"I am a hearing student (or deaf student) assigned the book Train Go Sorry in my Introduction to Humanities Class. Other readings assigned in this class include several essays from the book My California. In both books, we examined the cultures of California that form a microcosm of the U.S. In this essay, I will incorporate 4 required questions."
Firstly, what does Train Go Sorry mean? Well, in the book Train Go Sorry there is a school for the deaf named Lexington School in Queens, New York. In the Deaf culture, “train go sorry” translates to “miss the boat” or “miss communications.” The book revolves around James Taylor. James is deaf and is starting at Train Go Sorry, and will live in the dorm rooms on campus. James grew up in a very poor, and dangerous, neighborhood, because of which he has had to overcome setbacks in his life, mainly due to his loss of hearing. James has a younger, Joseph, who was also deaf. However, Joseph, did not attend Lexington and wound up in jail. He didn’t have the support James did at the school, which is one of the main reasons he did go to jail. James once tried to visit Joseph, but Joseph was in court. The term train go sorry refers to Joseph. Finally, James made it and visited Joseph one day and tells James that he misses home and that home is better than jail. This is when James realizes Joseph “missed the boat,” and will never make up for it.
The main person in the book, and author, is Leah Hager Cohen. Leah Cohen grew up at the school, even though she could hear just fine. Leah’s father was the first day care director at Lexington, and later went on to become Superintendent. Ironically, Leah always wanted to be part of the Deaf community mainly because she was always surrounded by signing. Leah’s father’s parents were also both deaf. Leah’s parents always encouraged her to speak instead of sign, even though she frequently tried to learn. Their thinking was she could speak, so why not. These are the shoes she is walking in. She is constantly surrounded by Deaf and wants to fit in, but by having all of her senses, she actually feels left out. Because of this, Leah practices signing in secret and eventually becomes an ASL interpreter as an adult, hoping this will replace feeling left out as a child. She learns that she will never be part of the Deaf culture because she can hear and the closest she will ever be to the Deaf is an interpreter.
I think the most vivid memory of the story I have is through Chapter 8. Cohen describes how people are treated in the school. The classrooms are not structured and taught so everyone can communicate. The way I see it is, everyone comes to the classroom with their own version of communicating and while some can understand, others cannot and they, unfortunately get lost in the shuffle. I cannot imagine how it would feel to be sitting and looking at classmates talking, and not understanding a word.
There are many different facts everyone should know after reading this book regarding ASL and the Deaf culture. The first one is that the only way Deaf communicate with each other is through American Sign Language, or ASL, and the Deaf find it absurd to be thought that deafness can be cured. It is like trying to change Italians because they talk with an accent.
Another fact that people should be aware of is that Cochlear implants are still controversial. Many doctors believe that will have a higher success rate when implanted at a young age, but the Deaf believe the choice should be made by the recipients when they are old enough to understand the benefits and repercussions.
Many hearing people think Deaf would want to hear and regret loosing the sense. However, the Deaf think it is just a trait they have and live with an most love themselves for it. Learning ASL is just like learning to speak English or another language.
The Deaf community thinks of themselves as just another minority group, just like El Salvadorians.
Those who view themselves as deaf feel they have just a disability and do not feel any connection to the culture, like those who view themselves as Deaf.
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