Behinderung in der deutschsprachigen Literatur

Introduction

Critical Disability Theory (CDT)² is a newly emerging theory that focuses on the analysis of all disability issues. It is a diverse and interdisciplinary theory, and it has a certain set of approaches when analysing the structure of disability as a cultural, historical, social, relative, and political occurrence. CDT is seen as a branch of Critical Disability Studies (CDS)³, however, at the same time, it is claimed to be within Critical Disability Studies rather than being an independent or sub-theory. As a theory, CDT focuses on disability in broad types of fields as well as disability in philosophical fields.

CDT is made of two different theories: Critical Theory and Disability Theory (as well as Studies). Critical Theory came out from “the work of scholars who formed the Frankfurt School, a term which refers to a group of Western Marxist social researchers and philosophers originally working in Frankfurt, Germany” which was established in 1923.⁴ The school had Western Marxist scholars, philosophers, and capitalists. However, the origin of the term, Critical Theory, dates to 1937 when it was used by Max Horkheimer in his essay titled Traditional and Critical Theory.⁵ Traditional Theory aims to describe the world with no critical interest and tries to show everything as it is by giving examples from what it observes. Traditional Theory was limited with the methodology of positivism in everything with no intention to change the cycle. This “‘positivism’ views science as a purely theoretical undertaking divorced from practical interests even while it actually serves a particular social function (…)”.⁶ However, Critical Theory does not stand on the side of objectivity, and it aims to illustrate the oppression within societies and change society: “Critical theory, by contrast, reflects on the context of its own origins and aims to be a transformative force within that context.”⁷ Critical Theory tries to go to the depths of social interruptions and understand the barriers that hold humans from evolving into their full selves.⁸

The writer of the novel, Benjamin Lebert is a German writer. He was born in 1982 in Freiburg, Germany. When he was 16 years old, he published his first novel Crazy. The novel turned out to be an international bestseller and even a film by Hans-Christian Schmid was made based on the novel.⁹ Lebert is partially paralyzed on the left side since birth. Because it was not easy for him to perform in schools, he had to change several schools and eventually went to a boarding school. Even his teachers mocked him that he was not good enough to study maths and physics. In the boarding school, he made some friends and wrote his book based on his life in the boarding school. He left the school when he was 9^th grade student. However, he returned to school after the novel Crazy was published and got some fame. Stern Magazine wrote about him: “No one has ever been so right-on in expressing the drama of being young. A sensation.”¹⁰ In the novel, the protagonist carries his name. In an interview by The New York Times, Lebert says that using his own name as the name of the protagonist was a mistake and he would not use his name once again.¹¹

The novel’s protagonist, a 16-year-old, has transferred through four schools due to his disability. Eventually, his parents opt for a boarding school, expecting it to be more inclusive and suitable for him. The school even sends a reassuring letter, promising improvement: “Dear Benjamin, just come to us and everything will get better. Lots of people before you have made it already.”¹² Initially, this letter creates an expectation of a supportive environment for Benni. However, as the story unfolds, the school’s welcoming facade fades. The protagonist recounts his experiences, highlighting deficiencies in education, challenges in making friends as a disabled individual, patronizing and unequal treatment, inclusive shortcomings, gender roles, disability issues, and the use of derogatory language towards the disabled.

Theoretical Background of Critical Disability Theory

Since CDT is a newly emerging theory, it gets support from other newly emerging theories to strengthen its theoretical approaches. One of those theories that CDT supports and gets supported by is Crip Theory, which is a combination of Queer and Critical Disability theories. Queer and Disability theories face common challenges that forces these two to unite under the same umbrella. Both “Queer theory and disability theory have shared interests, including challenging medicalization, and some argue that the AIDS crisis catalysed the connection between the two (…).”¹³ Furthermore, it could be added that disabled queer individuals can find themselves within Crip Theory, since the theory unites both disability and non-heteronormativity. Yogesh Kashikar puts the supporting point regarding disability and sexuality in the following line: “(…) Disability Studies are focused on the literary context where the authors create characters who are both gay and disabled.”¹⁴

