Nancy Mairs, in her nonfiction essay, “On Being a Cripple,” (1986) coveys her perpetual struggle in “getting the hang of” her debilitating condition—Multiple Sclerosis. Though her view of her condition is turbulent, Mairs acknowledges one constant truth—that she is plainly a “cripple”. Mairs’ utilization of this motif “squarely” elucidates survival amongst inexorable forces. Mairs’ purpose is to identify and generalize her condition in order to express the complexity of its duality, ultimately to explicate acceptance in stark contrast to episodic dejection. In doing so, Mairs exemplifies strengthened command over her “crippleness” and proves that she is not defined by her illness. In paragraph 16, Mairs imparts a hopeful undertone in her claim that
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Mairs’ “crippleness”, intransient to modern medicine or Scrooge’s transformation to a better man like that of Tiny Tim’s, incite implied longings for outcries similar to those of Caliban’s, instead of realistic expectations of “crippleness”, embodied in Tiny Tim’s pacifism and purity. Thus, in employing these references to well known characters who share ailments Mairs relate to, Mairs elucidates dynamic introspection between these two contrasting paradigms. In paragraphs 22-26, Mairs shifts her claim to epitomize certainty by attesting to the notion that “what [she] hates is not [herself] but a disease” (22), and in effect, defines herself as someone more than a disease. This is further substantiated in the short declarative sentence, “I am not a disease.” In transition from long, convoluted syntax, commonplace in paragraphs 18-21, to short declarative sentences, Mairs indicates resolute conviction. Mairs’ sentence structure prior to paragraph 22, evokes incessant anxiety and worry—particularly caused by what Mairs perceives as deviance from physical ideality. However, Mairs imparts a crescendo-like effect to offset her complex sentence structure with powerful simple sentences. This change in syntax
Mairs’ “crippleness”, intransient to modern medicine or Scrooge’s transformation to a better man like that of Tiny Tim’s, incite implied longings for outcries similar to those of Caliban’s, instead of realistic expectations of “crippleness”, embodied in Tiny Tim’s pacifism and purity. Thus, in employing these references to well known characters who share ailments Mairs relate to, Mairs elucidates dynamic introspection between these two contrasting paradigms. In paragraphs 22-26, Mairs shifts her claim to epitomize certainty by attesting to the notion that “what [she] hates is not [herself] but a disease” (22), and in effect, defines herself as someone more than a disease. This is further substantiated in the short declarative sentence, “I am not a disease.” In transition from long, convoluted syntax, commonplace in paragraphs 18-21, to short declarative sentences, Mairs indicates resolute conviction. Mairs’ sentence structure prior to paragraph 22, evokes incessant anxiety and worry—particularly caused by what Mairs perceives as deviance from physical ideality. However, Mairs imparts a crescendo-like effect to offset her complex sentence structure with powerful simple sentences. This change in syntax