The Silent Bond: Disability and the Complexities of Human Connection in Carson McCullers' The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
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Date
2025-07-10
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UNIVERSITY OF MOHAMED BOUDIAF- M’SILA
Abstract
Abstract
This thesis explores how disability is portrayed in Carson McCullers’s The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, focusing on how it shapes human connection, silence, and emotional isolation. Drawing on ideas from Disability Studies, including the social model, the cultural model, and the concept of complex embodiment, the study looks at how McCullers presents disability not as a symbol of tragedy or weakness, but as a real, lived experience. Through close analysis of characters like John Singer and Spiros Antonapoulos, the thesis shows how the novel challenges stereotypes and exposes how society often fails to understand or include those who are different. It also highlights how McCullers uses silence, space, and non-verbal communication as powerful tools to represent emotional depth and the struggle to connect. By doing so, the novel invites readers to see disability as part of human diversity, and to rethink what it means to truly listen, understand, and relate to one another.
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Keywords
Keywords: Disability, human connection, silence, Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, social model