Excerpt from On Being Cripple by Nancy Mairs

Transcription

1 Excerpt from On Being Cripple by Nancy Mairs...I am a cripple. I choose this word to name me. I choose from among several possibilities, the most common of which are handicapped and disabled. I made the choice a number of years ago, without thinking, but unaware of my motives for doing so. Even now, I'm not sure what those motives are, but I recognize that they are complex and not entirely flattering. People crippled or not wince at the word cripple, as they do not at handicapped or disabled. Perhaps I want them to wince. I want them to see me as a tough customer, one to whom the fates/gods/viruses have not been kind, but who can face the brutal truth of her existence squarely. As a cripple, I swagger. But to be fair to myself, a certain amount of honesty underlies my choice. Cripple seems to me a clean word, straightforward and precise. It has an honorable history, having made its first appearance in the Lindisfarne Gospel in the tenth century. As a lover of words, I like the accuracy with which it describes my condition: I have lost the full use of my limbs. Disabled, by contrast suggests any indication that I have deliberately been put at a disadvantage [...] in order to equalize chances in the great race of life. These words seem to me to be moving away from my condition, to be widening the gap between word and reality. Most remote is the recently coined euphemism differently abled, which partakes of the same semantic hopefulness that transformed countries from undeveloped to underdeveloped, then to less developed, and finally to developing nations. People have continued to starve in those countries during the shift. Some realities do not obey the dictates of language. Mine is one of them. Whatever you call me, I remain crippled. -Talk about and workshop this piece: What is working for you? What isn't? The blunt honesty of this writer forces the reader to accept what she is saying and to deal with it in the same honest manner. This comes especially when the author admits that she might enjoy the word cripple because it makes people wince. The quotation marks around words are good at identifying the words as set-apart, but this formatting choice throws me out of the piece. I would have preferred italicized words. (We would go on to discuss much more about these two questions and the students would know that my word is not gold, and that they are free and justified to disagree with my points.) Did the allusion to the words used to describe other countries work for you? Why or why not? It all came together for me when she said, People have continued to starve in those countries during the shift, because it brought her point home for me that she has come to terms with the fact that no-matter what word is used to describe her she is crippled. This also strikes me that perhaps the words that we use to describe situations that we don't find favorable are words that we choose to make ourselves feel better. What effect does the word choice have? How would other words affect it either negatively or positively? Repeating a word is not usually something that I would condone in work produced by my students, however, I think that such a choice works in the piece because it does make me wince at times as a reader, and it makes me go through the experience with the word that I feel the author has experienced herself. Do the varried sentences keep you hooked or do they throw you off?... The sentence, Even now, I'm not sure what those motives are, but I recognize that they are complex and not entirely flattering. is a wonderful sentence model for you to use to combine more ideas in a sophisticated manner instead of only using short sentences: intro, detail that could be a sentence all on it's own, continuation of the idea that has a conjunction prefacing it and after that conjunction word this too could be a sentence all on it's own. -We will then talk about what six words we would choose to write a flash fiction about this piece. From the wired.com website: We'll be brief: Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn.") and is said to have called it his best work. What six word flash fiction line would you write for this piece? No name, no change, I'm crippled. Call me, Name me, the cripple... And what has to go into a flash fiction piece and what is it? The theme of the story, the

2 overarching thesis, the tag line.. How does flash fiction quickly invoke feeling? The careful consideration of words, and the punctuation of those words has a strong effect. This is promently shown when Hemingway has a colon after for sale like he is placing an add, an add for baby shoes, and the sadness follows as he ends with never worn. Do you think that flash fiction gets a point completely across? What do you think the reader gains from flash fiction? What do they loose? Flash fiction is a skill that is rarely acquired by writers because it must rely on the precise choice of each and every word, however, if all writing was done in flash fiction format, the full understanding of another human experience that I get from descriptive writing would be lost. This type of writing also forces the writer to write to their end. As a class we will then read a piece of student work: My name is soccer. Gasping for air, hands on my knees, bent down, head towards the healthy green grass, sweat dripping off my nose. All I can hear is my heavy breathing, in the distance. I hear the crowd, my teammates, and then my coach. The ball is on the 12 line. Game tied, I'm thinking, don't mess this up. I brush my hand in the grass and look at the goalie in front of me. Set the ball down and tap it twice, 3 steps back and curved to the left. It's quiet now. Whistle blows. It's just me and my heart pounding fast and this 5 foot something that they call a goalie in front of me. Bottom left corner, I say to myself, while I look at the bottom right corner. Crowd cheering, teammates piled on top of me, and my coach happier than ever. One ball, won game, one family. What do you think of this piece? What feelings does it invoke? How does it invoke those feelings? Would this be better suited in the form of a poem with its no subject sentences? When grading this piece, this is what the rubric would say for this students' work: Written Piece Characteristic is clearly identifiable and well defined Sentence structure, grammar, mechanics YES! Almost Not quite yet This characteristic was easily identified and the description in the beginning really helped me to understand what your personal definition of soccer is -the doubling up on the image of the goalie and of the grass is good and useful, however, I would like to see them described more in depth and better if they are to remain in this piece -numbers before and including ten are written

