Question

PLEASE HELP, MANY POINTS!!!!

Find the claim


From On Being a Cripple / Nancy Mairs

First, the matter of semantics. I am a cripple. I choose this word to name me. I choose this word to name me. I choose from among several possibilities, the most common of which are "handicapped" and "disabled." I made the choice a number of years ago, without thinking, unaware of my motives for doing so. Even now, I’m not sure what those motives are, but I recognize that they are complex and not entirely flattering. People- crippled or not- wince at the word "cripple," as they do not "handicapped" or "disabled." Perhaps I want them to wince. I want them to see me as a tough customer, one to whom the fates/gods/viruses have not been kind, but who can face the brutal truth of her existence squarely. As a cripple, I swagger.

Answer 1

From "On Being A Cripple" by Nancy Mairs

The claim is "I am a cripple."

Step-by-step explanation:

This claim by Nancy is an assertion by her that something is. Usually, as Nancy is making the declaration, she does not provide any evidence to support her affirmation. This is because the readers of this story cannot ascertain why Nancy concludes that she is crippled. If some evidence is given, the claim remains subjective as it is the narrator's personal opinion. After all, she can still claim that she is divinely and extremely blessed in her physical condition.

Nancy Mairs (1986) wrote this short story to question the imprecise descriptions that society has been coining to label some people who are not like others in physical look, as if lessening the truth or bluntness about a person's condition could lessen the pains. For Nancy, she disagrees totally. Instead, she finds meaning and humor on being described as a cripple, the plain truth about her physical condition. She states that she is simply physically crippled. No euphemism should be intended.

Even as I am checking my write-up on this issue, it is being reported as "sensitive" instead of "vulgar." This shows that our society is relegating truth to niceties, just to pander to the sensibilities of others.