Another theory that CDT supports is Disability Critical Race Theory¹⁵ which is also known as DisCrit Theory. In this theory, disability and race share the same shade of DisCrit Theory. Since both disabled and Coloured people face marginalization and discrimination in different phases of their lives, the theory aims to support the challenges of both peoples by getting its strength via Critical Disability Theory. Furthermore, DisCrit is advocated by Critical Race Theory (CRT)¹⁶, which is another theory in Critical Studies, however, since CRT does not share any space for disability, it cannot fully strengthen DisCrit without the help of CDT. The theory argues that “[w]‌hite disabled body” is centred in disability scholarship while the issue of race is ignored.¹⁷ David L. Hosking furthers in the matter of DisCrit and gives examples form the concept of Intersectionality by Kimberlé Crenshaw in which she shows the discrimination that Black women face due to their class, sex, and race.¹⁸ However, Intersectionality is not enough to cover the issues of Coloured disabled people. That is why, a new concept, “the concept of Hybrid Intersectionality” by Nancy Ehrenreich was emerged, in which privileged and subordinated are discussed.¹⁹ Hybrid Intersectionality argues that “the singly burdened [the men of Colour] often simultaneously be in a privileged position relative to others who experience additional axes of subordination.”²⁰ Thus, men will always be privileged thanks to his sex. However, double burdened [the Women of Colour] will always face multiple discrimination due to her sex.²¹ Now, a marginalized Woman of Colour who is disabled has always faced more discrimination than the single burned Man of Colour who is disabled. In this case, a single burdened Coloured man doubles his burden while disabled Women of Colour always face more oppression. However, the case gets even worse when any of them do not see themselves as a part of the heteronormative world. Hosking writes the following:

Non-heterosexual man is said to be singly burdened whilst the homosexual women is burdened on 2 axes. This concept is particularly relevant for critical disability theory because a large proportion of disabled people developed their impairment after they became adults. Their formative years were not influenced by disability. Suddenly the privileged white, young adult, heterosexual man might experience the subordination of disability, but he may well experience a relative privilege over a person disabled from birth or who has another axis of subordination.²²

Disability [both CDS and CDT] has also been related/mixed with identity studies and has been claimed to be a matter of identity issue rather than being a separate field on its own. In her 2006 paper named Critical Disability Theory, a Canadian scholar Chloe G.K. Atkins writes that when her mentor warned her that it would be wise to publish disability-oriented articles under the title of “identity politics” rather than showing it as it is: “If you put ‘disability’ in the title of a paper, there is no way it will be accepted. (…) The only way to slip something through is to pen it as a piece about ‘identity’ politics.”²³ Atkin tries to show the ignorance of academy in the field of disability. While identity and disability are two different subjects, the academic scholarship had no room for papers under the title of disability. Another scholar that relates CDT to identity studies is David Hosking. In his 2008 same-titled article Critical Disability Theory, Hosking gives certain elements of CDT. One of the elements Hosking shows is multidimensionality of CDT and under the umbrella of Multidimensionality, he relates CDT to the “family of identity jurisprudences”.²⁴ Years later, in a recent study by Yogesh Kashikar named Critical Disability Theory or Theory of Disability-an Introduction of Ability in Disability writes the following sentence in his abstract for the mentioned article: “It [Critical Disability Theory] is an identity-based theory strongly arguing for the equality and betterment of disables.”²⁵

As Chloe G.K. Atkins was advised by her mentor that writing her papers under the title of disability would not end good for academic success, her teachers, instructors, and institution might have wanted to close their eyes to Atkins’ disabled condition. She writes the following in the same 2006 article:

When I attended academic and/or social justice meetings in my wheelchair, their locales were largely inaccessible. I inevitably had to be carried into sessions or, had to be re-routed through the conference centre’s loading zone, picking my way through piled plastic bags of garbage and recycling.²⁶

