On Being A Cripple, And Dumpster Diving By Nancy Mairs

822 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Narratives of living in poverty

For this weeks reading I chose the essays Coming Home Again, On Being a Cripple, and Dumpster Diving. The reason I chose to read these three specific essays were because amongst all the titles to chose from, these ones stuck out to me the most. From the titles I anticipated what each essay would be about. I assumed the essay Coming Home Again would be about the dilemma and adjustment of returning home from being gone for a long period of time. I can relate to that, so I picked that one. On Being a Cripple, I anticipated it would be the story of someone’s troubles with an illness. I can also relate to that issue so I picked that one. And lastly I expected the essay titles Dumpster Diving to be about the struggles of being poor and trying to survive. This title and idea does not directly relate to me, but my father, which is close enough. Like I stated above, I picked essays that I believed I could resonate with, and I was correct. …show more content…

Since her story was the most inspirational I would probably choose to meet with her, if given the opportunity. I would love to ask her questions that had to do with mindsets such as how she coped when she was diagnosed. How her and her husband get through the difficult times, and how he copes with things. I would even ask her what her biggest fear is, since in the essay she mentions how death is not one for her. The questions I would really like an answer for is how she deals with her depression, when she gets depressed. I would ask these things because I have a lot of trouble coping with things. I have been diagnosed with major depression and anxiety. I have no heath disability except for mentally. It would be inspirational to know how she deals with her depression, because if she can do it, then I know I could

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Nancy Mairs Living Under Circe's Spell

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    Think about all the physical feats your body can do and how you use your body every day. There are many people across the globe who do not have this privilege.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes about Homelessness in America in Dumpster Diving by Lars Eighner

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lars Eighner's short essay, "Dumpster Diving," reveals the stereotypes about homelessness in America. In order to confirm these known stereotypes about American culture, Eighner includes autobiographical accounts of the economically inferior class, as well as revealing his elitist rules that governs the life of a homeless person. According to Eighner, homeless people fall into the following categories, 'can scroungers', 'Dumpster divers', and 'scavengers.' (Eighner, 1993). In addition, Eighner's blatant demonstration of his superiority to the people he scavenges from reveals his true character of snobbery.

    Read More

  • Notorious American Artists: Betye Saar

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    Saar has accomplished a lot throughout her life and seen more than I have. I know if I was to meet Mrs. Saar that I wouldn’t even know where to start from, yet, I just wrote this essay on her. I have to say that she is a very strong person and has been through the depression and was once poor enough to receive a doll at Christmas that was repainted. Accepting the gift as it was means a lot to someone who has never had it that bad as Betye Saar. If you were to meet Betye Saar what would you tell her or ask her if she was in front of you?

    Read More

  • In Case You Ever Want To Go Home Again Summary

    401 Words  | 1 Pages

    The three short essays were subjectively confusing, dry, and simple to read. I was not impressed by the subject matter in Yiyun Li’s “Orange Crush.” Nor was I enthralled by the way “The Sanctuary of School” and Kingsolver’s “In Case You Ever Want to Go Home Again” were written. On the other hand, Lynda Barry had a pleasant ending to her lackluster essay in “The Sanctuary School.” Overall I was let down by the three treatise.

    Read More

  • Tressie Mcmillan Cottom's The Logic Of Stupid Poor People

    593 Words  | 2 Pages

    "The Logic of Stupid Poor People" is the idea of purchasing high dollar items to make them feel like they are a part of the higher class. Tressie McMillan Cottom, the author of this blog post, feels that most of the lower class is stupid because they make bad financial decisions. In Cottom's essay, she discusses how she grew up with a family that was poor and it was difficult to "make ends meet"; moreover, helping others. Cottom's thesis says, "If you are poor, why do you spend money on useless luxuries rather than trying to survive". The argument that she is trying to get across is that the more responsible way to spend your money could be towards the next electric bill, groceries, or even into the bank in case of an emergency. Cottom mentions that her mother used to spend her money on clothing and accessories for herself as "investments", but it was for her mother's way to show others that she has extra cash to blow, even though she does not. Cottom has the evidence from her own personal experiences; ways that her family made money was taking advantage of welfare, collecting from insurance policies, and extra military payments. The author is making a point why the act of spending

    Read More

  • On Being a Cripple by Nancy Mair

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    “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 as they would if she did not have the disease. Throughout the essay, Mair discuses 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 story.

    Read More

  • On Dumpster Diving By Lars Eighner

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    Homelessness is increasing every year and about a quarter of all homeless people suffer from mental health issues. In Lars Eighner “On Dumpster Diving” he explains what he went through on a daily basis while being homeless. He describes how and what foods you should look for and to always be conscious of what you are getting because there is always a reason why something was thrown out. He continues to go into detail about other items that can be found in the dumpster like sheet and papers. Things that can keep you busy through the day. Eighner carefully explains to his readers how being a dumpster diver has become a life style for the homeless and this is how they survive. “I began dumpster diving about a year before I became homeless” (Eighner 713). He tries to bring us into the world of homelessness. It is hard to imagine what we would do or not do in that situation, how would we survive if dumpster diving was our means of survival? As a dumpster diver, Eighner is able to tell us what is ok to eat and have and what is not ok for your health. His essay starts by uttering some guid...

