El Deafo

Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 2014

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapters 16-18

Chapters 19-21

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Quiz

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 13-15

Chapter 13 Summary

Cece spends some time with Ginny just before school starts and discovers that she, Ginny, and Mike are all in the same class. Cece becomes anxious about Mike seeing the Phonic Ear but is still excited about the new school year. Cece enjoys her class and loves her new teacher, until she realizes that everything is becoming blurry. In the illustrations, the drawings depict blurry words, and the blurry outlines of faces. During a spelling test, Cece gets caught asking Ginny what words are on the board because Cece can’t read them. Mrs. Sinkelmann gives Cece a zero on the quiz and accuses her of cheating—Cece is so overwhelmed, she starts crying in front of everyone: “It’s a long, long day after that” (159); a series of panels depict Cece staring at the clock as time crawls by. At home, Cece explains the situation to her mother, who tells her that she might need glasses. Her mother is understanding and gives her a Hostess cherry pie as a treat.

Chapter 14 Summary

Cece gets glasses and is thrilled to see the world anew. Panels depict the difference between her clear and blurry vision. Her glasses also make it easier for her to lip-read, especially from a distance. Cece sees Martha and daydreams a reconciliation in which she uses her new glasses to hypnotize her. In the real world, Martha runs away. At the bus stop the next day, Cece shows her glasses to Martha and calls herself, “Helen Keller lite” (165). Martha throws up and runs away. Cece is devastated that Martha still blames herself for the eye injury. She feels a bit better when she sees Mike more clearly than ever, and he compliments her new glasses.

Chapter 15 Summary

Having glasses improves Cece’s performance in class, and she strives to get perfect grades. She wants her classmates to think of her not as “the deaf girl” but as “the smartest kid in the whole school” (167). Her only failing subject is physical education. Mr. Potts, the instructor, only likes athletic children. The children pick Cece last because she can’t understand what her teammates say to her in games. One day in P.E., Mr. Potts drops the Phonic Ear microphone and it breaks. For the rest of the day, Cece can’t understand anything and must rely on lip-reading. She soon learns that she can’t replace the microphone for four to six weeks. At the next P.E. class, Cece is livid with Mr. Potts. Her anger transforms her into El Deafo, and she uses her strength to beat a record for the Presidential Physical Fitness test. Mr. Potts is shocked, and Cece passes physical education.

Chapters 13-15 Analysis

In these chapters, Bell uses her illustrations to depict Cece’s point of view. Cece can’t see and must get glasses; as a result, many of the lines blur and are difficult to read, reflecting Cece’s lived experience. We also get a sense of Cece’s experience of time through Bells’ thoughtful use of illustrations. When Cece feels that time is moving slowly, we see many panels where the clock features prominently and very little changes from panel to panel. This reflects Cece’s experience of “a long, long day” (159).

Cece also tries to take control of her reputation and her identity in these chapters. First, she uses humor to play off her need to get glasses. She calls herself “Helen Keller lite” (165), mocking her hearing disability and her need for glasses. This demonstrates Cece’s desire to control how other’s see her but doesn’t change Martha’s discomfort over her friend’s impairments.

Similarly, Cece seeks to control her identity in other ways. She strives to do well in school, reflecting on a desire to be defined not as “the deaf girl” but as “the smartest kid in the whole school” (167). Cece believes that if she is defined by another marker of her personality—her intelligence, rather than her deafness—she could control her reputation among her peers.

Finally, in these chapters we see the beginnings of the daydream world of El Deafo merging with the real world. Cece uses El Deafo’s encouragement to break a record on a physical fitness test. This merging of worlds speaks to Cece’s growth as a character and her eventual desire to share El Deafo—and thus her true self—with the world.