As one clearly can understand, Atkins condition was obvious. Forcing her not to write about her own experience and show the world her struggles so that the world could provide equal conditions for all people is a matter of academic hegemony where certain “able” people try not to see the struggles of disabled people. The mentioned quote above also shows injustice towards her and people in her condition; it was difficult to move around with the wheelchair. As it is seen, the local authorities and municipalities also do not do their jobs properly when creating roads and sidewalks and ignore the fact that disabled people exist; they might use wheelchairs when moving around. Furthermore, Atkins question the democracy of the First World states like Canada on the matter of disability from the “liberal construction citizenship and justice” perspectives.²⁷

Some critics and activists believe that disability is a universal condition, and everyone faces disability in a certain period of their lives. However, David L. Hosking gives the following understanding to this conception:

(…) a ‘universalist’ conception of disability, which proposes that everyone may be placed on a continuum from disabled to not disabled and argues that disability is universal since everyone is disabled at some time in their lives, is an insufficient basis upon which to analyse the social condition of disabled people and develop social policy which is responsive to the interests of this very diverse population²⁸

The given quote above clarifies that universal conception is not accurate when it comes to social conditions of disabled people. To this context, we can add the sex, gender, race, single oppressed (burdened), double oppressed (burdened) in which Intersectional and Hybrid Intersectional theories claim to focus on. Because not all the disabled people of the globe are in the same geography or society, they all face different challenges. As Chloe G.K. Atkins talks about her experience with her mentor regarding her papers about disability and how she faces certain challenges with her wheelchair when moving around in Canada, in a First World²⁹ country, one may understand that the situation might be even worse in a developing or a Third World³⁰ country.

CDT unites two main and one archaic model: Medical Model, Social Model, and Ancient Symbolic Model. Those models are used to understand the concept of disability used in literature and social spheres. Medical Model is a very common model that is known almost by everyone. In Medical Model, the diagnosis given by the doctor, or the medical condition that affects the body or mind of the individual is taken into account. However, Social model is seen as a construction that focuses on the society rather than the individual who is assumed to be disabled. The Social Model says that disability is not a medical condition, but a social understanding. The response of the society towards the assumed-disabled-individual is considered and CDT embraces Social Model when analysing a literary work or social conceptions about the assumed- disabled. However, Disability Activism rejects the Medical Model by saying that disability is only a social construction. Kashikar writes the following:

Disability Activism has a complicated relationship with medicine. Surprisingly a disabled person needs medical examination for certification. But it rejects the idea of medical mentality. It rejects the overwhelming or overriding medical definitions of disability. They do not want a doctor to define who they are. They want to define by themselves. They think- ‘once a patient is not always a patient.’ (…). They reject the finalization of medical approach for them.³¹

Another outdated model, predominantly referenced in literature, is the Ancient Symbolic Model. This model revolves around ancient Greek and Roman mythology, where disability was often perceived as a punishment inflicted by the gods, known as “divine wrath”.³² Moreover, in Ancient Greek culture, disability was associated with ugliness, contrasting with the notion of beauty being linked to goodness through the concept of Beautiful and Good. The disabled people in Ancient Greece might “have been placed in the ἀδύνατος [vinɔtos] category due to the Greek concept of Kalos Kagathos, or ‘beautiful and good’”.³³

Critical Disability Analysis of Crazy from Social and Psychological Perspectives

The novel’s narrator is sixteen teenager who has changed four schools due to his disability and his parents decided to send him to a boarding school where the school is assumed to be more inclusive and supposed to match his needs. The new school even sends him a letter to encourage him to join the school: “Dear Benjamin, just come to us and everything will get better. Lots of people before you have made it already.”³⁴ This letter from the school gives the readers a certain expectation that everything in this school will be good and matching for Benni’s needs. Besides, stating that “lots of people have made it already” gives a positive notion that this school is professional in disability matters and they have already helped many other disabled students. However, as the story goes on, the school seems not to be that welcoming and helping. Throughout the novel, the protagonist shares his experience in his new school by showing the readers the lack of education, difficulties of making new friends as a disabled person, pity and unequal treatment of others towards a disabled person, inclusive shortcomings in school, gender roles and disability issues, and eventually vocabulary used towards disabled people.

