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| Nancy Mairs, circa 1988 |
For Tuesday: Mairs’
On Being a Cripple (142-151)
A few words I might look up if I were back in college... (optional)
1. semantics
(157)
2. slovenliness
(158)
3. predelictions
(160)
4. concomitant
(161)
5. vichyssoise
(163)
Bonus: in
extremis (note: it’s Latin)
Answer TWO of the following
1. Why does
Mairs want to be called a “cripple” instead of being called “handicapped” or
“disabled”? Related to this, why wouldn’t
she call anyone else a cripple?
2. What does
Mairs mean when she writes that “These two elements, the plenty and the
privation, are never pure, nor are the delight and wretchedness that accompany
them” (146)? How does this give us a
unique insight into the reality of having MS?
3. Why does
Mairs suggests that MS is even more difficult for women, since they are
(according to her) confined “in their bodies as objects of desire”? What unique challenges does the female MS
sufferer have to endure that might not even enter the picture for men?
4. On page 149,
Mairs makes it very clear to her reader that “I am not a disease.” What does she mean by this statement, and how
does it relate to her greatest fears and her struggle to balance her life with
the demands of MS?
cripple - Offensive. a person who is disabled or impaired in any way
ReplyDeletechagrin - a feeling of annoyance or mortification
semantics - the study of linguistic development by classifying and examining changes in meaning and form.
swagger - to walk or strut with a defiant or insolent air
Lindisfarne Gospel - The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV) is an illuminated manuscript gospel book produced around the year 700 in a monastery off the coast of Northumberland at Lindisfarne and which is now on display in the British Library in London.
euphemism - the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt
slovenliness - habitual uncleanliness
calamitous - causing or involving calamity; disastrous
gyrated - to move in a circle or spiral, or around a fixed point; whirl
disseminated -to scatter or spread widely, as though sowing seed; promulgate extensively; broadcast; disperse
myelin - a soft, white, fatty material in the membrane of Schwann cells and certain neuroglial cells
in extremis - near death
1. Mairs wants to be called a cripple because saying and hearing it makes people wince. She also prefers the word cripple because she believes it makes her seem tough or to show just how tough she actually is. She feels being called "handicapped" or "disabled" or even "differently abled" is saying that A) God made her like that on purpose, and she does not believe he would do something like that. B) it implies that she is physically and mentally impaired when she is only physically impaired so far. and C) It is just trying to make Disabled or Handicapped sound better, and she uses the example of what we call third world countries to make it sound less wrong for them to be the way are. That being said she will not call anyone else a cripple because it is considered a type of insult.
3. Mairs suggests this because men look at women as a product of their desire. women get judged by how they look and the affect MS has on the human makes people look old and broken. The female MS sufferer still has to "keep up appearances" while a guy could just get dressed and go about life and think nothing of having MS because he is not constantly being judged by his appearance. It is the physical imperfection that takes it toll on the female population.
Andrew Jordan Nickell
ReplyDeletein extremis- in an extremely difficult situation; or near to death
Q1- Mairs believes it is a stronger and more compelling word. She says it makes people wince more so than when you say handicap or disabled. She wants to be seen as a tough customer who hasn't been shown kindness by the gods/viruses. Cripple to her also seems to be a more straightforward and precise word. She said she would never refer to anyone else as a cripple because unlike her, they aren't ready to accept that and neither is society.
Q4- Quite often when people get a serious disease, they often feel like they become that disease and that is all they are. They have so much treatment and things they can and can't do with every disease, that they become obsessed with it all... and they become that disease. Mairs says she will not let her disease determine who she is. She struggles, because she can't ignore the disease and pretend it isn't there. She has to take care of her self and manage her disease. She knows that there are certain things that she can and can't do. She even says that there are things worse than dying, like living with MS and other diseases.
Jenna Rose Demastus
ReplyDeleteQ1. 1. She describes herself a cripple because its considered to be a harsh word. By using this word to describe herself others can't use it to hurt her feelings. Also doing this helps her to show that she has come to terms what happened to her. The elementary phrase ,"Sticks and stones, break my bones, but words may never hurt me." She brings this saying into the real world by calling herself a cripple. She shows others that it strengthens her. She doesn't call others cripples because she knows that others may think differently and find this term offending.
Q3. 3. Women are often seen as objects or something pretty to look at. With MS a woman cannot today definition of beautiful. Women are expected to smile, be confidedent, and be uplifting. Having MS is extremely difficult it can take away a woman's confidence and make her a downer It can also effect her smile and posture. Men can be a grumpy with bad posture and a permanent smile. A women are often seen as a caregiver always happy. It is hard to be a happy person when you can barely care for yourself let alone someone else.
