Ungifted

Unable to handle the challenging math and science courses, Donovan knows his only hope is to excel at humanities subjects. However, he struggles there, too, earning a D- on a social studies paper. He tells his teacher he has ADD to buy additional time to work on the paper, but the extra work only raises his grade to a C. After receiving a C- in English, he expands his “list of disorders”—restless leg syndrome, nonspecific bladder issues, dyslexia (49). He fears his teachers will compare notes and begins to have nightmares of an ambulance carting him off to intensive care. The attendant whips off his mask to reveal himself as Dr. Shultz.

At home, Beatrice, who is sluggish and eats only when Donovan hand-feeds her, remains glued to his side. His father puts a bumper sticker on his car proclaiming him a proud honors-student parent. The happiness he takes in Donovan’s apparent achievement make Donovan feel pressure to carry “the emotional well-being” of his family (51). Out running errands with his father, Donovan sees a newspaper report that Hardcastle is suing its insurance company, Parthenon Insurance Group, for refusing to cover damages caused by the statue. The company argues the statue’s design was flawed since only a single bolt connected Atlas’s globe to his shoulders.