Major Paper/Project, Elizabeth Brewer, Coming Out Mad, Coming Out Disabled, Raymond Carver, Cathedral, Michael Davidson. Universal Design, The Work of Disability in an Age of Globalization. and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper and Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper:
In Elizabeth Brewer’s article,“ Coming Out Mad, Coming Out Disabled,” she speaks about her concerns on her ability to study disability. She had an interest in mental differences and distresses because she was intrigued by the thought processes of mentally ill people and wondered if their writings should be viewed differently because of their disabilities. People with disabilities view the world differently whether they are on the low or high spectrum of mental or physical impairments. Brewer states, “I wanted to know how one speaks from the position of a spoiled identity, to borrow a phrase from Erving Goffman” (11). She wants to learn from the position of the disabled bodies and I think is important to read literature from a perspective of disability because it helps the reader better understand the author’s intended message, grow personally and become more knowledgeable about disabilities, and understand, validate, and support those struggling with disabilities.
Reading literature from the perspective of disability is important because it helps the reader better understand the author’s proposed message. From the author’s perspective, not only does literature help the reader understand the author, but it makes sure that they respect their wishes as authors. If they want the reader to get something out of it, they will be able to do so more successfully because they can put themselves in their place. With that said, people’s understandings in literature would only improve if they viewed it through the lens of a person who has experience with disabilities. The following is a good example about how an author’s work influences people to become knowledgeable on how to treat or help individuals with disabilities. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s real life, she was diagnosed with what at the time was called “nervous disorder” for which she consulted one of the best specialists regarding nervous diseases. This specialist applied the “rest cure” to alleviate her illness. The rest cure consisted of “”living as domestic life as far as possible,” to “have but two hours’ intellectual life a day,” and “never to touch pen, brush, or pencil again” as long as she lived (Gilman, “Why). In Gilman’s article, Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper, she informs the readers how this short story changed a doctor’s mind on how to treat patients with the same disability that she encountered. After she wrote the story, she sent a copy to the physician who nearly drove her mad; however, he did not acknowledge it at that time. Later, Gilman states:
“But the best result is this. Many years later I was told that the great specialist had admitted to friends of his that he had altered his treatment of neurasthenia since reading The Yellow Wallpaper” (Gilman, “Why).
Gilman’s purpose when writing The Yellow Wallpaper was to make people aware of the dangers of “rest cure” treatment. She ends this article stating that “The Yellow Wallpaper short story, was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked” (Gilman, “Why). A disabled person will know all the struggles they deal with daily. Reading literature from someone who is disabled, or even from someone who has had personal experience with the disabled, will help the reader in different ways, such as Gilman did.
Reading works by individuals with disabilities or mental illness helps readers grow personally and become more knowledgeable about disabilities. In my personal experience, my cousin has a 15 year old daughter with special needs. I would not be able to write about her struggles due to the fact that my children do not have obvious special needs. I would not be able to talk about any close personal experiences with having a child with special needs. However, many times I asked her how can I help but only in the moment when I see her struggling to move her daughter from the wheel chair to the bed.
I think it would be very interesting to understand the world through the eyes of the mentally ill and disabled, maybe then we can understand their struggles and even accomplishments. Just as in the example of Gilman’s story, others can help the readers grow personally and also become more knowledgeable about disabilities, like Gilman’s doctor did. People have certain perceptions about individuals who are mentally ill and disabled. There are different levels of mental illnesses and disabilities. In my personal opinion, I do not think that because someone has a disability or mental illness that we should view their thoughts differently due to their “incapacities,” but rather due to the different and important perspectives they offer.
