Filed under: R
In Mair’s essay, “On Being a Cripple,” she explains her choice in calling herself a “cripple,” and her experiences and feelings as she became one. She made a conscious choice to call herself a cripple after considering many different terms for her condition. Her primary reason is that she feels “crippled” is the closest term to the truth when describing her condition. She feels that disabled is too vague, and that handicapped is wrong entirely, implying that someone caused her to lose the use of her limbs in order to make life more fair somehow. And “differently abled” describes no one, as no one is “abled” in exactly the same way. “Crippled” however is defined simply as having lost the use of one’s limbs. Mair’s analysis of these terms seems to be purely based on definition, then. Had it been based on connotation, surely she would have noticed the negative association the term “crippled” carries with it.
Yet, perhaps she was more concerned with connotation than she first seemed to be. As she continues, she compares these terms to the terms “undeveloped,” “underdeveloped,” and “developing” when describing third world countries. As she puts it, “realities do not obey the dictates of language” (59). In other words, choosing a softer word for a tough situation isn’t going to soften the situation. Perhaps, then, Mair’s choice of “cripple” was based on connotation as much as it was on definition. In accepting a tough word, it may make it easier for her to accept a tough situation. Growing used to a euphemism in such a situation is like lying to oneself. Like telling yourself “You screwed up.” after you catch yourself rationalizing a big mistake, or repeating “lost,” or “failed,” or “dead” just to get over the shock, “cripple” is like a slap in the face for some, but sometimes that’s what it takes to accept reality.
Filed under: R
Mike Rose, in “I Just Wanna be Average,” addresses the problems in vocational education and college prep tracks. He argues that the vocational track limits students from their full potential by recounting his experiences in school in each of these tracks, and how each track affected his view of his own potential. Rose’s purpose is to persuade others of the need for more effective, encouraging, and engaging teaching methods. He adopts a passionate tone for other educators and students.
Vocab:
salubrious – good for your health
equivocal – allowing many different meanings, questionable, uncertain
laryngectomize – to have your larynx (part of the throat) removed.
platitudinous – characterized as being a trite or banal expression (like a cliché)
dissonant – unpleasant sound
pedagogy – art or science of teaching
convalescence – recovery after being sick
apocryphal – of doubtful authenticity
incipient – foolishness
Rhetorical Strategies:
1) Metaphor – “Students will float to the mark you set.” (318 )
2) Parralellism – “…whose sources are a mix of the learned and the apocryphal, whose discussions are both assured and sad.” (320)
3) Allusions – “…raised everything from Zeno’s paradox to the repeated last line of Frost’s “Stopping by the Wood on a Snowy Evening.” (325)
Questions
1) What does Rose imply is the most important factor in a student’s ability to learn?
2) Is Rose’s style effective in convincing you of his argument? Why or why not?
3) What do you think Rose would say about Legacy’s math program?
Quotation
“Students will float to the mark you set.” (318 )
Filed under: R
Annie Dillard, in her essay “Terwilliger Bunts One,” describes her mother and illustrates how she has affected her life. She does this by giving anecdotes of her mother and relating them to her mother’s character. Also, in the conclusion, she explains how her mother’s character has rubbed off on her. Dillard’s purpose is to paint her mother as an noteworthy individual and positive role model in order to inspire her audience to follow similar values. She adopts an admiring tone of her mother for her readers, probably people like she was as a child, compelling the reader to follow her mother’s example.
Vocab:
· Portulaca – A species of fleshy leaved plant. Includes “rose moss.”
· Bureaucratic – of or pertaining to a bureaucrat or bureaucracy
o Bureaucrat – An official who works in routine without using intelligent judgment.
· Torpid – inactive, sluggish, slow, dull
· Connoiseur – A person who is competent to pass critical judgments in an art.
· Stolid – unemotional or impassive
Rhetorical Strategies:
a.) Repetition – “… so that she crawled and crawled and crawled and never got anywhere…” (153}
b.) Hyperbole – “If the poor man could stand a round without breaking down or running out, he got to marry one of us, if he still wanted to.” (154)
c.) Parallelism – “… and that the department store saleslady, the bus driver, telephone operator, and housepainter were people…” (155)
Questions:
a.) Clarification: Why was the creator of Ivory soap a hero?
b.) Style: How does the author’s purpose seem to change as the story develops?
c.) Application: How do you think Annie Dillard’s mother would feel about Bush’s last term in office?
Quote: “What if Everyone decided to round up all the Jews?” (156)
