And That’s The Word
The meaning of a word can have a major impact on how you use it. Only a simple word people choose to use can have enough power. It can affect people, community, and even culture. These three authors have something in common. Nancy Mairs, Gloria Naylor and Leonard Pitts Jr. show how the meaning of a word can have such a large impact. These essays show how the language can impact accordingly.
In Mairs, “On Being a Cripple” she believes the word crippled the more proper definition for her condition than other words like disabled and handicapped. As Mairs describes it, crippled is “a clean word, straightforward and precise” (60). Any other word will make her seem like she is at a disadvantage in her state physically and emotionally. Especially the word differently able, as she states it “strikes me as pure verbal garbage” (60). The word crippled is a word that Mairs uses as power to the people she is comfortable with such as her friends and family. Unfortunately, our society has high expectations and is obsessed about their norms and physical appearances. Having Mairs exposed to this society will see that crippled is a very unpreferred, however powerful word. Differently able or any other word similar to cripple is more appropriate than what Mairs prefers.
Regardless of what the society thinks about Mairs and the word cripple, she does not let the word bring her down. She will name herself a cripple and not be named by others. She embraces the word as if she owns the word herself. Instead of having the meaning of the word degrade her, she uses it as a positive manner to boost her self confidence and self-esteem. In her case, “As a cripple, I swagger” (59-60).
More than any other prejudicial language, racial ...
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... at least a majority of them, understand how awkward and degrading the word nigger is. On the other hand, the black people as Pitts describe, “run around making lame excuses and lamer justifications” (1).
For hundreds of years, a simple word used in a language can have a large impact to different people, such as their friends and families. It has enough power to affect a community such as the white and black communities. The meaning of a word also has power to affect culture within this society. They are the words that bring meaning to degrade or to boost self confidence, regardless of condition and to insult or use as an adjective to describe someone, even if it was used for comedy. The words Nancy Mairs, Gloria Naylor and Leonard Pitts Jr. have chosen to use in their essays and letters have power and they always have since the English language have been around.
Words are like vessels—they are merely novel constructions of sounds empty of meaning until we fill them. They mean only what we discern in them, and nothing more. Words are only our impressions of them—imprecise, indefinite, unclear. A single word suggests infinite shades of intensity, quality, or connotation. They are variable, distinct in each era and dialect, even in each language.
In her essay “On Being a Cripple,” Mairs describes her path of acceptance of her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis by declaring that she is a “cripple” in alternative to the more broadly acceptable terms: disabled or handicapped. Her essay is written with humor, satire, an open heart, and open eyes. Mair’s purpose is to describe her acceptances of her condition by using rhetorical elements and appeals, such as ethos and pathos, in order to allure her audience.
Mairs’s inferiority complex which made her question other people’s attitude towards her. In “On Being a Cripple,” Nancy Mairs. She kept believe the way how
Words have great power and when used correctly can influence what people believe and how they act.
A name is a mark of classification, a basis for self identity. Able to elevate or annihilate a persons' perception of herself and the surrounding society, these designations can uplift, joke, chide, mock, insult, degrade. "Society" implies the people and the atmosphere encompassing an individual in her daily life. "Culture" is closely tied to the society of a person--it is the aspects of her life which are directly influenced by such issues as race, color, nationality, religion, sexuality, and any other number of things that mark a person as distinct. Culture, though an integral part of everyone's lives, is frequently misunderstood or seen as threatening by people outside of the group in question. This ignorance of other people leads to judgments and assumptions, which frequently cloud daily issues. The most ignorant people stoop to name-calling, a painful slap of hatred. Stereotypical, racist, religious, and sexist name calling, especially, can affect the victim's views and opinions for life. Most vulnerable to these taunts are children, innocent and uncallused, who hear these names and know neither their true meanings nor the depth of senseless hatred behind them. As shown by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Gloria Naylor, these labels can be taken in and their meanings rendered harmless. By seizing and possessing these hateful words, a group can reshape the meaning of the slurs once wielded so forcefully against them.
Words hold great power and when used correctly can influence what people believe and how they act.
