• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • USI Theses, Capstones, Dissertations, and Projects
    • Theses
    • Master of Arts in English (MAE)
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • USI Theses, Capstones, Dissertations, and Projects
    • Theses
    • Master of Arts in English (MAE)
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    Skip to main content

    Browse

    All of SOAR USICommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    Progress or regression : depictions of disability and disease in literature

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Author
    Bunner, Alexander Mitchell
    Advisor
    Hoeness-Krupsaw, Susanna M.
    Conaway, Charles A.
    Montz, Amy L.
    Keyword
    disability
    disease
    disability theory
    cognitive disability
    Title
    Progress or regression : depictions of disability and disease in literature
    Publication Date
    2017
    Author Degree Title
    Master of Arts in English
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12419/320
    Abstract
    Portrayals of disability and disease in literature date back to the beginning of recorded history, and these portrayals constantly shift based on the culture that writes them. However, depictions of cognitive disabilities lag behind physical disabilities due lo communication being difficult or impossible. Many books that include characters with cognitive disabilities resort to using them less like a character and more like an object that serves the narrative. The characters Bertha Mason in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Benjy Compson in William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, and Christopher "Stump" Hall in Wiley Cash"s A land More Kind than Home offer a cross section of characters with cognitive disabilities that span eras of great importance to disability studies. The three characters are nonverbal; yet, they perform different functions within their stories. Disability theory allows for readers to better understand these characters and how their disability or disease reflects on the writer and culture that produced them. With a proper understanding of the culture that produced characters, one can see how he or she relates to modern thought on disability studies. Theorists' goal is to have more well-rounded characters who happen to have a disability, and to push for more writers with disabilities to share their stories. Alas, such a task is impossible for many cases of cognitive disability. It is difficult to portray a character that cannot communicate their thoughts or feelings in a way readers can understand. Most portrayals of characters like these leave aspects of their characters lacking, but when a writer attempts to write such a voice the depiction of the character helps to normalize the disability as a part of human existence. For a character with a cognitive disability to be well-rounded, the character needs to participate in the narrative beyond being an object.
    Description
    Thesis available in Rice Library University Archives and Special Collection.
    Collections
    Master of Arts in English (MAE)

    entitlement

     
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2022)  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.