referring to the fact that he attended a school for the deaf (even though late in life and for a short
time), but that it was a very important turning point in his life. It is likely that the farm-hand acquired
ASL at the deaf school.
Finally, the farm-hand becomes frantic at the end of the Christmas party at the deaf club. He
explains that his car had skidded into a ditch and he left it there so he could walk to the club. He had
abandoned the car for the entire time he was at the deaf club. The farm-hand admits that he was
foolish for not getting help until the very last minute at the club party. This incident emphasizes that
the deaf farm-hand was adamant about socializing with other deaf people and communicating in ASL
to avoid loneliness, and was not concerned over the car emergency until it was time to go home.
What does it take to create a “good” monologue? The scholarly work of Alterman (1999) who
is an expert in monologues supports my theory in regards to "The Old Deaf Farm-Hand." A key
attribute to the success of any monologue is the use of language. Clarence’s use of ASL is
grammatically accurate, concise, and authentic. His imitation of a deaf semi-literate farm-hand’s ASL
conversational skills and mannerisms are skillfully devised and well planned. The length of time is
another key attribute. “A good short monologue…should generally be from two to eight minutes in
length” (p. 23). Because of the brevity of Clarence’s eight-minute monologue, the audience should be
able to easily follow the story line.
The third key attribute is how to present a monologue and why. Clarence presents his deep
musings and feelings within an artfully established and purposefully thematic context between
himself as a monologist and his imaginary audience. The way he handles his monologue within a
short period of time allows us to get into the interior of the deaf farm-hand and understand why
Clarence creates his own monologue. Note this quote from Alterman's writing:
One of the main reasons to create your own monologue should come out of a need to express
something that deeply concerns you. It may be a burning issue or some event(s) in your past
that you need to personally resolve. The important thing is that during your monologue you
attempt to come to grips with the issue or the meaning of the events. You don’t have to
resolve it, but you do need to at least show us why you’ve decided to discuss it in the first
place. (p. 28)
I felt obligated to learn about Clarence as a person. I am fortunate to get some information
from my personal communication with the President of SASL who is Clarence's son. Like the deaf
farm-hand character, Clarence himself grew up on a farm, and his hearing family members would not
use ASL to communicate. The idea of any family learning ASL for the benefit of a deaf child was
uncommon at the time. At age 11, Clarence experienced his first exposure to ASL when enrolled at
the Minnesota School for the Deaf. Thus, Clarence experienced linguistic deprivation firsthand. Dr.
Supalla explained that his father, as a young child, endured much loneliness and a sense of
abandonment by his family in terms of language. I can now see that Clarence's background and
experiences motivated him to develop this monologue for us to study, learn, and appreciate.
I need to discuss the last key attribute to a well-defined structure of the monologue, as
determined by Alterman (1999). Monologues should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. All
good monologues should have a clear through-line. Clarence’s monologue has a clear beginning and
end, but not the middle, which seems to be absent. Some kind of conflict or struggle usually occurs in
the middle. However, “a monologue does not always have to have conflict in it” (p. 24). To make up
for the absent middle section in his monologue, “strong characterization and dialogue are sometimes
enough to keep the monologue interesting and theatrical” (p. 24), which is the case in Clarence's
monologue. I found the deaf farm-hand character so pitiful, yet simultaneously inspiring. This
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The Power of ASL 4
Summer 2020 – Issue 18