As I walked down the street,I hear alot of people my age,older,or even youngers yelling out the word nigger.The word nigger are some of the most controversially terms used today.Some may say that they are just words,but it is understood that these words carry out discrimiatory remarks.In “The Meaning of a word” by Gloria Naylor
Children must know about something before they can re-create it in language. Once a word is introduce, it cannot be erase from memory. Naylor shared a personal experience that demonstrated her personal stake in this situation as she described the first time she heard a different meaning of the word “nigger.” A white boy in her third-grade class said it to her in spite when she gave him his test. “I didn’t know what a nigger was, but I knew that whatever it meant, it was something he shouldn’t have called me. (257)” When a baby hears the
This tone is also used to establish an appeal to pathos which he hopes to convince the audience of the fact that handicapped people are still people and not less than anyone else. A very prominent example of Peace’s emotion is displayed when he says, “Like many disabled people, I embrace an identity that is tied to my body. I have been made to feel different, inferior, since I began using a wheelchair thirty years ago and by claiming that I am disabled and proud, I am empowered,” (para. 15). This declaration demonstrates to his audience that Peace is honored by who he is and what disabled people can do and that he is tired of being oppressed by the media. Peace also makes this claim to support his thesis in the first paragraph that states, “The negative portrayal of disabled people is not only oppressive but also confirms that nondisabled people set the terms of the debate about the meaning of disability,” (para. 1). This is Peace’s central argument for the whole article and explains his frustration with society’s generalization of handicapped people and the preconceived limitations set on them. Peace’s appeal to pathos and tone throughout are extremely effective in displaying to his audience (society) that those who have disabilities are fed up with the limits that have been placed in the
Mairs describes her condition and how it relates to the actions and responses of other people in any situation. Mairs uses the term cripple loosely, making sure it is not offensive to anyone. By starting her passage with, “I am a cripple,” Mairs doesn’t hide anything. She begins by coming straight out into the open with who she is and how she wants the world to view her. In the first paragraph, Mairs uses the word choose three times to establish her personal decision to be titled a cripple.
This backdrop may be used to represent various issues such as language, labels, and a reclaiming process that is undertaken by many people in the community who are oppressed. For example, the people who are disabled in the community are usually not different in any aspect that may be presented in the text. In the expression of the term cripple, the author finds it offensive and decides to use freak instead. Also, he explains why he does so by narrating a story to the people who are disabled to make them feel better. Hence, the use of the word freak by Clare does not imply a negative meaning. Instead. It reinforces the attitude the disabled people have towards themselves (Rosemarie
The way you say something, the context behind what you say, or the meaning of a word can have a large effect on the way it is used. The word n*gger became a derogatory word in the 1800s, when it was used to describe black people. In the 21st century, the same word has developed an entirely new meaning that corresponds with the idea of white racism or white supremacy. Samuel Clemens, formally known as Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, grew up in a time when the word n*gger was used simply as a description when it came to black people. Slavery played a vital part of Twain’s early life, because like a lot of southern white families, they relied on slave labor for income. Twain grew up in a time of blatant racism and
The company NewSouth Books has published the new Huckleberry Finn by replacing the word nigger with the word “slave”. This book is for the schools who have banned the original Huck Finn. “If you can have the discussion and you’re comfortable havin’ the discussion, have it” (Williams, 2). Instead of schools banning the book they should spend time discussing the word and societal value during the 1800’s. The word nigger is okay if it is used in a literary sense but other than that is shouldn’t be used. People shouldn’t be calling each other the N-word because it is calling each other slaves. There is no sense of reclaiming the word because it will always be derogatory. The N-word is very controversial and everyone has their own
The English language is filled with words that help convey meaning to stories without saying the actual meaning. These useful words are called figures of language and not only are they important in daily life, but they are a necessity in books and plays to deliver to the point home to the reader or make him on her laugh. The English language is an extremely complex and diverse collection of words. This is one of the many reasons why English is a worldwide language, because there are thousands of way to express a single thought.
Words are a powerful tool of communication ,if used well words can build a relationship but also if they are not used well they can lead into misunderstandings and sometimes cause harm to the relationships. The use of language in communication allows people to relate to each other or argue about a matter that could have been brought and this can happened unexpectedly or unexpectedly .It is important to be aware of the effect of language so that we can use it the best way we can to the best effect .