Abstract
The representation of disability is generally divided into two themes: personal tragedy or “super crips,” where the storyline concludes with a tragic ending and a sense of overcoming and perseverance against all odds (Haller, 2010). Among these storylines, disability becomes the individual’s dominant identity/characteristic that renders all other identities of the individual invisible (Davis, 1995). If disability is strongly associated with the lack of physical or mental abilities or medical deficiencies, and disability is the dominant identity or characteristic of the individual, then the individual is nothing more than what the disability represents: merely a lack of mental or physical ability (Davis, 1995). Within these storylines, the themes of disability continue to orient around passivity, victims, dependence, unproductiveness, health care, social welfare, and the triumph of overcoming disability, while excluding love, sex, and relationships (Barnes & Mercer, 2010; Johnstone, 2001).
Drawing from her personal experiences, Nussbaum wove together seven distinct voices that reveal a story about juveniles with disabilities who reside within a state-run nursing facility for adolescents. Through their voices, each of the characters revealed multifaceted layers of who they are which counters the dominant narrative of one-dimensional individuals: disabled. Within multiple chapters, each of the voices was alternatively represented: Yessenia Lopez, Joanne Madsen, Ricky Hernandez, Teddy Dobbs, Mia Oviedo, Jimmie Kendrick, and Michelle Volkmann.
Three of the voices belonged to those who resided within the institution. Yessenia Lopez is a fierce and independent Puerto Rican female who struggles to find her place in the world. Teddy Dobbs is an outgoing, friendly, talkative, skinny blond male who wears a suit every day. Moving around in a motorized wheelchair, he aspires to live independently where he would be able to do and eat whatever he desired. Mia Oviedo is a pretty Mexican girl with cerebral palsy who, despite her traumatic past, embraces new friendships and relationships. Together, all three voices illustrated the complex reality of living within an institution as they support and care for one another.
The remaining four voices were those who work for the institution. As a quadriplegic White female data entry clerk, Joanne Madsen occupies a conflicting position of struggling to make a difference within the system while working for the institution. As a tall Puerto Rican male, Ricky Hernandez struggles to make a difference while trying to protect and support the kids within the institution. As a staff member, Jimmie Kendrick illustrates the challenges of keeping one’s job while wanting to do what is right within the bureaucratic maze. As an outsider, Michelle Volkmann is seen as either a good worker or a bad person due to her job of recruiting individuals with disabilities to occupy the empty beds within the institution. Together, all four voices reveal overlapping and contrasting perspectives of how their roles impact the individuals residing within the institution.
All seven voices conveyed and illustrated the complex reality for those who reside and work within the institution. Furthermore, each voice reflected the complexity of each character as an individual, which contrasted with the single note representation. Each voice contributes to a shared storyline. It is through that shared storyline where a sense of connection develops among each of the characters as they reveal more and more of who they are through their everyday interactions, relationships, and thoughts.
Along with the uniqueness of each character, the heart of the story resides within those everyday moments of insecurity, vulnerability, triumph, fear, anger, happiness, and confusion that counter the monotone themes of tragedy or overcoming one’s disability. Instead, through the lives and experiences of the characters, they present insight into their multifaceted selves as they explore who they are and their relationships as illustrated by simple moments such as Yessenia describing in detail how she beat up this girl as a result of being called a derogatory name, Joanne’s observations of how easily she becomes invisible in public while eating out with a co-worker, how Ricky patiently holds a smoothie for Pierre for as long as he needed to finish the drink, how Mia lights up every time she sees Teddy, or how Teddy talks about wanting to hire a hooker just so he could learn how to properly pleasure his girlfriend rather than merely getting laid.
What makes this storyline powerful is how relatable the characters become as one gets to know them. Through their everyday lives, one is able to develop a connection with the characters on multiple levels whether it is relating to what it is like being disabled, being a racial minority, being male, being frustrated with the system, struggling to be strong and independent, being vulnerable, being mischievous, or being happy. Together the voices of seven individuals humanize what it means to be disabled in a society that generally portrays them as invisible minor individuals known only for their disabilities. That is what makes Good Kings, Bad Kings a powerful story, as it captures the complexity of human nature from perspective(s) that are not commonly heard.
Therefore, Good Kings, Bad Kings is beneficial on multiple levels. Not only does the novel provide a complex glimpse of the reality of juveniles with disabilities residing within an institution but at the same time, it also counters the bleak assumption of their reality. As Joanne noted, People think there’s nothing more horrifying and depressing than a disabled child, but even when kids are all messed up and spazzed out and needy as hell there’s still a lot of good energy coming off them. They’re so funny and surprising and they are who they are. (Nussbaum, 2013, p. 14)
The voice of each of these characters recognizes and addresses the reality of being disabled, a racial minority, White, male, female, gay, sexual, poor, and/or so forth. Therefore, due to its relatable and versatile context, this book is beneficial for a broad audience who may find themselves identifying with certain characters or shared experiences, for those who may gain another perspective of a reality that is completely different from their own background, or for those who utilize this novel as a means of inching toward changing the dominant representation and understanding of disability. Most importantly, the act of simply reading this novel has served its purpose of structuring a space where those seven (eight including the author’s) voices are heard.