    Read More

  • Nancy Mairs On Being A Cripple Analysis

    210 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Judith Cofer And Lars Eighner's On Dumpster Diving

    1722 Words  | 4 Pages

    There is no shame that everybody had at least stereotyped once in their lifetime. Stereotyping is a common thing that happens whether someone does it intentionally or unintentionally. Some stereotyping causes mixed emotions; anger, sadness, humor, inspiration, many more. Though stereotyping will never be wiped from existence, many people have told their stories and seen from different perspectives when stereotyped. Take, for example, Judith Cofer and Lars Eighner.

    Read More

  • Essay About Silvana Giono

    2048 Words  | 5 Pages

    She has many horrific stories of World War II that affected her life forever and her parents were a big impact as well, which really surprised me. Her parents had one goal for her and it was for her to become a teacher. Luckily she liked it and became the teacher she wanted to be now. Not many struggles were given to my grandmother other than tragic events as she was raised by two wealthy parents who truly cared about her. Silvana Giono is my inspiration and as she taught me, I will never give up on anything. Being able to interview her, I have learned that I need to become a better person and work harder for what I really want. This has a big impact on me because I will try even harder for things I really want and will always try my best from now on. I am very glad I was assigned this project, as I feel that I have turned into a better

    Read More

  • Nancy Mairs On Being A Cripple Analysis

    540 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nancy Mairs, who has multiple sclerosis calls herself a “cripple” in a passage she wrote about herself describing in detail why she chose this word to call herself. Because Mairs studies language, she conveys her message by using assertive tone, strong word choice and rhetorical structure.

    Read More

  • Journal Essay: Why Bother By Pollan

    1603 Words  | 4 Pages

    These weekly readings slowly taught me how to analyze the structure of different essays. Through the journal essay assignment I came across to a particular essay that grabbed my attention. The essay, “Why Bother” By Pollan, allows the reader to be moved by his written work, and teaches the different techniques to grab the reader’s attention. In his work, Pollan describes people attitudes regarding climate change and he offers possible solutions if people attempted to help. For example, he says, “Sometimes you have to act as if acting will make a difference, even when you can’t prove that it will.” (Pollan 317) In other words, Pollan gives the reader a chance to engage in his work by offering a solution to a problem that’s well known. As I read this essay I focused on some of his quotes and reflected their meaning in depth. Most of Pollan’s quotes were a source of motivation to those who may lack in hope an inspiration to make a difference. For my journal entry I focused on introducing evidence that supports my interpretation from the quotes. For example, Pollan says, “Gardening is a process of social change, and by doing so; it can impact others to make a difference”(Pollan 318) I decided to include other quotes from the reading because this supports my interpretation of the reading. After, I found out that this technique helped me go in depth

    Read More

  • Nursing Interview Paper

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    For the first part of the interview I really focused how Emily got to where she is and why she wanted to pursue nursing. My first question entailed, “What made you want to become a nurse?”

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Sandra Bland

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the first essay DON’T EAT BEFORE READING THIS Bourdain wrote humorously, comparing his kitchen staff to “The Wild Bunch”, which was a group of old western outlaws. SANDRA BLAND AND OR VUNRABLE BODIES is far from humorous, Roxane Gay wrote about a serious modern day issue for an African American. WHY WE CRAVE HORROR MOVIES by Stephen King was composed to explain that our insanity drives us towards terrifying motion pictures. Finally, Marlon James sequentially structured FROM JAMAICA TO MINESOTA TO MYSELF to reveal the discovery of himself. Even though the four essays I have chosen are different topics and styles of writing, they all passionately wrote about a subject that is dear to them. Overall my attitude about the essays. The assignment was a learning experience that has changed dreadful thoughts to an open mind breaking a piece down to find a true meaning, through figurative

    Read More

  • What I Have Learned in My English Writing Class

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    I have learned many things throughout the course of the term, including such things as: how to write an essay and how to improve on essays that I have already written, how to locate and composite better research through the use of numerous resources found at the campus library, the internet, and the “Common Sense” textbook, how to cite research, examples, and quotations properly within the contents of my research paper as well as document it accurately according to MLA standards. Through the exploration of the “Subjects and Strategies” textbook, I have learned nine different methods used when writing an effective essay and how the different writing styles affect the overall theme and tone of the essay when used properly. This past semester, I have encountered many difficulties when trying to write these essays, but through the use of the textbooks, the aide of the instructor, and once I was able to classify the different types of essays and styles, I found them possible to overcome.

    Read More

More about On Being A Cripple, And Dumpster Diving By Nancy Mairs

Open Document