1. ForRest Gump : Lieutenant Dan And narrative Prosthesis
By Julia Perejda

2. Narrative Prosthesis and the Materiality of Metaphor
Mitchell calls narrative prosthesis “the dependency of literary narratives on disability” (DTW 187).
In narrative prosthesis, the narrative attempts to resolve or fix “a deviance marked as abnormal or improper in a social context” (DTW 187)

3. Narrative Prosthesis and the Materiality of Metaphor
Schematics of narrative prosthesis:
A character’s deviance or difference is “exposed to a reader.”
“[A]n explanation of the deviation’s origins and formative consequences.”
“The deviance is brought from the periphery of concerns to the center stage of the story to come.”
The rest of the story attempts to “rehabilitate” or fix the deviance.
(DTW 187)

4. FoRrest Gump: Lt. Dan’s story
What other DS concepts do you see in Forrest Gump?
How would the film and the audiences’ reaction have been different if people with disabilities played the roles of the disabled characters?

5. Narrative Prosthesis in Forrest Gump: Lieutenant Dan
A character’s deviance is exposed: Lieutenant Dan loses his legs in the Vietnam War.
2. The narrative gives an explanation regarding the origins and consequences of this deviance: Forrest rescues Lt. Dan from the battlefield, which makes Lt. Dan angry. As a consequence, Lt. Dan becomes bitter and drinks heavily as he tries to cope.

6. Narrative Prosthesis in Forrest Gump
3. The deviance is brought to the forefront of the narrative: Forrest runs into Lt. Dan on the street after their stay in the veteran’s hospital, and Lt. Dan becomes a main part of the story’s narrative.
4. The story attempts to fix or rehabilitate the difference: Lt. Dan gets prosthetic legs by the end of the movie, at which point he is married, clean cut, and appears to be sober.