Sound and Fury

It is hard to take a side on such a subject as the in ability to hear, and so I chose not to. I myself am happy that I have been fortunate with my own ability to hear, but I will not try to assume that it is necessarily better to have such an ability, nor are people who are deft any less capable. So instead I choose to examine the different Discourses that were presented in the film.

To start with the hearing perspective (of which I have a bit more experience), it is hard for the family to understand why their relatives are hesitant to get the cochlear implants. They have been able to hear all their lives and it is hard to imagine what life would be like without it. It has become so much a part of their daily lives that if it were taken away, they would not be able to function nearly as well in daily society. They feel that preventing their children from being able to hear would hold them back. As the Grandmother asks her daughter-in-law about her ability to read a simple recipe, it seems obvious that if deftness hinders ones ability to read, it should be treated for the child's sake. At the same time the deft father also admits that he may have gotten as far as he could in his job because of his deftness, so why wouldn't he want more for his daughter? Finally their is the fear of ridicule. Though the deft father and mother do not remember, the Grandmother feels that her son was isolated from everyone else because of his inability to communicate with them and she does not wish the same for her grandchildren. They see deftness as nature's mistake that can now be fixed.

On the other side there are many factors that must be considered as well. From the deft perspective, it seems offensive that their relatives are so forceful about getting the cochlear implant. They have been deft all their lives and they have done relatively well with themselves in spite of what many call a disability. They don't think of it as a disability, but as the way nature intended them to be. The deft family (and community for that manner) often seems to feel that they are under appreciated and seen as inferior or less intelligent. This fuels a pride for their deft heritage and a sense to prove that they are just as capable and to stop the destruction of this way of life. At the same time there is a fear of the parents that their daughter will lose touch from them. Sure, she may be able to sign well-enough now, but when she is able to speak, will she begin to abandon this way of life--will they lose touch with their own daughter. They also fear that the implant may not even work. As they met with the other deft family whose daughter had had the implant, from their perspective, the daughter seemed to be speaking perfectly, but as they found out, her speech was still odd and difficult to understand. Would it be better for her to be good at one type of language, or average with two?