Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Bachelor of Arts in English Literary Studies

Advisor

Laura D'Amore, Ph.D.

Abstract

Literature is something that constantly evolves, changes, and develops the way that identities and can be represented. Portrayals of disability in literature are some things that have developed the most. This paper will examine the way that representations of disability in literature have changed from the portrayals that were steeped in fear and pity to the contemporary representations that demonstrate the fact that disabled individuals are human and deserve respect and proper representation in literature. Using Shakespeare’s Richard III and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol as the texts from the literary canon, this essay will analyze the way that disabled individuals were represented as people to be pitied rather than a multi-layered individual. There is a stark contrast in modern works such as Élodie Durand’s Parenthesis and Susannah Cahalan’s Brain on Fire that highlight this new shift in contemporary literature. Through language, point of view, and images, Cahalan and Durand, as well as other contemporary writers, invite their readers to be more empathetic and understand disability as a lived, human experience, rather than something to be pitied or feared. By comparing the structure of these texts, this paper will illustrate how literature can and should impact the emotions of readers as they are reading. The analysis in this essay will show the shift to more authentic, empathetic portrayals of disability in literature which shows the evolution of literature as a whole with a reflection on how it will impact future educators and their students. This paper will examine the way that disability portrayals have shifted from suggesting that individuals with disabilities should be pitied or feared to more empathetic portrayals in contemporary literature. This essay will use Shakespeare’s Richard III and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol as texts from the literary canon to analyze how disability was represented as something to be feared or pitied. Contemporary literature that has caused this shift is highlighted in texts like Parenthesis by Élodie Durand or Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan. This paper will deconstruct the structure and conventions of these texts, such as point of view, language, and images impact the way that disability is represented for the readers as well as how they receive it.

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