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On Being A Cripple

"On Being a Cripple"

Most of us will never know what it is to be handicapped or a "cripple". However, accidents, illnesses and many other misfortunes cause millions of people to lose use of their arms, legs and other parts of their body. In "On Being a Cripple", Nancy Mairs talks about her life struggle with multiple sclerosis, a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system. She demonstrates that life is what one makes it to be and that humor will help us deal with its harsh realities.
She begins by talking about her life and why she refers to herself as "crippled". Nancy Mairs believes that crippled is a more proper definition for her condition than other words like "disabled", "handicapped" or "differently abled" (44), which cause people to view her as something she is not. She prefers to choose a word that represents her reality, and if it makes people "wince, perhaps I want them to wince. I want them to see me as a tough customer, one to whom the......


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Approximate Word Count: 604
Approximate Pages: 3 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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