Abstract: Lately there has been a visible increase in the number of fictional autistic characters. These representations of autism, on the one hand, help in spreading the awareness of autism among people, but may also lead to false beliefs about autistic society, on the other. The thesis is an attempt to explore the way Elizabeth Moon represents the autistic mind in her novel The Speed of Dark. I will examine how the literary technique of defamiliarization contributes to her highly realistic portrayal of an individual with autism, especially to the way he perceives social norms. I will also prove that her novel challenges several stereotypes about autism. Keywords: representations of autism, defamiliarization, social norms, stereotypesPublished in DKUM: 11.06.2012; Views: 1870; Downloads: 101 Full text (284,99 KB)
