preview

Normal And Adam Pottles Analysis

Decent Essays

‘Normal’ what does that mean? For many, this means fitting into the group and being the same as everyone else. In most groups ‘normal’, means having both legs and arms, being able to hear and see, not needing help in everyday tasks, like going to the washroom or getting dressed, drinking and eating. For people with disability, ‘normal’ is different, and changes from day to day depending on the tasks or how they are feeling that day, some need extra help, while others have learned to accomplish tasks by themselves. Through Jim Ferris’s poem “Normal” and Adam Pottles “Hearing Test” a different point of view is given for what is considered ‘normal’. “Normal” uses a simple baseball game to show how disability is affecting a child’s life, while …show more content…

One in which that this child has not been able to play baseball before and is missing out on the magical experience at running around the bases in a race to home plate in order to score points for their team. Another, however, is that this individual has not been able to take part in love. With second base being a common name for sexual activities, this poem is able to show how a disability can affect ones’ life; not only changing ones every day but also changing the big moments of an individuals’ life. Likewise, Pottles uses the innocence of a childhood memory, a camping trip, to explain an interesting perspective on disability. Disability is shown through a young child who is not able to hear fully. Nonetheless, the mother does not take this to be a limiting disability ‘“That’s how you hear it. That’s your way.’” (14), she is able to show support and does not see her child, to be limited by their hearing. Through the support she offers, the child is comforted and feels at peace. This peace is an important part of any childhood in order to feel like they belong and are loved. This concept challenges what society considers normal, in the first stanza of “Hearing Test”, the line, “Since I couldn’t read their lips, it was all mumbling to me” (Pottle 4), shows us the first clue that this child is not able to hear fully. With hearing being a big part of daily life, this is considered to

Get Access