At the very first page of the novel, the protagonist Benni tells us how difficult it has been for him to change different schools because of his disability. Also, he informs us about his grades so far. Though he has changed four schools, they have been not good enough for his academic achievements and his math grade is not sufficient. He says that he hopes to get a better result in math by turning his 6 score into 5.³⁵ Since 6 is the lowest grade, it is possible to come to a conclusion that none of the schools have been any good for him. This is the very first part of the novel where we can see the lack of education and inclusivity in the educational system. Even Benni’s mother writes a letter to the school board, so they might get a clear understanding about Benni’s case.

Dear Mr. Richter,

My son Benjamin has had a partial paralysis of the left side of the body since birth. This means that the functioning of the left side of his body, particularly the arm and the leg, is limited. In practical terms, this means that he either cannot perform or has difficulty performing such fine motor tasks as tying his shoes, using a knife and fork, drawing geometrical figures, using a pair of scissors. In addition, he has problems with sports, cannot ride a bicycle, and has difficulty with any movement that involves a sense of balance. I hope you will give him your support by taking note of these things. Many thanks.

Warm regards,

Jutta Lebert³⁶

Thus, by writing such a letter, the mother tries to inform the school about her son’s condition and hopes that the school will consider all the necessities for Benni. The mother informs that because Benni has partial paralysis in his left side, he is unable to do certain tasks, including using a knife and fork to eat his food, performing in geometry, sports, etc., hoping that the school will help her son to overcome all these difficulties. However, neither the school, nor the teachers help Benni to overcome such problems. Even his math teacher Rolf Falkenstein does his best to mock Benni when he cannot draw a circle.³⁷

Though he does not give us sufficient amount of information about his previous schools, it is possible to come to a conclusion that none of the schools that he attended were friendly enough in teaching him certain theories about science and supported him while practicing during the classes, since we can see that in his new school his teachers are not that encouraged to teach or help him. Rolf Falkenstein, his math teacher says to Benni: “By the time you’re sixteen, you should have learned to grasp a set square”.³⁸ While Benni asks Rolf Falkenstein to help him with a certain math theorem, the teacher refuses to help him. As a teacher, Falkenstein is supposed to help his students since it is his duty and be equal with all his students while sharing his knowledge. However, he shows a totally opposite example while not considering the fact that his irresponsible helpfulness could be a bad leading example for other students in the class. Teachers are assumed to be examples and if Falkenstein does not show this example, his students might learn the way that they can bully their disabled minor³⁹ classmates like Benni. Thus, Mr. Falkenstein bullies his student [perhaps not intentionally] by saying that Benni had to learn how to grasp a square by 16.

Furthermore, another significantly important issue is that Mr. Falkenstein is the representation of the educational system. Since he himself as a teacher is not inclusive enough and does not understand the needs of a disabled student, it is possible to come to an understanding that the school board does not teach or inform their teachers about the necessities of being friendly and flexible with disabled students like Benni. Thus, this is not the math teacher’s fault, but the lack of seriousness in the board. However, it is possible to add the fact that the state (or the Ministry of Education) is supposed to teach all teachers, school members, and the board about the needs of disabled students and the importance of being inclusive in schools. However, in Benni’s case we see the opposite which could lead to a notion that his previous teachers in all the four school were no different than his math teacher in his new boarding school.

