Show Me a Sign

“I love words, but they confound me too. The way my mind thinks is not just in signs or English words and sentences, but in images and a flow of feeling that I imagine resembles the music I’ve never heard.”

Mary is conveying a sense of the mental process of a person who is deaf. In this quote, she keys on the concept of imagination. Through it, she can approximate the sensation of hearing music or listening to bird songs.

“While I walk, I make up a story to please myself. It’s something I’ve done for as long as I can remember. If I’m restless in bed, it helps me fall asleep. If I’m bored, it entertains me. Sometimes it helps me make sense of things that lack sense.”

Mary is a natural storyteller. Over the course of the novel, she will contend with many situations that do not make sense. This is especially true when she’s faced with the contrasting culture of Boston. She uses stories to maintain her balance in an illogical world.

“It’s not just about blood. My wife, daughter, and I belong in the town of Aquinnah. We share the same beliefs and customs. We participate in ceremonies to honor the Great Being Moshup. We work hard to sustain our small community.”

Thomas is trying to explain why he identifies as a member of the Wampanoag tribe. Mary has been taught to categorize people based on skin color, so she doesn’t understand his explanation. Ironically, Andrew will use this same superficial classification system against Mary later, when he separates people who are deaf from people who are hearing.