In Nancy Mairs’ passage, I am a Cripple, her diction shows tones of assertion and determination in changing the way people label her. Mairs’ opening line, “I am a cripple”, is the beginning of her justification of using “cripple” instead of “handicapped” or “disabled”. She acknowledges the fact that although people are more comfortable with the latter words, they are just euphemisms for what she really is, a cripple. Mairs’ need to make people understand and self-confidence in knowing what she truly is solidifies her assertiveness. Mairs is also determined to make people “wince” until they accept that she, and others like her, shouldn’t be labeled with words that don’t describe them. She goes into detail concerning why “disabled”, “handicapped”,
