Archer's Voice

Archer’s Voice is a study of social behaviors and actions surrounding people in rural, small town communities who have disabilities. Sheridan portrays one singular experience and poses the question: How can a community work to include those with physical or mental disabilities? And, how can including those who are isolated because of their disabilities positively influence a community?

Archer has a speech impairment and, while his story of isolation and rejection is not universally representative, it is not unusual. The National Association of County & City Health Officials reports that, “[i]n rural areas, opportunities for interaction with peers are more limited than in urban areas” for people with disabilities due to a variety of factors including less access to transportation and the need to travel further for health and wellbeing services and community events (“Engaging People with Disabilities: Strategies for Rural Health Departments.” National Association of County & City Health Officials, 2018). While experiences vary widely for all nonverbal communicators, in Archer’s Voice, Archer is isolated by those in his community. His speech impairment also means that he is only able to correct misconceptions about him to people who use sign language. In Chapter 5, Bree is surprised to find out that Archer is not deaf, despite being told that he was deaf by many members of the Pelion community (48-49). This reveals to the reader that many citizens had the opportunity to communicate with Archer, but they chose not to.

Sheridan explores the social factors that contribute to Archer’s isolation because of his speech impairment. The reader sees an internal struggle embodied in the characters of Ann and Mandy, for example. Both Ann and Mandy make a point of telling Bree that they feel bad about not reaching out to Archer after the accident. Mandy even admits: “I heard around town that Archer had sustained some mental damage in that accident, and I just thought maybe his family was more capable of taking care of him and dealing with his situation […]. Explaining it out loud makes me realize how weak I sound” (191). Mandy’s feelings are reflective of the general perspective on Archer and his situation in the novel. Mandy was Archer’s mother’s best friend and she easily dismissed her friend’s orphaned child because it was comfortable and easy. Sheridan’s novel works to show the positive aspects of inclusion and proactive communication in relation to Archer’s speech impairment. At the end, the inclusion of Archer ultimately saves Pelion from the unwanted developments and changes that Victoria Hale was proposing throughout the novel.