Short Stories with Deaf Fictional Characters

The literature on the deaf fictional characters portrayed in short stories is reviewed to see what images of deaf people are presented. The images are grouped into categories useful for discussion purposes; stories that do not easily fit into groups are discussed separately. The findings are supported by research from the fields of deafness, literature, folklore, sociology, and rehabilitation. Images of the deaf are found to be portrayed largely in stereotypes that have little basis in reality, although some stories do offer images based on an understanding of deaf culture. Both major and less-known writers' works are reviewed; stories discussed and references are presented at the end of the paper.