Nancy Mairs - Crippled and Strong Throughout this passage Nancy Mairs uses the word cripple to describe who she is and the beliefs of her condition. She does this by describing her condition in a few different ways; the opinion of others and the opinion of herself. As anyone should she decides what her title as a person should be and she doesn’t listen or care for anyone’s opinion outside of her own. Her tone is very straightforward throughout the passage. Mairs describes her condition and how it relates to the actions and response of other people in any situation. Mairs uses the term cripple loosely making sure it is not offensive to anyone. By starting her passage with, “I am a cripple,” Mairs doesn’t hide anything. She begins by coming straight out into the open with who she is and how she wants the world to view her. In the first paragraph Mairs uses the word choose three times to establish her personal decision to be titled a cripple. It is Nancy Mairs choice that she is comfortable with. She states that, “perhaps I want them to wince,” when she is talking about people’s reaction to the word cripple. Mairs puts her image and her dignity on the line but smartly repeats that she doesn’t discredit anyone from having their own opinion. She does this rather than telling or expecting her audience to convert; she knows everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Nancy Mairs is completely straightforward with her condition throughout the entire passage. “As a ...
This backdrop may be used to represent various issues such as language, labels, and a reclaiming process that is undertaken by many people in the community who are oppressed. For example, the people who are disabled in the community are usually not different in any aspect that may be presented in the text. In the expression of the term cripple, the author finds it offensive and decides to use freak instead. Also, he explains why he does so by narrating a story to the people who are disabled to make them feel better. Hence, the use of the word freak by Clare does not imply a negative meaning. Instead. It reinforces the attitude the disabled people have towards themselves (Rosemarie
Mairs was looked at she wasn’t helpful because of her disability but she was. Both authors were
“I felt I could do good for other persons with disabilities precisely because I had authority from that medical degree.” This line makes the reader stop for a moment and really evaluate what has been said, due to the contrary effect that was intimated from the beginning. The switch from negativity to positivity demonstrates the change from the author’s feeling has changed and how society has changed.This revelation brings us to the end, how she said she hopes the next generation will see things differently, “Disability right thus aren’t something we seek only for others. We must also seem them for the ones we love and for ourselves.” The author stating this at the very end reflects people who have the disability need to help themselves and have disability right, not just looking for help from others.
The two essays “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs and “A Plague of Tics” by David Sedaris are excellent pieces of work that share many similarities. This paper would reflect on these similarities particularly in terms of the author, message and the targeted audience. On an everyday basis, people view those with disabilities in a different light and make them conscious at every step. This may be done without a conscious realisation but then it is probably human nature to observe and notice things that deviate from the normal in a society. In a way people are conditioned to look negatively at those individuals who are different in the conventional
Disability is a ‘complex issue’ (Alperstein, M., Atkins, S., Bately, K., Coetzee, D., Duncan, M., Ferguson, G., Geiger, M. Hewett, G., et al.., 2009: 239) which affects a large percentage of the world’s population. Due to it being complex, one can say that disability depends on one’s perspective (Alperstein et al., 2009: 239). In this essay, I will draw on Dylan Alcott’s disability and use his story to further explain the four models of disability being The Traditional Model, The Medical Model, The Social Model and The Integrated Model of Disability. Through this, I will reflect on my thoughts and feelings in response to Dylan’s story as well as to draw on this task and my new found knowledge of disability in aiding me to become
who were there but learn them in such a way that we are allowed to
Mairs recognizes herself as a “cripple” although many people would not want to be called a cripple since they would find it offensive, but Mairs believes it fit her perfectly. Mairs does not like the term “handicapped” or “disabled” because they are not flattering which is why she prefers the word “cripple”. Although she has a serious condition she does not take consideration of other individuals statements, “whatever you call me, I remain cripple. But i don’t care what you call me” (Mairs). This passage demonstrates how brave and strong she is; Mairs is also optimism because she learned to accept herself the way she is, she eventually became confident enough to joke about her serious condition.
World War I was fought on the battlegrounds of Europe. Death and dismay was strewn throughout the landscape. The major players included, but were not limited to, The United States, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and France. Much like the Vietnam War, that would occur later on in the century, this war was one of bewilderment for most of the people involved, and not involved, for that matter. The soldiers and civilians alike were uncertain about the events leading up to this escalation of mass bloodshed. This uncertainty through Europe and the US, led to a myriad of recurring themes on and off the battlefields. The novel Regeneration, written by Pat Barker, discusses these experiences, and consequential themes in depth. In particular, one of these recurring motifs found in the novel that is incredibly interesting is that of Emasculation. It can be found throughout the novel through a variety of medium, including experiences and even clinical healing methods used by a doctor. Emasculation was expressed as a major theme throughout the World War I era and should be addressed properly.
