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Question3

(Suggestedtime-4O minutes. This question counts one-third of the total essaysection score.)

In the following passageNancy Mairs, who has multiple sclerosis,calls herselfa "cripple." Read the passagecarefully.
Then write an essayin which you analyzehow Mairs presentsherselfin this passage.In addition to discussingthe
significanceof Mairs' choice of the word "cripple" to name herself you should consider such rhetorical featuresas
tone. word choice. and rhetorical structure.

I am a cripple. I choosethis word to name me. I
choose from among severalpossibilities,the most
common of which are "handicapped" and "disabled." I
Line made the choice a number of yearsago, without
(5) thinking, unaware of my motives for doing so. Even
now, I'm not sure what those motives are, but I recog-
nize that they are complex and not entirely flattering.
People-crippled or not-wince at the word "cripple,"
as they do not at "handicapped" or "disabled."
( r0) PerhapsI want them to wince. I want them to seeme
as a tough customer, one to whom the fates/gods/
viruseshave not been kind, but who can face the brutal
truth of her existencesquarely.As a cripple, I swagger.
But, to be fair to myself, a certain amount of
( 15) honesty underliesmy choice. "Cripple" seemsto me a
clean word, straightforward and precise.It has an
honorable history, having made its first appearancein
the Lindisfarne Gospel in the tenth century. As a lover
of words, I like the accuracywith which it describesmy
(20) condition: I have lost the full use of my limbs.
"Disabled," by contrast, suggestsany incapacity,phys-
ical or mental. And I certainly don't like "handi-
capped," which implies that I have deliberatelybeen
put at a disadvantage,by whom I can't imagine (my
(25) God is not a Handicapper General),in order to
equalize chances in the great race of life. These words
seemto me to be moving away from my condition, to
be widening the gap betweenword and reality. Most
remote is the recently coined euphemism"differently
(30t abled," which partakes of the samesemantichopeful-
nessthat transformed countries from "undeveloped" to
"underdeveloped,"then to "less developed,"and finally
to "developing" nations. Peoplehave continued to
starve in those countries during the shift. Some realities
(35) do not obey the dictatesoflanguage.
Mine is one of them. Whatever you call me, I
remain crippled. But I don't care what you call me, so
long as it isn't "differently abled," which strikesme as
pure verbalgarbagedesigned,by its ability to describe
(40) anyone,to describeno one. I subscribeto George
Orwell'sthesisthat "the slovenlinessof our language
makesit easierfor us to havefoolishthoughts."And I
refuseto participatein the degenerationof the
language to the extentthat I denythat I havelost
(4s) anythingin the courseof this calamitousdisease; I
refuseto pretendthat the only differencesbetweenyou
and me arethe variousordinaryonesthat distinguish
any onepersonfrom another.But call me "disabled"
or "handicapped"if you like. I havelong sincegrown
(50) accustomed to them;and if theyare vague,at least
theyhint at the truth. Moreover,I usethemmyself.
Societyis no readierto acceptcrippledness than to
acceptdeath,war, sex,sweat,or wrinkles.I would
neverreferto anotherpersonas a cripple.It is the
word I useto nameonly myself.
In this passage, Mairs refers to
herself as "crippled" confidently
and without concern, she wants
to be seen as a "tough costumer".
This is evident in her choice to join
the word "I" with a strong verb
repeatedly, as well as her
references to what other people
think, creating a very confident
tone.

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