ABSTRACT
Disability draws attention to itself, thus calling a story into being. The narrative then uses disability as a metaphor to convey meaning and character. Given its ability to impact every human, disability crosses race, sexuality, gender, and any other kind of social group. Disability's challenges have affinities with other minority discourses, and it may be beneficial to explore other chapters in this textbook that address representations of identity. Disability calls a story into being because "something has gone amiss with the known world” and the narrative needs to address the "abnormality." David T. Mitchell and Sharon L. Snyder cite Paul Longmore who identifies three common images: "disability is a punishment for evil; disabled people are embittered by their 'fate'; disabled people resent the nondisabled and would, if they could, destroy them". Rather than focusing on disabled characters, focus on representations of disabled lives. Disability groups have made a similar move with cripple and gimp.
