Style Analysis on Being a Cripple

775 Words4 Pages
The cause of someone to be unable to move or walk properly is called a cripple. In the essay written by Nancy Mairs, On Being a Cripple, she describes her feelings about word choices used to describe “cripple”. The author’s purpose is to identify herself as a confident and tough person capable of using the word “cripple” and able to rise above her disability. She wants to inform the audience about her life as a “cripple.” Mair’s adopts a confident tone by using strong diction, figurative language, and syntactical features to encourage readers to understand her opinions toward wanting to be called “cripple” as a way of expressing her acceptance towards being a “cripple.” Mairs uses denotative and connotative diction through the use of specific word choice to describe tone. By identifying herself as “tough”, she characterizes herself as a person capable of withstanding hardship instead of using “strong” which implies being able to withstand pressure. The tone of the essay, assists in describing her abilities used to push past the incapability to identify herself as a “tough” individual. She believes that by calling herself “cripple” she is admitting to the fact that she does not have a normal life, which most people would not usually admit to. By using “cripple” instead of “handicapped” she conveys to readers that she is not physically restricted to function but that she is only unable to move or walk properly. By using strong word choices, Mairs comes to terms with the words used to describe “cripple,” by displaying her strength and admittance to her existence as a cripple. She believes in the use of words describing cripple, and wants people to use the word precisely to label her disability. Moreover, the author uses figurative language to explicate appropriate words used to label her disability. The inaccurate use of words depicting her disability is
Open Document