Nancy Mairs Cripple

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In the essay, Nancy Mairs who has multiple sclerosis refers to herself as crippled. She doe this without the use of any euphemisms as she believes " 'cripple' seems to me a clean word, straightforward and precise." Mairs is not embarrassed or ashamed of who she is, instead she embraces it through diction, tone and rhetorical structure. " I am a cripple." This is how Mairs starts her piece; she starts it by stating facts. She uses a formal diction but one that is still comprehensible. To state her facts, Mairs uses words such as "euphemisms", "calamitous"and even "crippledness" to enhance the effectiveness of her piece. She does not believe she should "participate in the degeneration of the language" which is quite remarkable. Throughout her essay Mairs's tone remains the same. She continued to be informative and talked about real life occurrences such as the transference of "undeveloped" countries to "less developed". This type of tone shows that finds comfort in the way she is and the person she is. She admits she is a "cripple' without the use of euphemisms to show just how comfortable she is with herself. This adds to her informative tone as it informs readers of of the comfort she feels …show more content…
Although Mairs is comfortable with being called anything with the exception of "differently abled", she would not call anyone crippled because she says "it is the word I use to name only myself." She also says "society is no readier to accept crippledness than to accept death, war, sex, sweat or wrinkles." Although, Mairs has gotten ahead with being comfortable with who she is as she has demonstrated through diction, tone and rhetorical structure; society has not reached that level

Nancy Mairs Cripple Analysis

The speaker, Nancy Mairs presents herself as a brutally honest "cripple." She used rhetorical features such as tone, word choice, and rhetorical structure to reinforce her presentation of herself. Mairs' tone reinforces how she presents herself. Due to Mairs' matter-of-fact and brutally honest tone, she gives off an air of confidence. Mairs' says that " 'cripple' seems to me a clean word, straightforward and precise," to show her Mairs' word choices reinforces how she presents herself.By choosing…

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Nancy Mairs On Being A Cripple Summary

“On Being a Cripple” is written by Nancy Mairs and is a collection in the book, “The Norton Reader”. Mairs’ essay wrote about her life as being an MS patient. From how she found out she got MS to the later stage of her life. Her main theme is to encourage us —readers— should be thankful and delightful with what we presently own. Also, imply that patients with similar symptoms should be treated like an ordinary person. By mentioning little stories the happened about her after being diagnosed with…

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Nancy Mairs On Being A Cripple Analysis

In Nancy Mairs’ essay “On Being a Cripple” (1986), she asserts that having MS does not define her as a person. Mairs develops her ideas through ethos, pathos, and diction. Using anecdotes, she discusses her experiences in order to inform people of her disability. Mairs addresses those without disabilities that pity those who have disabilities first with a wistful tone that later shifts into a confident tone. Mairs opens her essay by describing her life before MS, a time “infinitely more pleasant…

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Nancy Mairs On Being A Cripple Essay

treated like this? Nancy Mairs, born in Long Beach and raised in Boston, is a highly respected poet, essayist, and teacher: in her article, “On Being a Cripple,” she uses word choice and repetition to talk about an issue that affects her life massively, that other Americans might feel uncomfortable talking about. Mairs explains how society treats her based on her condition, she also describes how the word “cripple” should be an accepted term rather than one that is winced (Mairs) upon, but she's also…

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Nancy Mairs On Being A Cripple Summary

essay, “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs, she identifies herself as a cripple instead of using the politically correct term “handicapped”. She chooses to identify as a cripple because that is how she sees herself. There has always been the argument of nature vs nurture, and whether a person’s identity is made up from their DNA or determined by external factors like life experiences and the…

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Nancy Mairs On Being A Cripple Summary

but is still a taboo subject to discuss. In Nancy Mairs’ essay, “On Being a Cripple”, she shares personal experiences caused by MS and addresses the different ways others refer to those with this disability. Through this Mairs creates logos, pathos, and ethos in her work and along with humor she relates to the reader to convince them of the importance of clear, precise language. After opening with an anecdote describing the unfortunate event where Mairs fell into the toilet, she continues on to explain…

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Nancy Mairs I Am A Cripple Analysis

In Nancy Mairs’ passage, I am a Cripple, her diction shows tones of assertion and determination in changing the way people label her. Mairs’ opening line, “I am a cripple”, is the beginning of her justification of using “cripple” instead of “handicapped” or “disabled”. She acknowledges the fact that although people are more comfortable with the latter words, they are just euphemisms for what she really is, a cripple. Mairs’ need to make people understand and self-confidence in knowing what she truly…

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Nancy Mairs Being A Cripple Summary

In Nancy Mairs’s personal narrative, “Being a Cripple”, she describes how her disease MS, is not going to hold her back no matter how painful or scary because she is not the disease, she has a disease. She begins her narrative by first explaining why she calls herself a cripple, not any other name. Saying that, it describes herself better than ‘handicapped’ or ‘disabled’ and she likes to let people know she's a tough cookie calling herself that. She then describes when she found out she had MS which…

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Response Essay

Nu Nguyen English 1A February 26th, 2013 “On Being A Cripple” Response Essay In the article, “On Being A Cripple” by Nancy Mairs, she tells the reader how she lives her life as a cripple with MS, explaining the hardships that she goes through, but is able to show how positive she can be. There are many instances where Mairs runs into trouble in her everyday life, but she is able to laugh about it which is tough to do for many people. Mairs gives many examples how she lives her life like any other…

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Rhetorical Analysis Of On Being A Cripple

think of them as a cripple when in reality, they are much more than what others are seeing them as being. Nancy Mairs, the author of “On Being a Cripple,” declares in her writing that “I am not a disease”(Mairs par. 23). She says this to describe how people with disabilities are still just people and that they should not be looked at or treated differently than others. Mairs uses rhetorical strategies such as humor to convey her assertion in her writing. She said that “As a cripple, I swagger”(par…

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