The Silence Between Us

The Silence Between Us offers readers a glimpse into some of the obstacles that the hearing world places in the way of Deaf people and shows how Maya, with the help of her close friends and family, perseveres and stands up for her rights. Throughout the story, Maya faces unnecessary barriers to full participation in school, work, and relationships. Her emotional response to these barriers emphasizes the degree to which they affect her, and her determination to overcome them wins her the admiration of her peers. Maya’s journey encourages demonstrates the impact of these unnecessary obstacles and the need for change.

At Engelmann, Maya faces staring peers, teachers who shout at her as if this will help her hear them, students like Jackson who make insensitive and sometimes discriminatory remarks, and exclusion from group work and casual conversations. She feels that she must work much harder than the hearing students to follow what is happening in her classes and to achieve the grades she wants to achieve. When Maya tries to get a job, her interview is canceled—she suspects because the Steaming Bean learned that she is Deaf. She almost has to postpone her enrollment at Cartwright because of a lack of interpreters, and the broken assistive technology at the hospital adds a layer of frustration and helplessness to her already panicked feelings when Connor is hospitalized. Sometimes, she cannot even fully participate in her closest relationships, as when her mother and Conner talk at the dinner table without signing, and Maya feels “a little twinge of sadness” because her family is “speaking around [her] and [she doesn’t] have any idea what they [are] saying” (43).

Although many of these barriers are unintentional—as Kathleen points out to her, “THEY DON’T KNOW HOW COMMUNICATE WITH DEAF PEOPLE” (30)—this does not keep Maya from feeling excluded and hurt. Although she is often reluctant to tell the people around her about these feelings, her first-person narration shows exactly how it makes her feel when people are not respectful and inclusive. As a narrator, Maya uses emotionally charged language to express feelings that she does not express to the people around her. When she is trying to find out what is happening to Connor in the hospital, for example, she notes that she is crying so hard that she can’t see clearly and is driven to a “breaking point” that sends a scream “working its way up [her] throat” (167). The image of the scream trying to escape suggests that her emotions are out of control in this moment and that she herself feels trapped and helpless. In this way, the novel shows how much harder it can be for Deaf people like Maya to navigate a world that has been designed for the hearing. Despite these obstacles, Maya continues to express determination to reach her goals, and she puts in the hard work this requires.

Supportive figures like Maya’s mother, Nina, Melissa, and Beau show the importance of community. Maya’s mother shows unflagging respect for her daughter, encouraging her to tackle new situations with confidence. Nina talks directly to Maya from the beginning, not to Kathleen, and treats her like she would treat any friend. Nina tries to get to know Maya as a person, includes her in activities, exchanges confidences with her, and jokes around with her—exactly as she would if Maya were hearing. The only difference in the way Nina treats Maya is that she learns some sign language to facilitate communication. This accommodation shows respect for Maya’s individual needs without in any way treating her as a less capable person. Beau also makes an effort to learn sign language and, in many ways, treats Maya exactly as he would any other person he had a romantic interest in. He does make some mistakes along the way. He sometimes treats Maya as if she cannot fight her own battles or make informed decisions, but Maya is firm and clear in explaining to him when his attitudes are inadvertently harmful, and she learns that she does not have to reject him from her life entirely when he makes a mistake. By unflaggingly standing up for herself and by accepting the support of friends and family, Maya shows the power of resilience in the face of widespread discrimination.