Scripts, Stigma, and Disability in Fiction

Abstract

This research aims to bring disability studies to light in the works of Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I aim to examine how the neurotypical modes of genre script uphold stereotypes of the protagonists of each novel, using David Herman’s theory about genre scripts and Erving Goffman’s sociological theories of phantom acceptance and phantom normalcy. Using Herman’s literary theory with Goffman’s sociological theory, I then, use disability studies as a lens to examine how these theories point to the stark stereotypes that are highlighted in each novel.