Marcelo in the Real World is a young adult fiction novel written by Francisco X. Stork. This novel tells the story of a seventeen-year-old boy, Marcelo Sandoval, whose father, Arturo, wants to pull him into the “real world” and force him into working in the mailroom in his law firm for the summer. If Marcelo achieves success in his father’s eyes he will be allowed to choose which high school he would like to go to for his senior year, Paterson, which is described as a school for students with disabilities, or Oak Ridge High, which is supposedly a standard high school for “normal” students. Paterson has been Marcelo’s school since he was in kindergarten and provides him with a sense of comfort as he is with other students like him. Arturo believes that Paterson is holding Marcelo back because he thinks it is not preparing Marcelo for what he perceives as the “real world” and is not challenging him in a way he needs to be. The novel never provides reader with an exact diagnosis for Marcelo’s disability, but it is frequently described as “Asperger’s-like”, a label that Marcelo often rejects as he believes he does not experience the disability to the extent that other’s experience it. Unlike many novels about a person with a disability, Marcelo in the Real World presents the story through the eyes of the character with the disability. This is imperative because instead of being told what those with a disability experience, readers are living through it in a way that can help them better understand those with disabilities. While someone able-bodied can never fully experience the life of someone with a disability, this may give them an insight into their life. A rather interesting occurrence throughout the entirety of this novel is that Marcelo prefers to speak in the third person perspective. This both surprises and confuses readers at first because narrators usually do not speak in the third person and it makes the reader initially think that the narrator is speaking about someone else. Marcelo in the Real World gives readers access to a person with a cognitive disability’s daily life, including social interactions, daily routines and learning new social rules and language as they move into a new social spaces.
While one reads Marcelo in the Real World, they will encounter many stereotypes regarding those with disabilities. In reference to Smart (2001), Baglieri and Shapiro write “Stereotypes persist because they are reinforced in media and entertainment, they respond to the desire to simplify and organize ways to make meaning of people, and they rationalize the prejudice and discrimination that allow those in power to benefit and profit from the subordinate status of stereotyped groups (Smart, 2001, p. 185).” (B&S,33) As a reader, I am rather conflicted on Stork’s use of stereotypes throughout this novel. Being as the novel is so deeply rooted in its use of stereotypes, it can go one of two ways. For some readers, the use of and the reaction of characters towards stereotypes will tell them they that absolutely should not follow or believe the stereotypes of people with disabilities. However, the use of stereotypes may tell other readers that since stereotypes are used in the book to create a basis on how characters treat one another, they can use those stereotypes in their day to day life. Dunn writes “Fiction can affect the way real people are treated. It can open readers minds to the entrenched discriminatory attitudes, or it can be complicit with those attitudes, making them worse.” (Dunn, 1). While Marcelo in the Real World opens readers eyes to the discriminatory attitudes that someone with a disability may have to deal with, its constant showing of those attitudes may make them worse for someone who already hold the attitude.
Arturo’s law firm has become a breeding ground of stereotypes towards those with disabilities that Marcelo had to navigate through. The law firm is filled with able-body individuals, therefor the social climate and expectations benefit them the most. Both Stephen Holmes and his son Wendell Holmes use the stereotype of the object of comedy, ridicule and curiosity throughout the entire text. The first time readers meet Stephen Holmes, he calls Marcelo “Gump”. He calls him this in reference to a disabled character in the film Forrest Gump. According to Marcelo this is not the first time Stephen has called him Gump, the first time was at a barbecue at the Sandoval home. While nothing was done in the moment that Stephen called Marcelo Gump, his father later on said at the barbecue “By the way, don’t ever call my son names again.”, to which Stephen chuckled and replied “Don’t be so touchy Art.” (65). As a result of his possible lack of education, Stephen thought it was appropriate to poke fun at, or ridicule, someone with a disability and did not take the feelings of the child or the parents of the child seriously. The nickname is problematic because it is based off of a disability, meaning the person sees Marcelo’s disability before him.
It is shown in almost every chapter that Wendell Holmes appears in, that he is consistently using the stereotype of the object of comedy, ridicule and curiosity in regards to Marcelo. From the moment readers meet Wendell, it becomes clear that his attitudes toward those with disabilities are not positive. In every conversation Wendell has with Marcelo, he takes at least one moment to ridicule Marcelo. In their first conversation Wendell subtly ridicules Marcelo for not seeing women or men as sexual beings meant to be used. Wendell states “Maybe your testosterone hasn’t kicked in yet. If it hasn’t it soon will. The male’s need to sow our seed wherever, whenever, as much and as often as we can-maybe it hasn’t hit you yet. You’re what, eighteen?” (70). Wendell automatically assumes that because Marcelo does not take notice to whether or not people are beautiful, that means something is wrong with him physically. Wendell later goes on to force Marcelo into a conversation that will very obviously make him uncomfortable. Wendell begins asking Marcelo if he has ever thought about doing “it” and makes sexual innuendos with his hands and body. When Marcelo gets up to leave, Wendell says “Hold on, hold on. I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just curious, from an anthropological point of view.” (71). The statement of not wanting to offend usually means that someone does intend to offend other. Wendell is curious about Marcelo’s life and looks at him as if he were an oddity for not thinking in the same way.