Another non-inclusive example in the novel is the number of lessons and the course load that is no different for disabled students. Disabled students are expected to do and study as much as the non-disabled students. In the following quote, it is possible to see the seriousness of the situation:

“Can you help me with math?” she asks, [Malen, a female schoolmate] crossing one leg over the other. I swallow. “No, unfortunately, I can’t. I wish I could understand it myself.” She nods and turns away. I look at her tits. Well, that was my big chance. Here one minute, gone the next. The usual. I look at my exercise book. Even more joys in store:

Math

Physics

English

French

Everything’s due tomorrow. Not to mention a music report and a discussion on youth and alcohol. As if there weren’t enough to do.⁴⁰

In the given quote above, the first thing that draws attention could be the sexual desire of a young teenage boy who wants to be around girls, as Benni describes, he looks at her breasts. However, on the other side of the mirror, it is possible to see a girl who cannot understand certain things about math and asks Benni’s help. Malen’s leg crossing is the example of this sweetness where she tries to get Benni’s attention so that he might help her with math. However, when he states that he cannot help her, as he himself cannot understand math, she does not say a word and just “nod”. This gives us a clear message that her only interest was to get his attention by using her “female power” to attract Benni sexually so that he could help her with math. Here, it is possible to see three main factors: the difficulty of education, the difficulty of making friends, and the difficulty of having a girlfriend (or having a sexual experience with the sex that one likes) for a disabled person like Benni.

Starting with the first one, the difficulty of education, it is possible to see that while a non-disabled student is not able to do a math formula, she hopes that a disabled student might help her. This very concept itself leads us to a serious factor that educational system is too difficult even for non-disabled students. Now, a student like Benni, who is not able to draw a square, is expected to do all the other math formulas which are difficult for non-disabled students. Furthermore, as mentioned before, the instructor of this course is Rolf Falkenstein who refuses to help his students. Thus, the educational system needs to be eased not only for disabled students but also for non-disabled students. The second factor, the difficulty of making new friends is another matter to be discussed here. When Malen came over to ask him if Benni could help her shows us that if Benni had been able to understand maths, he could have helped her and they could have become friends, though her intention was not sincere. Furthermore, since he likes Malen and is so obsessed with her in the sexual way, they could have become partners and even have sexual experience. However, the girl does not stay a second more and leaves him once she understands that he cannot help her. Thus, the disability stops him from having new friends and [love] partners.

Apart from these three factors above, it is important to mention the course load he has. As the girl leaves him alone, he talks about the courses that he needs to finish, which are maths, physics, English, and French. All these courses are needed to be done by tomorrow as he says. Furthermore, he complains that he needs to prepare a report a discussion paper. He states: “As if there weren’t enough”.⁴¹ Now, thinking that he would complain to his teachers about the course load he has, it is possible that his teachers would not care enough to bother themselves to decrease the amount of his courses, considering the fact that he is not as fast as others. Even his math teacher Falenstein does not stop himself from insulting him. Benni explains that in the following lines:

Falkenstein states a couple of theorems. (…) I draw a figure. Two. A circle. Falkenstein’s not happy. He sends me back to my seat. As I walk past the rest of the class, they look up at me and pull faces. A couple of them laugh. I glance back at my drawing on the blackboard. It looks terrible, like something out of fifth grade. I’m ashamed.⁴²

His teacher wants him to draw some math theorems and he does so. However, his drawing is not pleasing neither for his teacher nor for his classmates. The teacher does not hide his unhappiness with Benni’s drawings. His classmates, too, lough at him after the teacher’s unhappy gesture. Thus, the teacher is the leading figure behind the unequal treatment and bulling that Benni faces. The teacher is supposed to help him to do the master math skills and be an example to all other students so they might help Benni and people like Benni in the future. However, the matter of “help” should not be the priority here. Here, the priority must be respecting each other and respecting the differences. The teacher could be the leading figure so that students could learn from him how to respect the differences and help if needed. Furthermore, Benni states the following lines:

Unfortunately, I can’t do better. The physiotherapist, the one I see all the time, says it’s because of my disability. I lack some logical function, or whatever; it’s not just a physical thing. Hence my 6 in math. But it can’t be that simple. I mean, everyone should be able to hack it in math (…) Falkenstein arrives after class. “You can forget the school leaving certificate,” he says. “The way I see it, we should be happy if the Cultural Ministry doesn’t introduce an eight just for you.”⁴³

