The Power of Social Stigma

Social stigma is a powerful element that influences how people act and think. Since social stigma is ingrained in a society, attitudes are difficult to change.

The idea social stigma is introduced early in the story. Alex has befriended a woman who lives next door, and Alex is nearby the day the woman becomes a dragon. Alex needs to make sense of this situation, but there is no one who can and will talk to her about what has happened. Alex notes that “I was four years old when I first saw a dragon. I was four years old when I first learned to be silent about dragons” (9). She goes on to say that there is a “hole in the universe where the truth should be.” The fact that everyone apparently knows what happens here but no one talks about it is...