The essays, “On Being a Cripple”, by Nancy Mairs, and “Living Under Circe’s Spell”, by Matthew Soyster are both about how each author deals with multiple sclerosis in their life and their opinions on it. Mairs’ piece is a careful examination of her experience with MS and her perspective towards her future. In contrast, Soyster writes humorously of a particular incident he had with MS and artfully weaves his ideas about the disease in with his story. In both instances, the authors share the purpose of narrating their encounter with MS to the world to raise awareness. Both employ the rhetorical strategies of appeals to pathos and varying sentence structures to achieve this goal, some more effectively than others.
Hall begins by defining ideologies as “images, concepts, and premises which provide the frameworks through which we represent, interpret, and understand … some aspect of social existence.” He explains that language is “the principal medium in which we find different ideological discourses elaborated.” (81). Jones identifies language as a “site of struggle” for disabled people, and links media labelling practices to “issues of identity” (102). Expanding upon Jones’ claim, Harris illustrates how our perceptions of disabled people (i.e. our ideologies surrounding disability) are “shaped and reinforced through our language patterns.” For example, terminology related to disability is commonly used to insult able-bodied people. Sayings like “get it yourself, you’re not a cripple” and “what’s the matter with you? Are you blind? It’s right over there” not only reinforce the stereotype that disabled people are helpless, but suggest that disabilities are something inherently “wrong” (Harris 9). Moreover, the person ...
Retard,’ we heard her say, and Margaret wilted” (118). This shows that she has been in situations where the word “retard” affected a person with mental disabilities, in this case her own daughter. To the reader this goes straight to their heart, making them feel bad for everything they have ever used the word “retard”. Later in the argument she show the word not only affects her daughter, but also anyone that cares about her daughter. She says, “For my daughter and my family, it’s more like a grenade, and we’re the collateral damage”. This explains that whenever the word “retard” is used, it’s not only hurts people with mental disabilities but also anyone that cares about people with mental disabilities. Then she goes into how she understands that people, usually aren’t trying to be rude or hurtful, that they are “just joking” or “didn’t mean it like that” but regardless of how it’s meant, it’s still hurtful to the people who are affected by mental disabilities on a daily basis. Falling back on to pathos again, she names of a handful of ways she’s heard “retard” in her day to day life. She says, “A clerk in a store apologizes for being ‘such a retard’... Ouch. Kids at the mall call one another ‘you big retard.’ Ouch. A friend tells a … story…about her recent fender bender, with a punchline about ‘some
The women of the late sixties, although some are older than others, in Alice Walker’s fiction that exhibit the qualities of the developing, emergent model are greatly influenced through the era of the Civil Rights Movement. Motherhood is a major theme in modern women’s literature, which examines as a sacred, powerful, and spiritual component of the woman’s life. Alice Walker does not choose Southern black women to be her major protagonists only because she is one, but because she had discovered in the tradition and history they collectively experience an understanding of oppression that has been drawn from them a willingness to reject the principle and to hold what is difficult. Walker’s most developed character, Meridian, is a person who allows “an idea no matter where it came from to penetrate her life.” Meridian’s life is rooted under the curiosity of what is the morally right thing to do, at the right time and place. Meridian pursues a greatness amount of power, which is based upon her individualistic and personal view of herself as a mother. She looks for answers from her family, especially the heritage by her maternal ancestors, and seeks her identity through traditions passed on to her by Southern black women. In exploring the primacy of motherhood, African-American writer Alice Walker’s novel, Meridian, shifted the angle of seeing from the female perspective how the certain experiences affect their interpretations of motherhood.
Although disabled characters are uncommon in many TV shows, Game of Thrones not only distinguishes itself by being the exception to that rule, but the show also explores how disability affects the personal and social identities of its characters. Almost every single character in Game of Thrones is disabled in some way, both literally and in a metaphorical sense; Tyrion suffers from dwarfism, Jaime gets his hand cut off, Brandon becomes paralyzed, Jon is a bastard, etc. The episode, Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things, goes further than most episodes by showing that some of the characters have soft spot for the disabled despite the social stigma.
To what extent does Carol Ann Duffy’s poem ‘Medusa’ challenge stereotypical masculine and feminine attributes?
If we have to look at regeneration as healing and more specifically, the process of healing the mind, then it implies that the patient has a mentally unstable condition and has to be helped back to a normal stable mental condition. The definition of a normal stable mental condition in every human falls within the range of this person's ability to access situations rationally and objectively, parallel with a sense of responsibility and duty towards the fellow people, the law and the social standards of the place, time and condition of the society that this person is a part of. The reaction, behavior or response to a given situation should bring balance or maintain balance in the situation for the sake of being reliable in the protection of security measures and the advancement of the generally understood purpose.