Learning new things will always broaden one’s horizons; it helps one become more open-minded and considerate of others’ circumstances. Once a reader can understand and relate to any type of author, it helps to get the author’s point across to the audience. Being knowledgeable will also help to understand what the author is trying to say in the writing. One will have a better understanding of the individual’s situation such as how to treat “nervous disorder,” also known as “depression.” In Gilman’s doctor’s case, he got a better idea of the patient’s situation by him carefully reading what his patient was feeling, and was able to better assist future clients with the same illnesses. Understanding from the author’s point of view and how they or their characters operate in the arguments or stories they are trying to tell helps the reader to view the reading from a different point of view.
One can help those with disabilities by providing support to those in need. Doing this can help break stereotypes in the literature world. As a reader, one may try and put themselves in the main character’s shoes. Reading literature from a disabled or mentally ill individual about their life experiences and struggles can sometimes help convey the point trying to be made by the author.
Unless the reader is told that what they are reading is from a person who is disabled or mentally ill, it can be difficult for the reader to tell if it is able-bodied writing, or the writing of someone disabled or mentally ill. It is always good to view things from different aspects anyway; doing this will help to keep an open mind to what others have to say or think, regardless of who they are. In other words, individuals should not judge a book by its cover. When reading something written by a mentally ill or disabled person, we should keep their disability in mind to get a better understanding of the message that they are trying to convey.
Reading works by persons with disabilities or mental illness also helps readers understand, validate, and support those struggling with disabilities. For example, in my case I offered help to my cousin the moment she needed to move her child from the wheel chair to her bed, when in reality I should be asking her how can I help her and her daughter in the long term, like make myself available when she decides she needs help. I can do research and ask questions about the life of a disabled individual in her conditions so I can be a resource, but due to my ignorance I leave her to be the one who actually deals with the struggles her daughter faces every day. Being knowledgeable about disabilities can help one not only in understanding literature, but in their everyday life. It can be quite easy to only think about what one already knows. For example, in Cathedral, according to the narrator, all he knows about blind people came from the movies. “In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs” (Carver). As able-bodied people, it is difficult to imagine a world in which one has certain physical limitations. Trying to pay attention to the perspectives of disabled people, the reader can expand their world view. In doing so, one grows as a person by having different perspectives on things. If readers all had a stronger understanding of what it is to be disabled, maybe they would have better healthcare services for the mentally ill or make more places handicap accessible. For example, right now a lot of places are not doing the best they can to make buildings as accessible as they need to be. Broadening one’s horizons is a good thing beyond understanding disabled people because it makes an individual a more empathetic overall. If we practice putting ourselves in other’s shoes, we prepare for real life where we never know who we are going to meet. By broadening their horizons, people can make sure that they are better able to understand other people and interact with them in the way that they want to be treated.
In conclusion, reading literature from the perspective of disability helps the reader better understand the author’s intended message so readers can grow in knowledge and become supportive of those struggling with disabilities. Readers’ understandings in literature would improve if they view it through the lens of people who have experience with disabilities. Gilman was able to prove this with her short story The Yellow Wallpaper as she explained to her readers in her article Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper. She helped the reader understand what she needed and made a difference in how the doctor managed her illness for future patients. Plus, she gained the respect she deserves as an author. Reading about disabilities inform us on how to interact with people with special needs. If we think about it we all face challenges in one way or another. However, for those whose impairments are not obvious, the world does not need to be rearranged but for disabled bodies, there is lot of work to be done to make the world accessible to them. In Michael Davidson’s article Universal Design, The Work of Disability in an Age of Globalization, states that:
a person in a wheelchair becomes disabled when he or she encounters a building without elevators or when a sight-impaired person tries to use an ATM machine without Braille signage. It also recognizes that one may be equally disabled by social stigma. Phrases like “wheelchair bound,” “retarded,” or “deaf and dumb” are no less oppressive than lack of physical access since they mark how certain bodies are interpreted and read. With that, I conclude that we should not have to be disabled to understand disabled and mentally ill people’s needs and become resourceful to them, not a burden.
Word count: 1797. I pledge; I hereby declare upon my word of honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized help on this work. – Odilia Rafael
