A journey is when exposure to events leave impressions on you, thus creating your unique individuality. Internal journeys have an impact on you because the lessons learned stay with you forever, and help form who you are. The physical journeys leave impressions on you temporarily and what you learn is only useful during that period of time, for instance if you become crippled. But, the two different types of journeys aren’t usually achieved separately. Instead, they are intertwined and needing each other to help you have self-growth. An internal is more significant than a physical journey because it helps you discover unknown qualities of yourself. The hidden qualities that define you can be discovered in multiple ways. In, “On Being a Cripple” …show more content…
Depression happened, the second time I needed ACL surgery because I had no reason to recover fast and I needed to rethink my life choices. But the second process was also worse than the first because waking up with the grogginess and having a different pain set in, made me feel defeated once again, even though I already knew the procedures. Yet again I would be bed ridden for more than three weeks. Being bedridden and in a lot of pain affected my sleep, appetite and energy. The depression had many stages, it went from not this process again to making me question my identity while I had the whole time in the world with nothing to do other than think and sleep. And even after recovery the second time around I only had to go back to school. I couldn’t go back to soccer, I didn’t have any additional happiness other than being able to walk again and do every day routines over and over again. Although I went through the painful weeks being bedridden, the year of physical therapy and the identity change, I wouldn’t have found out who I am today without also going through the physical journey. Uniqueness can be defined through the hardships you conquer or by how others perceive your identity. A way other people can identify you is by your cultural background. This is shown in “How it Feels to be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston by her realizing that by her changing communities, people identified her based on her appearance and not by her internal personality or her abilities. People categorized her by her appearance because that’s how the community was organized, it was by race not by uniqueness. She relates the thought of being known by your outer shell by referencing a
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.
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.
In her essay “On Being a Cripple,” Mairs describes her path of acceptance of her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis by declaring that she is a “cripple” in alternative to the more broadly acceptable terms: disabled or handicapped. Her essay is written with humor, satire, an open heart, and open eyes. Mair’s purpose is to describe her acceptances of her condition by using rhetorical elements and appeals, such as ethos and pathos, in order to allure her audience.
Mairs describes her condition and how it relates to the actions and responses 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.
“I am a Cripple,” when people typically hear these words, they tend to feel bad for that person, but that is exactly what Mair does not want. She prefers that people treat her the same way they would if she did not have the disease. Throughout the essay, Mair discusses her disease openly. She uses an optimistic tone, so that the reader will not recoil with sadness when they hear her discuss the disease and how it affects her life. In Nancy Mair’s essay “On Being A Cripple,” Mair uses her personal stories, diction, and syntactical structures to create an optimistic tone throughout the essay, so that the audience can better connect with the story.
As mentioned previously, the chances of becoming disabled over one’s lifetime are high, yet disabled people remain stigmatized, ostracized, and often stared upon. Assistant Professor of English at Western Illinois University, Mark Mossman shares his personal experience as a kidney transplant patient and single-leg amputee through a written narrative which he hopes will “constitute the groundwork through which disabled persons attempt to make themselves, to claim personhood or humanity” while simultaneously exploiting the “palpable tension that surrounds the visibly disabled body” (646). While he identifies the need for those with limitations to “make themselves” or “claim personhood or humanity,” Siebers describes their desires in greater detail. He suggests people with
As human beings, we like to make sure never to offend or judge anyone. We even have sayings like “never judge a book by its cover”. A metaphor that is often said whenever trying not to judge someone based on their outward appearance; however, it is not often that people practice what they preach. We judge people based on external factors within seconds. Even though we know what people see on the outside is not a defining factor or who we are as people. Nancy Mairs, author of On Being a Cripple, has to live through this every day. She knows this truth very well, and lives proudly with the fact that as she is disabled. Mairs is admirable for choosing to call herself a “cripple” and not be ashamed of it. Though the word is derogatory and a word that is avoided by society, Mairs identifies herself as a cripple because that is what she is. In explaining her disability, she says, “I haven’t always been crippled, ... to be whole of limb is ... infinitely more pleasant and useful. and if that knowledge leaves me open to bitterness … the physical soundness I once enjoyed is well worth the occasional stab of regret” (Mairs 186). What really
In the essay “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs, Mairs talks about her struggle with multiple sclerosis, or MS, which is a disease that affects the spinal cord, brain and optic nerves in your eyes causing to lose muscle control, balance and vision problems. Throughout the essay Mairs talks about why she lets the word “cripple” be the word that defines her condition. Mairs believes “cripple,” unlike other words, targets her reality. Throughout the essay Mairs presents herself as honest through her exquisite use of language, and very realistic outlook on life.
I think that is why I was humbled because my situation could be worse. I became more and more appreciative and learned that my world wasn’t ending; my world was just changing. I learned that I had to adjust to change in order to position myself for future success. I had to see different perspectives and open myself up to new ideas. Also, I had to fully accept the fact that things were changing for me. I now realize that change is good sometimes because it introduces you to new opportunities and experiences. Instead of playing basketball 24/7, my injury gave me exposure to different interests that I would have never experienced before and will never
The archetypal stages in books have been used since the works and discoveries of psychologist, like Carl Jung. Carl Jung saw archetypal stages as recurring images or patterns of situations that come from the unconscious mind. Whereas, Joseph Campbell, a mythologist who wrote a book The Hero of a Thousand Faces, a book about hero’s journeys, demonstrated how characters in books go through a series of stages in order to get to their final destination. In the novels, Jane Eyre and Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main characters all went through their own archetypal stages to get to their final journey to realize or discover their true destiny. Both of the main characters in these novels went through the four stages of the archetypal journey.
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
There are millions of words across the globe that are used to describe people and uncover their identity, but what is identity? How can you begin to describe something that varies so greatly from one human being to another? Can you create a universal meaning for a word describing human concepts that people often fail to define for themselves? Of course there isn't one definition to define such a word. It is an intricate aspect of human nature, and it has a definition just as complex.
I fought a war with myself and I am so proud to say that I am still standing here today due to my perseverance. I recognize that depression was a significant part in my life that shaped who I am now. I know that because of it, I am more careful in the words choose, I pick up on emotions easily, I know how to console people, and the list goes on. Despite depression being a major part of my identity for 15 years, I am proud to say that I am journeying through my life finding who I am without it. I plan to do all the things I said I couldn’t: Graduate high school, get my college diploma, find a job, and find my
How does someone's journey tell who they are in the world? A journey is a trip or someone's story their life or their bumps that they have gone through. . A journey is a story.
10-Minute Mindfulness appeals to me because I am at a time in my life where peace and