Face Blindness In Evie Prichard's Prosopagnosia

From the outside looking in, people might see a series of peculiar expressions, an odd distraction, and an unparalleled eye connection, but they see you nevertheless. Although in return, why couldn't you do the same? You frantically scour their physical features: their ears, their hair, “the way they move”, anything that distinguishes them. Their image seems clear in person, but the moment they leave, their face becomes a mismatched puzzle as the details become hazier within seconds. Prosopagnosia, commonly known as face blindness, is a condition where part of the brain that recognizes familiar faces fails to develop due to brain injury or a genetic condition. This condition is an obstacle in which both Finn, the protagonist in the novel Bone

In Evie Prichard’s article, she had come to be incredibly proficient at hiding her prosopagnosia by categorizing people by their facial hair, posture, voice, clothing style, and other dozens of clues. However those clues were not always effective and reliant. She had vigorously tried to hide her deficiency her whole life and it had just led to multiple misconceptions. When she became involved with student journalism, she recalled that, “Getting the word out about prosopagnosia through a regular column… was the most efficient way I had ever found to explain to the people I’d inadvertently hurt exactly why I was treating them like strangers.”(Prichard Pg.27) It was when she embraced her flaw that she recognized her strength in journalism. Similarly, in the novel, Finn managed to rescue the kidnapping victim, Roza, using his tactics that helped him recognize people:the way they move and their physical traits. Though it was difficult, he recalled that “Bees looked the same, and he had picked out the queen not because of her special stripes or even her size but because of the purposeful way she moved,” (Ruby Pg.298) He no longer considered his flaw a burden when he realized he used it to save a

The article enhanced awareness about the condition while also stimulating empathy and understanding in those around her demonstrating that the more you learn, the more you can connect. Prichard was relieved from self-blame when her student journalism column informed her classmates that the condition was more than just a seemingly rude personality. “Ironically, as I became a recognised face on campus, it became more and more acceptable for me to fail to recognize others,” (Pg. 27) says Prichard. Similarly, during Bone Gap’s party for the return of Roza, “The people were amazed, especially considering Finn’s condition. Wasn’t that so strange? And didn’t it explain so much...The people of Bone Gap called Finn a lot of things, but mostly they said he was brave,” (Ruby Pg. 339). Since the beginning, people tend to avoid Finn because he seems out of place and pities him, but when he came back as a hero of town, the people of Bone Gap started to notice more than just a “....careless, moon-eyed idiot,” (Ruby Pg. 269) Now that they know that there’s a reason behind his distant expression and strange distraction, their previous judgements were shoved