El Deafo

Mike is Cece’s romantic interest. He begins the novel as an archetype, existing primarily as part of Cece’s daydreams. He reveals more of his personality later in the book, when he defends Cece against Johnnie’s bullying. He insists that Johnnie apologize and validates her feelings. Cece idealizes Mike for much of the book, until she begins to feel more self-assured—it isn’t until the end of the book that Cece realizes that Mike might not be perfect (he likes Van Halen, after all). Mike’s transformation comes primarily through Cece’s eyes, and he becomes less idealized and more of a full character, with good qualities and bad. 

As Cece’s sidekick and best friend, Martha is the only friend who embraces Cece’s full self and makes Cece feel “normal.” Cece loves Martha dearly, and a central conflict in the novel is Martha’s decision to end the friendship after Cece hurts her eye playing a game of tag. In this conflict, we see Martha as a full character, not just a sidekick—she feels deep guilt over causing Cece to hurt herself and fears that she will further disable Cece. While Martha is initially a lighthearted friend, this conflict brings out the nuances in Martha’s personality, and her struggle with anxiety, guilt, and fear. In the same way that Martha validated Cece and made her feel loved, Cece must validate Martha to save their friendship. 

Laura is Cece’s first friend. Though she does not seem to care about Cece’s hearing aids or her disability, she has other flaws—she is cruel to Cece and demands that Cece behave according to her desires. Laura teaches Cece how to advocate for herself and how to remove herself from toxic relationships. She also teaches Cece that just because someone accepts her disability, it doesn’t make them a good friend. 

Ginny is Cece’s second friend. She is new in school and joins Cece’s class. Ginny is kind and likes the same TV shows as Cece, but she treats Cece differently because of her disability. She speaks to her in strange ways and calls her “my deaf friend” to other children. This makes Cece feel abnormal and alienated, and their friendship ends when Cece speaks up for herself and asks Ginny to stop. Cece’s anger offends Ginny, and the friendship ends soon after it begins. 

Cece’s dad is not a well-developed character and does not figure prominently in the novel. His biggest role is giving Cece a curly pencil after a work conference. Cece loves this pencil, and it gives her the chance to make an impression on the other children in school. 

Cece spends more time with her mom than her dad. Her mom reassures her in difficult moments, when she feels alienated from other children. Cece’s mother pushes Cece to learn new skills that might benefit Cece in the future. She takes a sign language class with Cece at their local church and begins speaking to her in sign language at home. Cece struggles with sign language and feels resentful at her mother for signing without feeling like she is drawing attention to a disability. Cece’s mother embraces her daughter’s difference and helps her feel supported and loved at home. She pushes Cece to be brave, despite not fully relating to Cece’s experience as a deaf person. 

Emma is Cece’s first friend. Emma and Cece are friends before Cece loses her hearing, and Emma visits her in the hospital when she has meningitis. Cece loses Emma’s friendship when she moves to a new neighborhood but remembers Emma’s inability to understand that Cece could not hear certain words correctly. 

Dorn is Cece’s first teacher. Cece compares her to Snow White. She is kind, loving, supportive, and teaches Cece to lip read. 

Mr. Potts is one of the minor antagonists of the novel. He is the physical education teacher, and the only teacher who doesn’t fully understand or accept Cece’s disability. He doesn’t spend much time getting to know Cece because she isn’t physically fit, and he only likes athletic children. Mr. Potts breaks the Phonic Ear, causing Cece four weeks of pain and loneliness. He isn’t intentionally cruel—instead, Mr. Potts is the archetype of the clueless, ignorant teacher, who doesn’t make the kinds of accommodations Cece needs to succeed.