5a-Train Go Sorry

"I am a hearing 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."

1. What does Train Go Sorry mean (who in the book is this referring to; there is a specific person, include his name and his outcome. Remember that good college writing assumes no one has read the information and you must present it or 'teach' it by giving us details.)?

The title Train Go Sorry means "missing the boat". The book portrays how the people in the deaf community and the people affected by them have at times missed the boat through failed opportunities, failed relationships with friends and family and failed everyday interactions with the hearing world. Although I feel that the title can relate to many of the characters in the book, I think it is referring to one person inparticular, a boy named James Taylor. The book explores two people specifically, a Russian girl named Sofia Normatov and James. They both attend Lexington School for the Deaf . Sofia has to learn both English and sign language to be able to attend the University. James comes from a rough neighborhood and had a mother who lacked what she needed in order to give him a proper home. He had no positive support from the people around him and was determined to continue his education and not let his handicap affect all that he had to offer. In chapter 12 titled Train Go Sorry, James waits sitting on a curb, for the third time to visit his brother who is incarcerated. As he sits he thinks about why his brother is in jail and revisits in his mind the night his brother Joseph and his friends held a woman up at gunpoint. This was the last day James saw his brother outside of being incarcerated. As James waits to visit his brother on this third visit a guard addresses him letting James know that Joseph was in court (meaning he could have no visitors), and that James could wait for the bus back in the reception building. James feels that he has just "missed the boat", once again. The author describes James life as being the story of missed connections, the train that has left the station, the boat that has set sail without him. (Chapter 12, pg. 188) This to me is why this book is referring to James because he understands that just as on this day his life has been filled with, missed opportunities and once again in his head he refers to the three words, "train go sorry."

2. What pair of 'shoes' do you think the main person in the book is walking in and what did she learn? In other words, who or what culture does she want to belong to and why?

Leah Cohen is the main person in this story. She is someone that hears normally but desperately wants to walk in the shoes of someone who does not hear. She was born into a hearing family who worked and lived at Lexington School for the Deaf in New York City. In this book, she explores her connection to the school through the stories of her grandparents, who were both deaf, and her father, who was at the time superintendent of the school. Leah wanted to be a part of the deaf community she wanted to understand it. It was a struggle because she was someone that could hear and her parents wanted her to act as such while she wanted the opposite; to learn sign language and one day be an interpreter.

3. What is one image you won't ever forget? Draw us a picture in words to explain this. What chapter is it in?

The image in the book that I wont forget is that of a deaf person struggling to just get through each day and be understood. In chapter 5 titled Words Left Unspoken, Leah Cohen describes the troubles and triumphs of her deaf grandfather, Sam Cohen. Leah talks about her grandfather saying, "In all my life, I never heard him speak a word I could understand." (Chapter 5, pg. 66) I think it must be so devastating to not truly be able to communicate with someone that you love and care about. I also think it must be so terribly frustrating for the person who is deaf and who with everything that they have want you to understand them. Sam died before Leah was able to learn sign language and able to communicate with him in the way that he most understood. Sam is a perfect example of the struggle that the deaf have with the hearing world. As an adult he struggled to find a job because he had no skills that he was taught in school. Sam's father was told by the principal of the Institution for the Improved Instruction of Deaf-Mutes, that Sam "was one of the boys who wasted an enormous amount of time," and "we have never been able to make a worker of him, and unless he learns to work harder he will have trouble." The man spoke specifically of Sam's poor speech and language skills. (Chapter 5, pg. 74) These were the type of people that many deaf people came in contact with. Unsupportive and negative. This type of reaction continued until Sam's death. As he was lying on his death bed, his family was desperately trying to get the hospital to provide and interpreter so that Sam would know what was going on with him medically and also so that he in turn could let them know what he was feeling and needing. After days of going back and fourth with the hospital staff, Sam's son
(Leah's father) was denied access to Sam. When Fannie, Sam's wife went to the hospital to visit her husband and check his progress she too was given the run around. She was told that Sam was not a patient, however she knew that he was. Nobody was there to interpret and she was having trouble communicating as she too was deaf. Finally someone came to talk to her and while struggling to read this person's lips she understood that what they were telling her was that her husband had died. The family was devastated and they couldn't understand why there was no interpreter to help Sam communicate with the staff and they couldn't understand why they weren't called and told of his death right away. Sam's struggles are a perfect example of the deaf being unable to communicate with the hearing world. I will never forget this chapter because it depicts the struggle so perfectly I couldn't imagine not being able to communicate with my loved ones and being denied as Leah was the opportunity to learn something such as ASL to make that communication happen.

4. What are 5 facts about ASL or Deaf culture you think everyone should know after your reading of this book?

I can honestly say that I didn't know much about the Deaf culture before reading this book. There still is probably so much more that I could learn. There are a few facts that I found interesting that I think that people should know about the deaf culture. The first is that this culture has their own language. ASL(American Sign Language), was created for them to communicate with each other as well as others in the hearing world. I think that it is important that we all try to learn a little bit of the ASL language just in case we ever come across someone who is deaf. If those of us in the hearing world were able to communicate just the basics, I'm sure this would put them at ease.

I also had no idea what a cochlear implant was. I learned that it is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. Leah discusses why she thinks the deaf community sees no use for cochlear implants. She also points out how they can harm the person who has received the implant by eliminating any hearing that they might have. They are extremely controversial because once the implants have been placed in the ear the surgery cannot be undone. Doctors say that the implants work best when they are implanted at a very young age, however many will argue that they should be implanted as adults who can decide on their own if this is what they want done.

One of the main arguments in the deaf world when it comes to children is mainstreaming vs. special education. Although I can understand how it would be important to mainstream these children so that they can feel no different than other children, I also see the importance of special education. The handicap of being deaf is something that needs to be a focus and these children need to learn how to deal with the handicap because unfortunately it is true that it will affect them in their everyday lives.

Deaf people are just as capable of doing everything that hearing people can do.

What I mostly want everyone to know that people with handicaps such as no hearing are people, and we all need to treat everyone with respect and kindness.