is a story compiled together by Thomas and James Spradley. It is a compelling story about two hearing+ parents struggling to cope with their daughters overwhelming deafness. This powerful story expresses with simplicity the love, hope, and anxieties of all hearing parents of deaf children. In the epilogue, Lynn Spradley, herself, now a teenager thinks back about different times in her life growing up deaf. She reflects upon her education, her struggle to communicate, and the discovery that she was the inspiration and the main focus of her father's and uncle's book collaboration. Deaf Like Me is a

First, this book allowed me to see the negative way in which deaf people were perceived. This book is not old by any means, and I was taken aback by the way deaf children were perceived by not only others in the community, but often times by their own parents as well. The term

In this book, Deaf in America, by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries, the two authors wrote stories, jokes, performances, and experiences of Deaf people. They also wrote Deaf culture and Deaf people’s lives from various angles. This book is great navigator of Deaf world for hearing people and even Deaf people as me. There are several factors attracting reader. To begin with, I could learn about backgrounds of deaf people and hearing people. Authors wrote about a Deaf boy who was born into a deaf family. Until he discovered that a girl playmate in neighborhood was “hearing”, he didn’t notice about “Others”. Authors

Have you ever felt like there was nothing that you can do for your child? In this book, Deaf Like Me, by Thomas S. Spradley and James P. Spradley, I can see the journey that Lynn’s parents took to get her help. (Spradley & Spradley, 1978). This book was an excellent read. I really liked the way that they described the ways they tried to help Lynn to understand the world around her. The book, is a great asset for any family that might be unexpectedly put into a situation that they know nothing about such as a deaf child.

In Mark Drolsbaugh’s educational and witty autobiography “Deaf Again”, he describes his journey as a child born to deaf parents, losing his own hearing in his childhood, and navigating both hearing and deaf worlds while trying to discover his identity.

“Lesia’s Dream” is the story of Lesia Magus, a girl who struggles to stand strong even though nobody accepts her in the new country she immigrates to.

This documentary does an excellent job of advocating for the acknowledgment of people who are deaf within society. This is shown through not only the brilliantly written and performed poems of the students but also in the basic, everyday struggles each of them face, such as the desire to fit in or be valued by those around them. Deafness is not a specific to any gender, race, culture, or religion. The struggles many people who are deaf go through are relatable to all and

In essence, this book elucidated what it was like for Terry Galloway to undergo her mental breakdowns, to address her queer identity in a world deprived of sound, while taking into consideration societal norms and historical occurrences in the world of people with disabilities. Correspondingly, Galloway divides her story into three parts that depict the unfolding of her life. The first part of her memoir was “Drowning” which corresponds to her going deaf, the second part of her memoir was “Passing” which corresponds to her

Mark Drolsbaugh’s Deaf Again book gives a detailed account of his experience with becoming deaf in both a hearing and deaf world. It includes the awkwardness and un-comfortability he felt in hearing environments, within is personal family dynamic and in deaf safe havens where he learned to adjust, and grow for the betterment of him learning ASL and in general, becoming emerged within Deaf culture. Drolsbaugh starts the book off by introducing how life for deaf people, even when giving birth, can be a struggle (due to society not being well informed on how to effectively communicate and treat Deaf individuals). Drolsbaugh’s mother, Sherry, wasn’t properly given epidural while giving birth to him, and as she made noises to best express that something was wrong, the nurse brushed it off. Once Mark was born, and Sherry got up the needle wasn’t in her back but on the bed. Looking at how communication issues can lead to negative results, throughout the rest of the book Drolsbaugh sheds light on this phenomenon, specifically focusing on the educational environment and the interactions between and among hearing and deaf communities.

While reading this book, there were several things that stood out to me, one of which being how Brandi struggled so much as a child trying to be a part of the Deaf world and the hearing world, think that was what was expected of her instead of asking herself what she wanted. While not everyone experiences this struggle on such a large scale as Brandi did, many people, especially teens, can put themselves in that mind set of looking for themselves and trying to find who the person they want to be much as Rarus did later in life. She talks about the struggle to prove herself as being able to “stay hearing” was vital to her as a child. “I thought I was too smart for the deaf classes. I didn’t know that deaf kids who are only exposed to sign language and don’t use any speech whatsoever – like the kids in the class next door to me in elementary school – often read below grade level because their English isn’t honed” (22) She believed, at the time, reading at a

At first glance, the story of Harry Potter seems to have no to similarities to the Deaf World. I know when I first saw the article title, I was very confused and was not sure of what to expect. However, when examined more closely, it is very apparent and inspiring how much Harry Potter relates to the Deaf World. Understanding Harry Potter- Parallels to the Deaf World talks about how different lenses can be used to look at literature in order to gain new perspectives as well as an appreciation for literature and human life. It focuses on four main lenses called the “Deaf Studies Template”, in which the author uses to make parallels between Harry Potter and the Deaf World. These lenses are: Only in the Deaf World, Minority Issues, Institutions, and Edenic Narrative.

Language is a power tool for Darl, Dewey Dell, and Cash but for their mother Addie it is a limitation. She says, “words don’t ever fit even what they are trying to say at.” Addie believes that language is the experience and words will never match that. While the children feel defined by their language, she feels defined by experiences. She makes this clear when she describes a scene with Cora Tull, “And so when Cora Tull would tell me I was not a true mother, I would think how words go straight up in a thin line, quick and harmless, and how terribly doing goes along the earth.”

Nell is a wild child since she is cut form the modern world. Nell has lived with her mother in an isolated cabin in North Carolina. When her mother dies, she is found by Dr. Jerome Lovell, who is fascinated by the new language Nell has developed. This new language is not a mental condition but a mixture of a stroke language. This stroke language that she has developed is due to her mother, who is only able to speak in a type of stroke language due to her condition. Nell has simply developed her own language with a mixture of stoke speak in it. When Nell speaks she drops the consonants of words she pronounces. Due to this new language that no one can interpret; many doctors think that she may have a medical condition.