The community in which deaf individuals are raised in effect how they not only communicate but also their self-image and willingness to become active members of their community. How a community interacts and accepts the deaf individual has a huge impact on their outlook on life. In Cece Bell's’ novel El Deafo, the protagonist Cece’s outlook on life changes throughout the novel as different people interact with her and learn about her deafness, while in the documentary Life Without Words the community in which Maria, the protagonist, lives in affects her in a different way. Her community does not quite accept and provide the same benefits as Cece’s and therefore affects her communication and her way of life. As the story begins Cece is
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Maria is twenty-eight years old and went to very little school and due to this, she has a hard time learning the unique language that was “created over the last 30 years by deaf children in Nicaragua”(Kettlewell, 2004). The lack of schooling Maria had and the lack of motivation by her family to keep her in school affects her and how willing she is to learn a language as she is starting with no form of language and would have gotten help if she attended school. If she had some school, it would not only be easier for her to pick up the second language, but she would also understand the basics of language and communication instead of starting with nothing at the age of twenty-eight. Also, the community she is raised in has very little for those who are deaf, she can be seen going into town with her family to go to a church where she is noticeably underdeveloped compared to the rest of the women her age. The community does not have a lot of deaf-friendly things to do. The only thing that the community has to offer is a teacher who can be seen trying to help Maria learn sign language, but struggles. This shows just how important community is to language development and communication if the community was more educated on deafness and provided
Maria is twenty-eight years old and went to very little school and due to this, she has a hard time learning the unique language that was “created over the last 30 years by deaf children in Nicaragua”(Kettlewell, 2004). The lack of schooling Maria had and the lack of motivation by her family to keep her in school affects her and how willing she is to learn a language as she is starting with no form of language and would have gotten help if she attended school. If she had some school, it would not only be easier for her to pick up the second language, but she would also understand the basics of language and communication instead of starting with nothing at the age of twenty-eight. Also, the community she is raised in has very little for those who are deaf, she can be seen going into town with her family to go to a church where she is noticeably underdeveloped compared to the rest of the women her age. The community does not have a lot of deaf-friendly things to do. The only thing that the community has to offer is a teacher who can be seen trying to help Maria learn sign language, but struggles. This shows just how important community is to language development and communication if the community was more educated on deafness and provided