ABSTRACT
Canonical texts have an almost reverential glow about them. While adolescent literature and graphic novels must justify their space in the limited real estate of a school’s curriculum, other books seem riveted to the classroom bookshelves. Even routinely challenged classics seem to enjoy a default spot that it is up to the challenger to usurp. The purpose of this chapter is not to pull canonical texts from their well-worn shelves or to cast aspersions on their aesthetic quality. But we do wonder what negative unintended consequences these books may have. By facing possible harm, perhaps we can disrupt or mitigate it. We’ve already seen that some parents or community members have questioned, for example, the racist language in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or To Kill A Mockingbird. Whatever other positive features these books may have, their language, in part, may be hurtful to some readers. Less noticeable, perhaps, is the possible harm canonical texts can do regarding perceptions of disability in society. When there is a character with a disability, how is that character portrayed? While offensive, racist, or sexist language in a novel or play is easier to see and condemn (or expunged, as was done with Huckleberry Finn in a recent edition), the implied messages they send regarding disability may be harder to spot, and therefore harder to speak against.