His psychotherapist has explained him that being not perfect in certain things is due to his disability since his disability stops him from having certain logical functions. Thus, his disability does not only stop his physical acts but also stops him from making or acting in logical way. However, he strongly believes that everyone should be excellent in math. Preposterously, it is a fact that not everyone is perfect in math and not all the sciences are easy and understandable for everyone. Thus, society is to be blamed here that such notion exists among people that everyone knows math, and his teacher Falkenstein shares the reason behind such concept about math. He refuses to help and makes it possible for others to bully and laugh at Benni. Saying that Benni will not graduate among his classmates and without contacting Benni’s parents is extremely unprofessional. He insults Benni by saying that his knowledge in math is so bad that current grading system does not have enough numbers to grade him. He mocks Benni. Falkenstein, doubtlessly, is unprofessional in every way that a teacher needs to be professional about. As we may understand, Falkenstein either has not read the letter that Benni’s mother wrote, or he has read but he simply does not care.

One of the first friends that Benni makes is Janosch, Benni’s roommate. In the room, while Janosch talks about girls, flowers, blinding lights, and many other things, Benni feels pain in his left leg. This scene gives us an irony of two worlds: The world of pain in Benni’s case because of his disability, and the world of Janosch filled with the thoughts of girls, love, and flowers due to his young blood. Benni says:

My bad leg. I can’t count the times I’ve just wanted to amputate it and throw it away, along with my left arm. Why do I need either of them anyway? All they tell me is what I can’t do—can’t run, can’t jump, can’t be happy. But I’ve never actually done it—amputation, I mean. (…) I probably need my fucking left leg.⁴⁴

The pain in his leg hurts him too much that he wants to amputate his leg, as well as his left arm. Since it is difficult for him to move his left arm and leg, he thinks that he does not need them. The lines above show us how difficult and sad it has been the last sixteen years since his birth. Having a disabled body stops a person from running, jumping, and eventually being happy as he says. However, the thought of having his first sex stops him and distracts his thoughts about amputation as he thinks that he might need his left leg while performing during sex. Thus, in the room, seeing Janosch and Benni, we see two different worlds where a dreaming teenage boy talks about girls and having fun while the other suffers from pain and has been suffering continuously for all his life. Later, Janosch says that the most important thing for a human being is to be free.⁴⁵ There is a big ironical approach in Janosch’s words. Seeing that his new friend, Benni, cannot physically be free because of his disability, he advises that being free is the most important thing. On the other hand, Benni cannot talk but to listen to his new friend’s endless speeches about girls and being free, since he has never been as free as Janosch.

Benni’s first breakfast at school does not go right as his mother hoped. In the letter, she states that it is difficult for Benni to use fork or knife.⁴⁶ However, Benni does not receive any help from anyone and when he tries to spread butter on the roll, he cannot keep the roll on his left hand though he tries many times. Eventually, the roll falls down. Though he asks a boy at his age if he could help Benni to butter the roll, the boy refuses and says: “By the time you’re sixteen, you should have learned how to butter a roll”.⁴⁷ Seeing this, girls at a close table start laughing at Benni and he feels horribly ashamed.⁴⁸ In this part of the novel, Benni tires to two challenging factors for him: difficulty in basic human needs and a non-heteronormative male figure. Starting from the first factor, for many people, it is a very simple task to butter a role. However, for people like Benni buttering bread is a real challenge, and this challenge needs to be accepted as a normal thing by the society. The second factor, non-heteronormative male figure, shows itself when the girls laugh at him. For many women, men are to be physically strong and do all the tasks easily. However, it is important to understand that not all men are as strong as the society expects and men like Benni cannot fulfil the traditional heteronormative standards.

Another important conversation between Benni and his friend Janosch is where Benni asks his friend what it is like not to be disabled, and to move one’s left hand on the table.⁴⁹ Both of his questions might sound simple when hearing. However, it is possible to see the pain in his speech. He has always been disabled and he has never tested the pleasure of using his left hand properly. Later, Benni continues and says that he wants to know who he is: