![]() You are undoubtedly aware that sometimes what we say and what we mean are two different things. However, one thing we haven’t talked about all that much is subtext. ![]() We’ve delved into how certain words originate and how they morph over time.Īnd, we’ve talked about various grammatical rules that make English the beautiful, rich language it is today. We’ve looked at how language intersects with culture. Dennison doesn’t mean to think poorly of his parents, but he resents that his mother prioritizes being an artist over being a parent.Here, at Linguablog, we’ve explored various aspects of language. However, she rejects Dennison’s philosophy that they should totally cut off their families. She relates that, like Dennison, she wishes to lead a more independent life and to stop putting all of her energy into caring for her father. An excellent chef, Ivy is fascinated by culinary history. They become fast friends, bonding over their shared understanding of the struggles that come with living with deaf family members. To each of their surprise, neither is deaf. ![]() She signs to him, but he avoids her, afraid that she is yet another deaf person who will want his help. She notices Dennison talking to himself in sign language and assumes he is deaf. One day, a new classmate named Ivy arrives at school. Thomas, his father, is mostly independent and gives Dennison occasional relief from his duties. Jeremy uses his brother as an interpreter for his schoolwork. Palma, his mother, distrusts hearing-abled people, calling them “hearies.” She refuses to work with clients directly on even the most basic tasks, forcing Dennison to act as her manager. Because he can hear, his family has grown to rely on him being around to interpret. As a “CODA,” or child of deaf adults, he has had an atypical and emotionally taxing childhood. This fall, he decides to put all of his effort towards building the best college application he can. For the past three years, Dennison has excelled academically, and he dreams of going to the country’s top engineering college, MIT. Of Sound Mind begins at the start of Dennison’s final year of high school. Of Sound Mind has received positive criticism for its sympathetic and realistic disability narrative, uniquely illuminating the complexities of choosing between self and family as one approaches adulthood. However, tragedy soon hits Dennison’s family, and his decision of whether to leave his family for college becomes difficult. When Ivy, a new student with a deaf parent, joins his senior class, she sets an example for how to treat disabled family members with compassion while still being independent. Dennison’s mother, a famous sculptor, is demanding of his services, tearing him between the guilt of denying his family help and the urge to live a more independent life and get into his dream school, MIT. Though his parents and little brother, Jeremy cannot hear, Dennison can and helps his family interpret between spoken English and sign. Of Sound Mind (2001), a novel for young adults by Jean Ferris, follows high school student Theo Dennison who is born into a deaf family in which sign language is the primary mode of communication.
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