Unfortunately, Emily adopts the feeling that her simple nature is her disability and therefore lives in accordance with the way society assumes disabled people do : introverted and uncomfortable. Society assumes that disability also involves mental problems. In some cases, there are intellectual and developmental disabilities, but this is not representative of the whole. Emily’s character perfectly illustrates this societal flaw: “[She] hoped the man’s injury didn’t also involve his brain; she had a long job ahead of her...and she didn't want the embarrassment of trying to talk to someone and listening to someone whose body was anchored to a chair and whose mind was afloat. She immediately puts herself down as if a mental disability is the worst thing that could happen. His comparison with a mental deficiency reduces these people to an animal or infantile status: “She knew that she would talk to him like a baby or a dog. » Emily reduces Drew to his chair, rather than the enthusiastic, joyful man who has a passion for life. She was never helpless, saying she would rather die than end up in such a state. Yet Drew's lack of fragility highlights Jeff's qualities, enlightening Emily about the possibility of escaping loneliness. Unfortunately, Emily and Jeff represent the societal view that anyone in a helpless state could actually be happy. Fortunately, Emily recognizes pain as an inevitable complement to a lived existence: Drew will no longer be able to dance on two feet, but he can.