Acceptance

Acceptance is a major and important theme in the novel “El Deafo” by Cece Bell. Acceptance –fitting in –is of paramount importance to Cece. When the novel begins, Cece must be fitted for a hearing aid due to hearing loss as a result of contracting meningitis. It is a strange, baffling, and unusual experience for Cece, who up until that time, had a relatively normal and uneventful childhood. The use of hearing aids transforms her life dramatically from the very start, and from the moment she begins wearing the hearing aid, she longs to fit in among her family and friends, to be accepted by them, and to be accepted as normal.

When Cece begins wearing a hearing aid, she decides that she will wear the aid under her clothing, to make it as unnoticeable as possible. She doesn’t want anyone to see the hearing...