"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."
What does Train Go Sorry mean? Throughout the story there is a character that the book refers to quite a bit, and his name is James Taylor. James Taylor was a young man that grew up living in poverty, but he also grew up being deaf. Throughout his life he wanted so badly to belong. He wanted to feel like he was in the right place at the right time, doing what he was supposed to. Train go sorry is a term that is used throughout the deaf community. It’s a metaphor that basically means you missed your opportunity or you “missed the boat”. James’ life in poverty placed him in a terrible neighborhood and gave him many obstacles to overcome. James ends up going to Lexington School in Queens, which is a school for the deaf. James is given the opportunity to live in dorms, to get an education and to move past his poverty stricken life. Even though he has found himself in school, living in a dorm, he continues to go home to visit his family, who on the other had has many problems to face. James’ brother Joseph ended up going to jail because of the life he had been living. Joseph wasn’t given the kind of support that James had gotten from the deaf community. James tried to visit him but had missed his brother due to the fact that he had court that day. James was tired of the term train go sorry and wanted to do something about it.
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 Hager Cohen was a girl that grew up at the deaf school, Lexington. Her father was the day care director there and she had always been involved with classmates, not really knowing the difference between herself and them at the time. Leah was a hearing person, but her family had a long history of deafness. Leah very much wanted to be apart of the deaf culture and she tries her hardest to be accepted by them. As she gets older she realizes that she will never actually be deaf, and therefore she will never really fit in. The closest she can get to being apart of the deaf community and culture would be to become an interpreter.
What is one image you won't ever forget? Draw us a picture in words to explain this. What chapter is it in?In chapter three there was a part that talked about how hearing children are learning to read while deaf children are learning to read their parents lips. When I read this I thought about how difficult it would be to try to communicate with people who did not know ASL, and how difficult it would be to try and read someone lips. I cannot imagine the struggles that they had to endure growing up deaf and what it meant to them as children.
What are 5 facts about ASL or Deaf culture you think everyone should know after your reading of this book?The book train go sorry presented a lot of facts about the deaf culture and ASL. ASL is an abbreviation for American Sign Language which is the deaf language in the United States. I also learned that Deaf community considers themselves a minority. I also learned a lot about hearing aids, like Cochlear implants. I actually have a class with a guy who has one, and it’s interesting to know that once the implant is done you are no longer able to use the traditional hearing aids that are more commonly seen. I think that the most important fact that was clearly stated throughout the book is that deaf people are people too, they can have the same jobs and lives as everyone else.
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