Pearl S. Buck: A Heralding Voice for the Mentally Disabled

Abstract This paper focuses on Pearl S. Buck’s writings on disability and their impact on breaking the taboo on disabilities and advocating a more humane and supportive societal response towards the disabled. Through Pearl Buck’s compassionate portrayals of characters facing mental or physical impairment, Pearl Buck served as a heralding voice for the rights of persons with disabilities. This paper not only analyzes a host of Pearl Buck’s works in which the exploration of disability is a theme but also dissects how her publications and her advocacy influenced societal awareness of disability. Pearl Buck’s most significant work on disability is The Child Who Never Grew . This child refers to Buck’s daughter, Carol, who was born with a metabolic disorder called phenylketonuria (PKU). Left without medical intervention, the bloodstream of children with PKU accumulates elevated levels of phenylalanine, leading to permanent cognitive impairment. Buck struggled tremendously over what was best for Carol’s care. Eventually, when Carol was nine, Buck admitted her to the Training School at Vineland, New Jersey. In 1932, Buck donated $50,000 to Vineland for the construction and running of Carol’s Cottage (Trent, 1994, 233). Buck also served on Vineland’s board of directors for decades. The publication of The Child Who Never Grew finally pushed the U.S. to break the silence on mental disability and drew public attention to this stigmatized topic. The publication of this memoir also signifies Buck’s public commencement as an advocate for the mentally disabled. Through multifaceted venues such as publications, support of parents advocacy groups, and placement of disabled children through the adoption agency that she founded, Buck affirmed the values of the mentally disabled to both their families and the society in general and demanded care and support for the disabled at familial, institutional, and societal levels.