Semantics - The study or science of meaning in language.
ReplyDeleteSlovenliness – A lack of order or tidiness, generally not really cared for.
Predilections – A preference, or a partiality for something on way or another.
Concomitant – Something that is happening or existing presently.
Vichyssoise:
2 cups finely diced raw potatoes, 4 tablespoons butter, 6 leeks-cleaned and cut into 1 inch pieces, 3 cups chicken bouillon, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, dash of nutmeg, 1 1/2 to 2 cups sour cream or heavy cream, Chopped chives.
Cook the potatoes in salted water to cover until just tender. Melt the butter in a skillet and cool the leeks gently, tossing them lightly, for a few minutes. Add the chicken bouillon and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the leeks until tender. Add the potatoes to the leeks and the broth and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Put this mixture in the blender (you will need to blend it in two lots) and blend for 1 minute, or until smooth. Chill. When ready to serve, mix in sour cream or heavy cream. Garnish with chopped chives.
In extremis – At the point of death, in grave circumstances.
Q.1 Mairs seems to come across that the word “cripple” when being used to describe her will get everyone to the same page much faster than the other, seemingly kinder words. While it may sound slightly harsher or more demeaning, it is easier to understand and doesn’t allow much room for error. As she says it means someone who “has lost full use of their limbs.” Mairs wants to come off as tough, and rightly so, because she is suffering. As she says some softer hearted people will flinch upon hearing this word, but whoever it bothers it doesn’t change what it describes.
Q.4 To me, it appears that her entire essay is embodied into this one sentence. When Mairs says she is “not a disease” it seems like she may be convincing herself just as much as the reader of this fact. This is probably something she had to become accustomed too at first. Once multiple sclerosis began to take ahold of her body, anyone would need to reaffirm that they were not just surviving, they were living. Which it really seems like Mairs is from what she describes in her essay. That and that some people with this disease never really get past this point and let it rule their lives, something she vehemently refuses to do.
In extremis, a Latin phrase meaning "in the farthest reaches" or "at the point of death"
ReplyDeleteQ.1 To mairs cripple is a clean word and is right. To her handicapped is only for those who “deliberately been put at a disadvantage” (143) by God but her God doesn’t just pick people for it to happen to. And to her being disabled is for those who have a mental or physical disability (missing arm, leg etc.). She only calls herself cripple because it causes people to “wince” because it’s a harsh word and allows her to look stronger.
Q.4 When people look at her they only see what the disease has caused. People see that she is limping and walks weird, her arm in front of her with her hand like a claw etc. So naturally you see it and assume what people look like is what they are. But Mairs hates the disease not herself. She didn’t choose to have MS, she didn’t choose to lose so much. She doesn’t want people to see her as weak and useless just because of MS. She stands out but even so she is still accepted, though she fears the day that she will no longer be accepted into her children’s and husband’s life. She thinks they are only nice to her because she is crippled.
Hayden Blakemore
ReplyDelete9/22/14
English Compositions
1. The reason that Mairs wishes to be called crippled is because she feels that handicapped or disabled is demeaning and yet another game they give to cripples to make her different. She also would not call anyone crippled or handicapped or disabled because she feels this would offend people similar to her and she wishes only to be nice to anyone and everyone.
4. Someone that has disease is usually contagious or just sick and can be cured. Since she has multiple sclerosis, which is a weakening in the bones and joints, she believes that it this is not a disease and that she should not be told it is since she sees it differently. She also believes that anyone else who is crippled is not just a disease but people also who just have been in harder times than most people.
Q1: She likes to be called crippled because it is straight forward and precise. She also like the accuracy to her condition. She wouldn’t call anyone else crippled because it is the word that she calls herself. She has grown more accustomed to calling other people handicapped and disabled because that’s what the world views it as.
ReplyDeleteQ9: What she means by that statement is that a disease is not going to determine who she is. This relates to her because she has had a lot of trails with MS. Dealing with is she going to let this disease take over her life. She has learned to live with MS for a long time then finally some of the symptoms happened and she learned that MS was just a fact in her life that she had to learn to live with.
1. She prefers "cripple" rather than the others because it seems more real to her. She thinks it's closer to the truth and less vague. She feels it makes her appear stronger and more able to deal with her disability. She also referred to the word as her "swagger" which makes me admire her even more. She doesn't or won't, call anyone else crippled because she feels that's her name for herself.
