A Lesson For Everyone Analysis

In our society, power is represented by wealth and status, however people with disabilities lack these because they receive fewer opportunities. In the novella, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, two characters named George and Lennie suffer under society’s social norms. Lennie is inferred to be mentally disabled due to his child-like actions, and he must receive guidance from George to complete daily tasks. Due to George’s caretaking of Lennie, he must sacrifice portions of his wealth and status to support a “normal life” for Lennie. In the stand-up “A Lesson for Everyone” by Whoopi Goldberg, Whoopi portrays a disabled woman that explains her experiences as a person with a disability in society. In the disabled woman’s life, she also must
In the letter created by John Franklin Stephens named “Using the word “retard” to describe me hurts”, Stephens has written this letter to describe the experiences he has had as a person with down syndrome. Stephens wrote about his experiences while conversing with others: “We are aware when you look at us and just say, "unh huh," and then move on, talking to each other.” Stephens does not receive the same attention that others receive while talking. Later on in the letter Stephens recites why this attention is not given due to the word “retard”: “It means that the rest of you are excluding us from your group. We are someone that is not your kind.” Due to people not understanding the thoughts that Stephens has, they unknowingly ostracize him from society. Such as in the standup “A lesson for everyone”, the disabled woman explains the rationale behind the exclusion of disabled people: “We are most uncomfortable with what is most different from us” in this instance society does not accept the differences between people. Due to people not understanding the nuances of all disabilities, misconceptions leads to stereotypes being placed upon these men and women. These stereotypes such as the one in Stephen's letter that he describes: “Last, I get the joke — the irony — that only dumb and shallow people are using a term that means dumb and shallow... it is only funny if you think a "retard" is someone dumb and shallow.” In both “A lesson for everyone” and “Using the word “retard” to describe me hurts”, they both portray their thoughts as disabled men and women. Due to their appearances, thought processes, or actions being different from what is “normal”, they receive preconceived notions of what they are capable of or what they do. Without their personality or achievements taken into account, society at first glance deems these people as