Whether people like it or not, there will always be people who don’t fit into societies cookie cutter form. These people are people with disabilities, the people that others look down upon and people that are told their whole lives that they will never amount to anything. All this degrading of people with disabilities comes from a socially ingrained stigma regarding disabilities. With this stigma, people with disabilities are often viewed as people that are afflicted with curses, disease, dependence, and helplessness. Not only that but they are also victims of social avoidance, stereotyping, discrimination, hate crimes, and condescension. I argue however, that these people are the people that others should look up to, the ones that people should look out for. That’s because, more times than not, people with disabilities work harder than the standard person and they use their disability to their advantage. In fact, some people have such a grasp on their disability and know how to use it in such unique ways they can be perceived as having a superpower. Many famous people we know about have done just this, take Stephen Hawking for example. Hawking had ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and later became wheelchair bound and unable to speak without the help of a machine. Despite all that he still became a world famous physicists and used his disability has a push for the discovery of some of this theories. Another great example is FDR, even though he became paralyzed from the waist down and was wheelchair bound, that didn’t stop him from becoming president and becoming a great world leader. However, these great fleets are not only present in our world, but they are also present in the world of fiction. In The Gone World, we meet Shannon Moss, a female amputee who is hindered by her leg. Throughout the novel, she overcomes her disability, which isn’t an easy one to overcome, as it impacts almost every aspect of her life. Shannon becomes an amputee after her mission in which she encounters the Terminus. However, after becoming an amputee, Shannon doesn’t let that stop her, in fact it actually drives her more to want to stop the Terminus and find the missing teenager. All throughout the novel Shannon is constantly traveling through time and pushing herself. Making herself willing to do anything to stop the Terminus from happening. In fact, by the end of book Shannon is essentially a time traveling badass who was able to figure out what event ultimately leads to The Terminus. This women single handedly did this, in fact she is so badass that she alone triggers the black hole that wipes out Libera and the IFT the entire story has been taking place in and ultimately saves the day, for now. With this action allowing her to reset the events of time, with her best friend not being murdered and with Shannon living happily with the man she loves with her unborn child. Overall, The Gone World doesn’t paint Shannon has a helpless person, who can’t do anything herself. Instead, it paints her as someone who despite having a disability can achieve things and even end up saving the world for the time being. Overall, she is painted as a hero and badass women. I believe this is how we should view all disabled people, has people who are able accomplish their goals. I hope The Gone World will be used an example of how we should view disabled people. Links: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/famous-people-with-disabilities_n_4142930 http://agerrtc.washington.edu/info/factsheets/stigma#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20ethnic%20or%20sexual,disease%2C%20dependence%2C%20and%20helplessness.
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