ReplyDelete3. I think, that because a lot of women have issues with how their appearance looks, would make it more difficult for them to deal with. They seem more apt to become depressed, and angry, as a result of the physical changes caused by this disease, which turn into mental changes as well. Also, the way women are advertised wouldn't help either. Women with this disease couldn't accomplish everything that the women in the magazines show. And I think that makes it even worse for a lot of women with this disease.
Josiah Lee
ReplyDelete1. She feels it suits her better. She doesnt like the word handicapped or disabled because they have varied meanings. She says disabled could mean something wrong mentally and that handicapped you were physically injured by someone or something. But she would never call anyone else a cripple because she knows it can be found offensive but she embraces it.
3. It is harder for women because in this day you have to be that beautiful slim attractive women who works out all the time and runs. But women like her are physically unable to do this and this makes things difficult for them. Often women with MS or other major diseases are left by their husband which is just horrible. Women just seem to care about their appearance more than guys do.
Amber Simpson
ReplyDeleteIn extremis - Latin. Meaning "near death."
1.) Mairs wants to be called a “cripple,” instead of “handicapped” or “disabled,” because she wants to come across as someone who accepts her body and lifestyle but still works hard every day and is not completely restricted because of it. The words “handicapped” and “disabled” make a person sound as if they can’t do a lot of things and as if they constantly need help to overcome every single task they encounter. I understand why she would call others a “cripple,” too; it seems more respectful. It’s not stating someone as “disabled” which may be understood as “incapable.” It’s seeing the person as someone who has a more difficult time getting things done, but since they are just “crippled” they are 100% capable.
2.) She hates the disease, not herself. She makes it clear that she is not a disease to tell the reader that she is perfectly content with herself as a human being. She hates what the disease has done to her and the image it has given her. People stare, and she feels as if she is seen as a disease instead of the person she really is. Therefore, she wants it to be known that she is not a disease, so that maybe now people will look at her as a person.
Savannah Lincoln
ReplyDeleteSwagger- walk or behave in a very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive way.
Slovenliness- done in a careless way
Calamitous- catastrophic; disastrous
Disseminated- spread throughout an organ or body
In extremis- in the farthest reaches; at the point of death
Venerability- commanding respect because of great age or impressive dignity
Predilections- a bias in favor of something
Concomitant- naturally accompanying or associated
Q1.
She calls herself a cripple because the definition of the word describes exactly what is done to her. She has lost the use of some of her limbs and that's what the definition of cripple is, where disabled could mean she has a mental problem. She wouldn't call anyone else crippled because to general society, cripple is an offensive word.
Q4.
She means that she will not let herself be defined by her disease and she doesn't want people to think of her only as a woman with MS. She doesn't want people to pretend to like her and be good to her only because of her disease, this is her fear. She doesn't want somebody to be kind to her only because she's crippled, but because they like her as a human being.
Faith Armstrong
ReplyDelete1. Mairs called herself a cripple because she didn’t want to sugar coat her illness. She knew she had MS and there was no way to make it better by sugar coating it. She had accepted that, but that did not mean that everyone has, therefore, she would not call them a cripple because she did not want to offend or upset them.
4. Mairs did not want people to think that she was a disease. She did not want people to look at her like she was any different than them. Her biggest fear was that she would become so crippled that she would not be able to take care of herself. She wanted to balance living a normal life, and not letting her disease affect her.
Adria Abella Villafranca
ReplyDeletePART 1:
1. semantics (157): The branch of linguistics concerned with the nature, the structure, and the development and changes of the meanings of speech forms, or with contextual meaning
2. slovenliness (158): Careless in appearance, habits, work, etc.; untidy; slipshod
3. predilections (160): A preconceived liking; partiality or preference
4. concomitant (161): Accompanying; attendance.
5. vichyssoise (163): A smooth, thick soup made with potatoes, leeks, and cream, and usually served cold.
6. In extremis: On the limit, near death.
PART 2:
1. Why does Mairs want to be called a “cripple” instead of being called “handicapped” or “disabled”? Related to this, why wouldn’t she call anyone else a cripple?
Mairs says that there are some words that have different meanings than others. She prefers that the other people call her by clipper before than handicapped or disabled because these two last words express weakness and she thinks that she is a strong woman that hasn't been shown kindness by the gods.
She says it makes people wince when you are more so than say handicap or disabled.
She doesn’t call clippers to the others because she thinks that the others could feel this like an offensive word.
3.Why does Mairs suggests that MS is even more difficult for women, since they are (according to her) confined “in their bodies as objects of desire”? What unique challenges does the female MS sufferer have to endure that might not even enter the picture for men?
