[nabs-l] Research: Representation of blindness in literature

Sun Apr 28 00:22:27 UTC 2013

There are random blind characters all over the place in literature,
though I've more often than not seen them in very minor roles which,
though they are not central to the story, still tend to reflect the
stereotypes we all know well.  Also, Dr. Jernigan gave a banquet
address called "Blindness: is Literature Against Us?," which can be
found on nfb.org.  I'm reading an epic fantasy series called A Song of
Ice and Fire, and there is a very elderly blind man in a supporting
role who is always being lead around by some servants, very slowly
stumbling about on those rare occasions one of his servants isn't
there, etc etc.

On 4/27/13, Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think the Avatar series, the TV show not the blue people, might have
> a few novels out.  If so there is a blind character in there who is
> pretty cool, although the show plays off the stereotype that blind
> people can use sound to know everything around them.  Also, you might
> want to consider some of the commics.  Dare Devel is the one that most
> readily comes to mind, but there are a few others that feature blind
> characters too.
>
> On 4/27/13, melissa Green <lissa1531 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Personally, I wouldn't use Jane eyre completely.
>> But there is one scene that I would use that I think is appropriate and
>> brings about discussiion.
>> I wish I could think of some books right now.  But I can't.
>>
>> Blessings,
>> Sincerely,
>> Melissa and Pj
>> Find me on:
>> Twitter melissa5674
>> facebook Melissa R Green
>> Linkedin www.linkedin.com/in/melissagreen5674
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Julie McGinnity" <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
>> To: <jsoro620 at gmail.com>; "National Association of Blind Students mailing
>> list" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2013 9:51 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Research: Representation of blindness in literature
>>
>>
>> There is a book called Girl, Stolen by April Henry that is about a
>> blind girl who is kidnapped.  Jane Eyre is a good one in my opinion.
>> But if you're looking for something a bit more about blind characters
>> adjusting to blindness you can always find Follow my Leader.  Blind
>> Sighted is another more recent one.  If you want something a little
>> more fantastical, there is a blind character in Libba Bray's new book
>> the Diviners.  There is also Beastly, which was made into a movie a
>> couple years ago.  But those are more modern and American(except for
>> Jane Eyre).  Even so, they might be interesting reads for you.
>>
>> On 4/25/13, Joe <jsoro620 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Focus on the Family featured a blind character in their Adventures in
>>> Odyssey series. Not literature, strictly speaking, though the radio show
>>> did
>>> produce some films and book editions, I believe. Also, I forget the
>>> exact
>>> name of the book, but was it something like The Seeing Summer? It's
>>> about
>>> the girl who is kidnapped and held for ransom.--Joe
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Carrie
>>> Gilmer
>>> Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 3:54 PM
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Research: Representation of blindness in
>>> literature
>>>
>>> Hello-
>>> Two of my best friends from college were international students from
>>> Sweden,
>>> over 25 years ago. we are still very close.  Asked them what they knew.
>>> they
>>> both said they can recall absolutely no blind character in lit anywhere
>>> from
>>> childhood or young adulthood, and both also had never seen a blind
>>> person
>>> until sometime after coming to U.S. ...may be a difficult  or sparse
>>> topic.
>>> best of luck
>>> Carrie
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>
>>> On Apr 23, 2013, at 9:55 PM, Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> I don't know of anything specifically Swedish, but I've seen several
>>>> depictions of blindness depicted in English literature.  There is one
>>>> book called, "Hannah," where a blind girl wants to go to school.  She
>>>> seems super dependent in there to me, but the book is also set in the
>>>> 19th century so back then that might have been more common.  In the
>>>> end she participates in some sort of harvesting contest to try to
>>>> raise money to buy a brailler, and when she can't fathom how she's won
>>>> she finds that the town kept putting their picked fruits/vegitables in
>>>> her basket instead of their own.  There is also a book I've come
>>>> across called, "From Charlie's Point of View, although I haven't
>>>> really read it.
>>>>
>>>> On 4/23/13, Leye-Shprintse <leyeshprintse at ymail.com> wrote:
>>>>> BS"D
>>>>>
>>>>> Dear NABS,
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm a blind student and it's time for me to start writing my thesis.
>>>>> I've chosen to write about the representation of blindness in Swedish
>>>>> children's and youth literature. I wonder if you've some ideas where
>>>>> I can rasearch information to my thesis, do you know if someone else
>>>>> have written about this subject? I think it's a very important
>>>>> subject but since Swedish isn't a big language I can't find so much
>>>>> information here. I'm happy for all ideas you can give me! It feels
>>>>> so big to write a thesis so I'm a bit overwhelmed! Forgive my bad
>>>>> English!
>>>>>
>>>>> Kind regards,
>>>>> Leye-Shprintse
>>>>>
>>>>> Envoyé de mon iPad
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>> %40gmail.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Kaiti
>>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Julie McG
>> National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
>> Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
>> Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
>> and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
>> "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
>> everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
>> life."
>> John 3:16
>>
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>
>
> --
> Kaiti
>
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