In the book, Senka is deaf. But even though he is deaf he still catches wind that the men are talking about escape. I can connect this with the TV show Switched at Birth. In the TV show, their is a deaf girl called Daphne and even though she can't hear anything she can always tell when something is wrong. I admire that they can feel what the mood is in a room or in a particular space. When I saw how Senka can notice what is going on even though he can't here I immediately thought of Daphne. She does the same strategies as Senka when it comes to try to understand what is going on.
Senka shows off that he is deaf. He acts like he is wiser because he escaped three times. He likes being isolated from the rest of the men. Daphne on the other hand, doesn't like to feel lonely. When she can't communicate with the hearing she tends to start to hate being deaf. But when she is talking about someone they wouldn't know because they can't understand sign language. So being deaf has its ups and downs.
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Clara,
ReplyDeleteReading your post I also thought it was interesting how he knows whats happening. Although, I think he knows by the expression on peoples face, by what they are doing, and many other things. As in the TV show you described, I also think she knows whats happening because she can read what people are saying, see their expressions, see what they are doing. She can understand everything perfectly fine even in she is deaf.
I think that it depends on what kind of person you are. Senka, I think he depends on himself and that he believe that the help of the other people are not worth it. I think that because he got out by himself the three times. Although, Daphne hasn't ever felt the same as him. She is like a teenager that wishes she was like him. She has never felt the same as him and never will experience that same.
Clara,
ReplyDeleteI like the connection you made and the way you realize that all deaf people have this “instinct“ and it doesn´t matter if they can´t hear, the other four senses are alert to everything that surround them. I think that all deaf people find out what other people are talking about of if something is wrong by the body language. They still can see the expressions or feel the tension surrounding. The only difference between your two comparisons is that Senka is a person that had live a lot of things, and being through a lot unlike the TV show girl that bases her speculations in her short life. Anyway it was a wise comparison.
Clara,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post overall, and your connections are very thoughtful and relevant to the book.
As I read the book, one of the things that really stood out for me during the reading was Senka, which was deaf. The reason why I think I payed much attention to these parts was because I thought it was interesting the concept of a deaf person being able to live almost as normally as a person with an intact sense of hearing. Therefore, this lead me to have a certain connection to your post's main ideas. For instance, take a look at Ludwig van Beethoven, the famous classical music composer. At the age of 46, he was completely deaf, though he continued to compose several more songs throughout his life. One thing's for sure, even though his hearing was completely destroyed, he could carry life out normally and compose just as well. This is due to the fact that since he worked with music all his life, he knew the sound of each note in his mind, making his position to compose illegible. In a way, it is quite similar to Senka, as he knows what the prisoners are speaking of when they talk because of their body language, expressions, gestures, and lip movements. The idea overall, not to be able to hear, is very interesting, and, though we don't want this to happen to us, it is strange the concept of how such a person can know what people are saying without being able to listen to their voices. Moving on, it is not only about being deaf overall, but you can also see blind people that also live life very ordinarily and are capable of things normal people can't. Take a look at Ben Harper, a young man that can echolocate himself in every environment and convey information to his brain to where he is in this space, making him able to even skate! I know these things are kind of hard to understand so, in other words, he makes clicking sounds for the sounds emitted to bounce off objects and translate into some visual information for his brain, using a similar system like bats, which are blind, and dolphins. Also, this reminds me of Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, two very famous, yet blind, musicians. Even though both of them don't have the ability to see things in their surroundings, they are still able to compose songs, play piano, sing, and several other things regular people cannot do. In general, it is very good to keep in mind that even though some don't have one of the five senses, they can be as smart (or smarter) than people with all of them fully functioning.
Clara, what a delightful post yours is, and has plenty of details and ideas. Great job!
Check out the Boy Who Sees Without Eyes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiBeLoB6CKE
Thiago