How Does Maris Choose The Word 'Cripple'

To begin with, Maris successfully uses the emotional strategy of argument to convince the reader that she chooses to name herself a “cripple” not to seem harsh but to best describe her condition. Maris openly chooses the undesirable word in order to manipulate the reader’s feelings by making the reader feel unsympathetic toward her condition “Multiple Sclerosis.” Maris believes that the word “cripple” is “a clean word, straightforward, and precise.” She appreciates the accuracy of the word that best shows that she has “lost the full use of the limbs” and that’s why she does not choose to name herself “handicapped” or “disabled.” She believes these terms are less explicative of her condition. If someone names her “handicapped,” she feels that
She wants to control how others perceive her. Maris likes being perceived as “one to whom fates/gods/viruses have not been kind, but who can face the brutal truth of her existence.” Again, she uses emotional and powerful words such as the word “brutal” to best make the reader feel her pain but not feel sorry for her because she is a “tough customer”. In addition, Maris did not have the disease since she was born and that is why she is not sorry to be a “cripple.” She was “a normally active child and young adult.” Maris is someone who understands the difference between being physically disabled and a physically active adult. Despite the fact that she prefers to call herself a “cripple,” she “would never refer to another person as a “cripple.” She realizes that the word “cripple” is not politically correct and that is why she does not want to use it to label others because they might feel
Maris is unhappy about how society can negatively affect her relationship with her family. She believes that society “offers little encouragement for a whole spouse to stay with a crippled partner.” These expectations on having “fun and its association of fun with physical performance” do not merely affect the parents but the whole family’s bond. “Crippled” people might not be able to perform physical activities and therefore the husband or the children will encounter some restrictions in order for them to be able to accommodate for the “crippled” member. They will not be living their lives like other families who do not have “crippled” family members. For example, she believes that children who have a “crippled” parent may “never invite friends to the house.” In association with physical performance, there is an expectation of physical beauty. Society’s “ideal woman” is “trim and deeply tanned,” “jogs,” “travels widely” and is “unusually sleek.” Being slender is what defines perfection in a woman. Women who are capable of exercising and have the full use of their limbs can easily accomplish this physical feature. She feels tired and pressured by “social expectations” because “anyone who deviates from the norm had better find some way to compensate.” She emotionally engages