Stuck In Neutral Character Analysis

Stuck in neutral is a story about fourteen year old Shawn McDaniel who suffers from cerebral palsy. This means that Shawn can’t walk, talk, move his legs, move his arms or even smile. However, he has the special ability to remember anything he’s ever heard, from the most basic conversations to the boring TV commercials. The only thing is, that with his condition, he can’t tell anyone what he knows, he can’t tell anyone that he’s alive in his dysfunctional body and that he’s not a complete retard. The only time he truly feels alive is when he has an occasional seizure, which, according to him, they don’t hurt at all but actually make him happy because he gets a sense of freedom. Shawn’s father on the other hand, thinks his son is suffering and in pain. He can’t bear to see his son in pain and wants to end Shawn’s suffering. This leads Shawn to suspect that his dad might want to kill him...out of love. …show more content…
Shawn’s mom is his primary caretaker, she feeds him and takes care of his needs everyday (Shawn’s dad had left them shortly after Shawn was born because he couldn’t bear to see Shawn having his seizures). He goes to school but is in the Severely/Profoundly Handicapped Special Education Program, which he calls the retard class. His dad came in one day, with a cameraman from the local PBS station and started talking about disabled kids who can’t be educated. Even though a seizure came over Shawn, he still picked up the words “end his