In this blog post, I will be researching the concept of counter-narratives. A counter-narrative, for the purposes of this blog, can be seen as an autobiography that resists stigmatizing those with disabilities (Couser 31). For this blog, I will be analyzing at the memoir Cockeyed by Ryan Knighton; I propose that this memoir is an example of a counter-narrative as it breaks traditional beliefs of disability.

   This memoir is Knighton’s story of his progression into blindness. When Knighton was 18 he found out that he would slowly, but surely, have total blindness. I propose that this memoir can be seen as a form of a counter-narrative to the stigmatizing of disabled individuals as it, “contests received attitudes about disability” (Couser 33). This is because of the humour Knighton chooses to include in his memoir. Echoing an argument from Couser, disability narratives are often seen as “depressing” (33). Therefore, Knighton’s work of including comedy can be seen as untraditional as he brings laughter into a subject that many individuals find daunting. Knighton often takes situations in his life where he struggles with a disability, yet he uses humour as a way to explain himself in his memoir.  

This type of situation can be seen in the memoir. An example would be when Knighton attends “Gimp Camp” (185). Knighton is spending time at an island in British Columbia where he will be staying at an adult summer camp with other blind people. This lengthy and insightful chapter allows us to see into an experience Knighton has and see how he uses humour.

Firstly, Knighton refers to the camp he is attending as “Gimp Camp” (185). I suggest, that this use of humour is significant because Knighton uses humour as a way to combat his fear. Knighton fears blind people and he is open about this concern throughout the memoir. This is important to understand as it may not always be common for individuals to be scared of others with the same disability as them. Yet, even though Knighton fears other blind people, he still tries to attend this camp to interact with those that share his disability. Couser argues that some disability memoirs are, “characterized as a literally dreadful condition, to be shunned or avoided” (34). Knighton thus breaks a common form of disability memoirs because although he had fears of meeting blind people, he eventually overcomes them and pushes himself to attend a camp where he can overcome this and come to terms with his disability instead of avoiding it.

Additionally, the use of humour in this memoir continues to counteract the “depressing” nature of Knighton’s memoir.  This can be seen when Knighton describes how individuals respond to him walking with a cane. Knighton characterizes reactions into “Stumps” and “Jiggers” (71-72). When Stumps see someone walking with a cane, they immediately stop in place and watch until the person with a cane leaves; Jiggers do the same, however, at the last second before the blind person approaches, the Jigger leaves (71-72). Knighton’s descriptions here use humour as a way to make light of a situation that he is now undergoing. He is just adjusting to life with his new cane and his use of humour illustrates how Knighton reacts in these situations.

Couser highlights how many memoirs fit into the same sort of categories that fit a dominant framework in society (32-33). I propose that Cockeyed fits the framework (or rhetoric) discussed that Couser introduces as “emancipation” (33). This rhetoric illustrates the type of memoirs that counteract dominant ideas of disability. Knighton’s memoir does this as it introduces humour throughout multiple scenes. Knighton continues to normalize his disability as he takes us through his journey to blindness and describes many aspects of his life in the memoir. We can see the progression of Knighton’s blindness and how he eventually comes to terms with it, thus creating a life narrative that does not comply with traditional beliefs of disability.

Works Cited

Couser, G. T. “Rhetoric and Self-Representation in Disability Memoir.” In Signifying Bodies, 31-48. University of Michigan Press, 2009.

Knighton, Ryan. Cockeyed. Penguin Canada, 2006.