In my opinion, is because the women are considered as objects of desire for the men. With MS the female cannot has a good appearance to the others. One woman with this kind of disease couldn’t smile as a normal woman. A women are often seen as au pairs always delighted. It is difficult to be a happy person when you can scarcely care for yourself let alone the others.
Karina Tarpey
ReplyDeleteQ1: She wants to be called a cripple instead of handicapped because she wants to be able to define herself. She knows what she is, shes crippled. The only thing wrong with her is her limbs, not her mind. Handicapped and disabled could be used to describe someone with mental health problems and that is not her. She does not call other people that because it is a word with a negative connotation in our society and by calling other people crippled she ultimately takes away their right to define themselves as she did.
Q4: She wants to make it very clear that she is not a disease because people will treat you differently if you have some sort of disablement. She wants to make sure that we know that what she has is not contagious and she is still a person. Most people would probably just see MS while looking at her and I imagine that took a toll on her self-image. She wants to make sure we know she tries to not be a bother or depressing to look at and talk to. She knows what her lot in life is and she accepts it, but she is still a person and not her disease.
Hunter Robinson
ReplyDeletePart 1
1. Semantics- The meaning of language.
2. Slovenliness- Sloppy or lazy with your writing.
3. Predilections- Being in favor of something before it has even begun.
4. Concomitant- Audience or attendance.
5. Vichyssoise- A thick soup served cold made with potatoes, cream, and cheese.
Bonus: in extremis- Almost dead
Part 2
Q1. Mairs realizes that she has been diagnosed with MS and there is nothing she can do about it so she just sucks it up and faces the hard truth. She doesn't like me being treated special or with pity just 'cause she has a disability. She wants to be called a cripple because she has faced the truth that that is what she is and she is ok with that. Most people would get offended if they were called a cripple so Mairs decided never to call another cripple but she was ok with being called that. She didn't want things to be sugar-coated.
Q4. I think that Mairs is trying to say that she doesn't want to be treated nice out of pity but she also doesn't want you to treat her disgustingly like she is contagious. "I'm not a disease", I think that like a disease is contagious and usually pretty lethal but MS isn't life-threatening. she is saying not only should you just treat me like a normal person but that's exactly what I am. Its a serious condition but it won't kill her so stop acting like she is going to die.
Carlye Harris
ReplyDeletesemantics- The study of languages and meanings.
in extremis (latin)- Near death.
Q1- I think she would rather be called crippled because she thinks people should be comfortable with themselves. She feels the most comfortable being called crippled. She knows she is and would rather be called that opposed to anything else because she doesn't want people to feel sorry for her. She would not call anyone else crippled because you never know how that word will make them feel.
Q3- It would be more difficult to be a woman with MS, rather than a man, because woman have to worry more about how others perceive us. Women are looked at as desirable by men. It would be hard to always worry about your outside appearance. It is important for women to confident, happy and supportive towards men, which having MS can make more challenging and stressful. Women also have to endure lots of things in life that men do not.
Macy Ellis
ReplyDelete1. She is a crippled girl, she doesnt like when people call her handicapped. She obviously understands what she is. Her mind is fully intact, just not all of her limbs. That is not a severe problem. She thinks it is right to speak to people like they are real humans, and when you immediately judge a person and call them handicapped it makes it seem like there is something wrong with them. She just tries to be ethical, and to not hurt peoples self esteem.
4. While she knows she has things wrong with her, she doesn't want to be treated differently. Some people probably immediately criticized her, and most likely destroyed her confidence. She just didn't want people to look at her like she was diseased. She just wants all people to treat each other like people with sensitivity.
Garrett Dimmitt-
ReplyDelete1. She calls herself a cripple because she doesn't want to fall under the normal handicap stereotype. She has came to the realization that she is handicap, but she believes she is different. She thinks she is not completely helpless and can do some things on her own. She also calls her self a cripple because its a powerful word. Its not a pleasant word and sounds bad, but she calls her self a cripple to show she is tough. She would never call anyone else a cripple because of the stereotype that comes with it. Cripple is almost a derogatory term for the handicap and she knows how sensitive people can be about this subject.
4.She realizes that her body is tearing down and is becoming more limited, she is strong woman though and is a custom to be treated a certain way, she does not want that to change even with her condition. She has probably been judge by people that don't know her and just assumed she was handicap by her looks, She wants to make it know that she does not want to be know as the person that has the dieses.
This response is too late to count (needs to be in by 5pm the day we discuss it), but these answers will still be useful to you. Be careful next time!
ReplyDelete