The medical model of thinking is extraordinarily prevalent in Marcelo in the Real World. In regard to the medical model, Baglieri and Shapiro write “A medical model of disability makes meaning of disabled persons’ experiences in terms of objective, innate conditions that limit their ability to participate in communities and learn in the general classroom setting.” (Baglieri and Shapiro, 18). If we were to look at the novel through this concept, we would see that those around Marcelo view him solely through the medical model. Arturo looks at people with disabilities through the medical model, believing that they are not “normal” and refuses to accept that Marcelo has a disability. Arturo tells Marcelo “The kids who go there are not normal….There’s nothing wrong with you. You just move at a different speed than other kids your age. But in order for you to grow and not get stuck, you need to be in a normal environment.” (Stork, 20). Arturo believes that if Marcelo is properly challenged, he will be able to exceed expectations. While the sentiment of wanting your children to be challenged in different ways is not necessarily problematic, the way Arturo forces Marcelo into these challenges is. All too often, people with disabilities are expected to mold themselves into societal expectations in order to look and act like “normal people”, which in turn suppresses natural behaviors and can make people insecure about their disability.
Marcelo is not only looked at through the medical model by his father, but also by others at the law firm. On his daily route of dropping off the mail, Marcelo meets one of the secretaries named Beth. Beth is having a breakdown because she did not hand in her work early enough to be able to have all the copies printed in time, and when Marcelo offers to help start the process, he is met with some opposition. Beth states ““Aren’t you supposed to be re…. I mean slow or something?”…. “Hey are you in there?” She is snapping her fingers at me. “I guess if you work here is means you can do the work, right?” (Stork, 77). This can be interpreted as Beth believing that Marcelo cannot accomplish a seemingly basic task because he has a disability. What is interesting about this text is that it allows readers to witness the disabled character’s inner monologue and reactions to statements like this. Marcelo expresses his feelings by stating “so somehow Beth expected me to be retarded or slow or something, and I said something or offered to do something that deviated from the expectation. Who put that idea in her head in the first place?” (Stork, 77). He begins to question if others see him as different and what causes them to think that. Marcelo knows that he is capable of accomplishing tasks, even though it may take him a little longer than it may take others.
Something that is extremely prevalent in many forms of media, is that choice is taken away from those with a disability. While reading Marcelo in the Real World, Marcelo was not given a choice of working at a place he loved and was excited about or working at the law firm. Arturo allowed him to “choose” between the two, however if Marcelo chose to work at Paterson, he would no longer be able to go to school there for his senior year. This forced Marcelo to put himself into a situation where he would be uncomfortable for a few minutes, in exchange for a year in a place he felt he belonged. A common occurrence in various types of media, is the belief that able-bodied people know best and people with disabilities cannot make proper decisions for themselves. The people around Marcelo make choices for him, pretending that they are allowing him to make decisions for himself. Aurora-Marcelo’s Mother- does seem to have good intentions, however she only contributes to the idea of Marcelo not being able to make his own decisions because she does not fight for him to be able to. Aurora speaks to Harry, the owner of Paterson, privately in regard to Marcelo not working there during the summer before he was even made aware that he will have to choose. Wendell gives Marcelo the “choice” to work with him or continue working in the mailroom, but then forces Marcelo to work with him when he chooses the other option.
Marcelo in the Real World is narrated through the first-person perspective of someone with a disability, who speaks through third person language. Rather than having the book be about a disability, Stork gives readers access to the life of someone with a disability and tells us about their day to day life, not focusing solely on their disability. In most forms of media where a person with a disability is the main character they usually do not have a voice, this is not the case for Marcelo. Marcelo is the only voice we hear, and we get to know what he is thinking and how he interacts with the society around him. Stork gave readers a snapshot of the disabled experience. However, as readers and critics we must realize he chose to focus on the life of someone on the “high functioning” end of the spectrum. While these people must also be represented in the media, it is critical to know that not all people with disability have the same experiences as Marcelo. After Marcelo in the Real World, I believe that it is a good representation of disability. I love that the book was written from the perspective of someone with a disability, however I feel that it could have been written even better if it was written by someone with a disability. I did some research on the author and could not find any information regarding him having a disability which leads me to believe that he does not have one. Someone without a disability cannot fully understand the experiences of someone with a disability, therefore they cannot write a text from a person with a disability’s perspective.
If I were to use Marcelo in the Real World in my classroom, I would only be able to use select portions of the text. I am planning on becoming an elementary school teacher and many portions of this text would not be deemed appropriate for the age group. I would like to use portions of the text where Marcelo is mistreated so my students can point out what is wrong in that situation and what they would do if they saw someone being treated like that. Through my student teaching practice, I have recognized that fifth graders are much more capable than we credit them. My students would definitely be able to have a conversation about the stereotypes and how they are harmful. However, many portions of the text are not appropriate for the age group, so I would not be able to read it with them. If I were teaching high school I would definitely use this book in my classroom for one of my units. This novel would work wonderfully as a discussion piece as it touches on many social issues that high schoolers have encountered or will encounter at one point in their adult lives. These social issues include rape, exclusion and racism. Dunn writes “Discussions are critical. Done poorly, discussions, too, can reinscribe stereotypes. However, well-placed critical questions about what the text is doing can help readers identify harmful views and to comment on their appropriateness in a just world.” (Dunn, 5) If I were to pose the proper questions for the discussion students’ mindsets could change for the better. These questions cannot simply be based on literary elements and the plot, it must include a discussion of whether or not the book endorses harmful stereotypes. If I were to use this in my classroom, I would have to make sure that I make students aware of the fact that this book does not represent every single person with a disability and that everyone experiences disability in a different way.