Nancy Mairs Cripple

In this passage there is a certain tone of seriousness, which can be interpreted as harshness to a certain degree based on the content of the piece. Just by opening with the phrase, “I am a cripple," Nancy has already set a serious tone for the reader who by now is asking the questions how is she a cripple and why has she said this? The tone can be seen as being harsh just because of the first sentence of the passage. This is someone's personal account of his or her own disease, so this phrase prepares the reader to engage in a serious article about a person's life (disability). The tone is not necessarily a pleasant one considering the harshness of the word and the fact that Nancy knows how people will react to it. "Perhaps I want them to wince," she says knowing w

Just as some gay or lesbian people call themselves queer, so does Nancy in referring to herself as a "cripple." She says that she would never refer to another person as a cripple, so it is a word used only to name herself. She knows how most people will react to the word, but she is okay with it because she is aware of who she is and part of that happens to be a person with no use of her limbs because of the horrid disease multiple sclerosis.

hat kind of feelings this word may provoke. While there is a serious or harsh tone to the passage there is also another tone of acceptance or maybe peace within because of this acceptance. "Honesty underlies my choice," Nancy remarks which exemplifies the fact that she is not bitter at all about her situation/disease. She says the word "cripple" has an "honorable history" as if the word itself deserves praises for being so truthful in its description. She is blunt about who she is and the disease she has. "I like the accuracy with which it describes by condition." She has lost the full use of her limbs; so to say that she is disabled or handicapped is not accurate especially since she states, “My God is not a Handicapper General." This phrase more than any other tells the

Some topics in this essay:
Nancy Mairs', Nancy Mairs, God Handicapper, word cripple, multiple sclerosis, word choice, pure verbal garbage, people react, degeneration language, passage tone, verbal garbage, pure verbal,