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Dylan Vallat

Professor Orta

English 123

06 April 2018

Definitive Difference

A disability is but a gift from society to set apart an individual from society. The young

adult novel that I read is Al Capone Does My Homework by Gennifer Choldenko. By taking a

New Historicism look at the book, it can be seen that disability is represented in two different

ways, depending on the parents of the children, Natalie and Janet. Natalie and Janet both are on

the spectrum of Autism. Representation is labeled as taking a look at how literary representations

reflect the life of the time in a novel ” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Plot is the element of fiction I

reference, and the Plot is normally referenced as the structure the story elements are arranged for

a certain reason.

The Flanagans feel that since Natalie is on the spectrum of autism, she needs to be

babysitted twentyfour-seven. In the interaction between Moose and Natalie, where Natalie wants

to go feed the birds, it is realized that Natalie is very much aware of what she is doing. Moose

tells Nat that “Mom put me in charge”, but right after, Nat rebuttals with”I’m older, get your

shoes, we are feeding the birds” (Choldenko 104). This catches moose off guard because he feels

that he needs to take care of Nat. This small interaction between Nat and Moose is impactful to

the novel because it shows Natalie standing up for herself. Although, not much was known about

autism in the thirties, and even “today, the cause for autism is completely unknown” (Autism

Society), the families in the book felt that Natalie needed to better fit in with society. In the
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novel, right after everybody safely evacuated the fire, Bea Trixle immediately slams the blame of

the fire on Nat, Bea says, “It was her wasn’t it… She was counting matches or some fool thing”

(Choldenko 28). This immediate blame shows the kind of understanding that the Trixles have for

the disability that both Natalie and their own daughter have. These ideas that the Trixles have

about autism never change throughout the entirety of the novel.

The Trixle’s also have a kid on the spectrum but treat her completely different than the

way the Flanagans treat Natalie. Janet has little fairy friends that follow around and help her out

with tasks or seem to be always busy near her. Bea does not take lightly to the way that Janet

acts, as seen when Janet is on the playground trying to share the swingset with Natalie. Janet

wants to let Natalie use the swing she is using but tells Moose, “I can’t” followed by nodding to

her mom (115). Bea tells Janet, “what did Daddy tell you about standing your ground… You

can’t let big kids push you around.” (115). During the duration that Bea is lecturing Janet, Janet

looks at her feet “The pixies find things in the sand. Valuable things like jewels”, Bea

Immediately snaps to this remark “Not the pixies again” (115). What this shows is that the

Trixle’s have zero understanding of what is going on with their daughter Janet. They mistreat her

because of her differences and instead of learning to adapt to it they discipline her. Towards the

end of the novel, while Mr. Flanagan is in the hospital, Natalie goes all by herself through the

hospital to visit her dad. This is a big moment for the Flanagans, because this is when the family

as a whole realizes that Natalie is more “normal” than not.

Through looking at the way that disability is represented in both the Flanagan and Trixle

family leads to the theme of the novel. The theme of the novel is that somethings in life are the

way they are and can’t be changes, and the sooner people understand that, the better off they will

be. The New Historicism lens through which I analyzed the novel was representation and
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through that lens, it can be seen that the Trixle’s were never able to adapt and accept Janet for

who she is and what she has. While on the other hand, the Flanagans learn that Nat is capable of

much more than they thought, and that she is closer to “normal”, or what people perceive as

normal than, everybody originally thought.

Works Cited

“Causes.” Autism Society, www.autism-society.org/what-is/causes/.

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Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Homework. Puffin Books, 2013.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "New Historicism." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008.

Web. 19 Mar. 2018.