On Being A Cripple By Nancy Mairs

In today’s generation, society has taught us that euphemisms protect an individual from being offended as people tend to use words that appear to be more socially acceptable than those that express the truth. The reason that society uses euphemisms is because people are not willing to be straightforward, and instead would rather use words to present themselves as being more sensitive to a particular circumstance. Society has accepted that people are pushing away from being authentic, and leaning more towards what is believed to be politically correct. In “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs, she includes the rhetorical devices such as shift in tone, from critical to a frustrated acceptance, diction, ethos, logos and the use of euphemism to educate
The author is not looking for sympathy when she is called a “cripple” and expects no one to treat her differently. When discussing the different names to call someone who is disabled, she mentions how “people have continued to starve in those countries among the shift.” Nancy Mairs’ use of logos has shown the reader that people who use sympathetic words affect the true meaning of their statements. She has accepted that people will go out of their way to not offend her or others going through the same challenges. Her use of logos explains to the reader that people can continue to use euphemisms but it does not solve the problem. As people are denying reality, society continues to neglect the main problem, thereby perpetuating the
By the end of the essay, the author appears to be frustrated as she understands that such changes in society are hard to achieve. A tonal shift is present when she goes from being critical to having a frustrated acceptance. Although she believes that words are powerful, and that the reader should use them properly, she states how she “would never refer to another person as a cripple.” She justifies that she only calls herself a “cripple” because today’s society is not fully ready for the acceptance of reality. Nancy Mairs inspires and challenges her audience to consider if their use of language shows their