Author

Tyler Dickey

Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

Committee Chair

David St. John

Committee Member

Bethany Boswell

Committee Member

Joseph Conway

Subject(s)

Yoshitoki Ōima--A silent voice--Criticism and interpretation, Children with disabilities in comics, Youth with disabilities in comics

Abstract

Disability scholars have read stories in the form of manga to see how their depictions of disabilities can be harmful or helpful to those possessing disabilities. Most manga examined in this way usually consists of a story where either only one character is present with a disability, or the story falls within the ‘supercrip’ narrative. Yoshitoki Ōima’s A Silent Voice differs from this trend as it displays multiple characters with different types of disabilities and falls into the slice-of-life genre. This thesis exists to do a critical disability reading of A Silent Voice as a piece of disability literature. I argue that the text is unique in how it depicts the othering process through linguistic and cultural othering, how we define disability, and why overtly defensive or violent responses under the guise of disability justice fail to help anyone.

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