Friday, December 23, 2011

What is Sharon Draper's purpose for selecting Out of My Mind as the title of this book?

Out of My Mind, by Sharon Draper, is the story of Melody, a young woman with a brilliant mind who is unable to communicate verbally and thus lives solely inside her head. She has deep, complex thoughts but is unable to express them to anyone. Thus, she feels isolated from the rest of the world, and not only isolated, but invisible. People ignore her. Thoughts and feelings define who a person is, and being unable to express them, Melody had no voice.
People were unable to see her for the individual person that she was, and thus, they saw the only what she projected on the outside—a woman with a disability who had no thoughts or feelings to express at all. For a long time, Melody was defined by her disability, as the thoughts and feelings that distinguished her as a person remained trapped inside her mind. Thus, the book is about Melody’s quest be seen—to be heard—to be recognized and understood. For Melody, that meant coming out of her mind, freeing the thoughts and feelings that defined who she was as a person, and thus, making herself visible to the people around her.

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