3 Message about how you embody this word or how it embodies you is effectively communicated to your audience Follows the predetermined format A thoughtful effort put into this is obvious Clear understanding of the concepts discussed in class about this type of piece are obvious Flash Fiction Carful Precise word choice Accurate tag line for the summation of your larger written work Clear understanding of Very much, I see the way that you become soccer when you do your routine before you kick the ball Yes Thank you for spending time on this piece, it is obvious and your effort of trying to get your audience to understand how you become soccer is wonderful -a little more description :) Yes, perhaps through in an allusion that will help us see the goalie better, or a simile or metaphor; compare her to something we all know Yes, the word won is especially clever out -if the sentence structure is going to stay (and I very much think that it should) you should convert this into a poem -if in poem form numbers can stay numbers and this will most certainly be in the yes column Good tag line, but in your piece I did not ever get the sense of this team being your family; perhaps write longer on your piece or change your tag line Yes, I would like

4 the concepts discussed in class about flash fiction are obvious in this work Leaves audience with a moment of awe, or continues a thought to ponder Obvious effort spent on this work Yes it does make me take a step back and think, but again family does not come up in your piece periods to separate your words instead of commas though I would like you to think a bit more on this piece, it's a hard assignment but a tiny bit more work will go a long way :) I gave this student's piece a B plus. The way that I present these two examples to the class will be their example of how this spoken piece should be presented.

5 Your assignment will be to write your own piece about the characteristic that you decide most describes you. The format is simple. This piece must be words no more and no less, double spaced times new roman with proper header (example available in syllabus). The title should be descriptive and attention grabbing. It can be in whatever format fits you; it can even be in the form of a poem, of which there is an example attached to this assignment sheet. The first line must read: My name is or I am. These opening statements will then be followed by the characteristic that you have chosen. Also, the characteristic that you choose must be defined from your own definition of the word. At the end of the piece you will enter down one line and you will write your six word flash fiction to be the summation tag line of your piece. This assignment is to be written for tomorrow and will be orally read to the class and your written work will be turned into me (if it is a problem for you to read your own work please come and talk to me and we will work it out). In addition, you will write out your flash fiction piece on the paper attached to this with your name at the bottom and we will hang them around the classroom to display your wonderful work. Your entire piece is to be posted onto your blog by the end of the week. This whole assignment will be graded based on the criteria that we evaluated the student work in class, and the explicit rubric is attached to this sheet. Furthermore, following this explanation are more examples of flash fiction and short pieces about a human characteristic that defines the authors. As Always: -I expect your very best work -Revisions are accepted and encouraged -Whatever this assignment means to you, that is exactly what it is any questions?...also, you can me and I will answer as many as I can Examples: Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket. - William Shatner From torched skyscrapers, men grew wings. - Gregory Maguire Vacuum collision. Orbits diverge. Farewell, love. - David Brin The Poet's Husband by Molly Giles He sits in the front row, large, a large man with large hands and large ears, dry lips, fresh-cut hair, pink skin, clear eyes that don't blink, a nice man, clam, that's the impression he gives, a quiet man who knows how to listen; he is listening now as she sways on the stage in a short black dress and reads one poem about the time she slit her wrists and another poem about a man she still sees and a third poem about a cruel thing he himself said to her six years ago that she never forgot and never understood, and he knows that when she is finished everyone will clap and a few, mostly women, will come up and kiss her and she will drink far too much wine, far too quickly, and all the way home she will ask, What did you think, what did you really think? and he will say, I think it went very well --which is, in fact, what he does think but later that night, when she is asleep, he will lie in their bed and stare at the moon through a spot on the glass that she missed.

6 The Man Inside the Chipmunk Suit by Thomas Lux isn't very tall, 4 ft. 11 ½ inches, and can't speak all day but waves a lot, bobs to left and right, nods, a little happy leap now and then (his suit weighs 30 lbs.), and a hundred snapshots a day is the norm a child or two or three enclosed in his arms and paws. When asked a question, as he often is, most often about Uncle Owl, his pal and the bigger star in the cartoon from which the characters are derived, he can't talk but shrugs, hands out and open, up to each side. He can't talk because Chester Chipmunk can't talk and he is Chester Chipmunk. There are no small parts, only small actors, his high school drama teach said and then said That didn't come out the way I meant. The man inside the chipmunk suit wants to be inside the bunny suit, or better, the monkey suit: there are sounds to make, the part's a stretch. His Method lessons have prepared him. The man inside the chipmunk suit has dreams just like you, or her, or me, or them. Above his sink is pinned a picture of a minor movie star. note: -be careful when writing a poem and make sure that it fully describes the characteristic that you chose in a way that you will know your reader will understand -also make sure that there is a scene described like in this one where there is a scene described about taking pictures with and answering questions from children, and the part with his drama teacher for all writing: -this can most certainly be written like you are writing about someone else (3 rd person) just make sure that it is in fact about yourself Have fun with this!

7 Written Piece Characteristic is clearly identifiable and well defined Sentence structure, grammar, mechanics Message about how you embody this word or how it embodies you is effectively communicated to your audience Follows the predetermined format A thoughtful effort put into this is obvious Clear understanding of the concepts discussed in class about this type of piece are obvious Flash Fiction Carful Precise word choice Accurate tag line for the summation of your larger written work Clear understanding of the concepts discussed in class about flash fiction are obvious in this work Obvious effort spent on this work Spoken Piece Spoken clearly and loud enough for all to hear Eye contact was made with the audience YES! Almost Not quite yet

8 occasionally Blog Post Complete written piece was posted to blog in a consistent format with the first blog post

9 Working under the Model Unit 9.1: Introduction to High School Reading (overarching text: House on Mango Street; overarching questions: Who am I?, How do my skills and talents help to define me?, and How do I relate to my family, my community, and society?) Reading as Readers within the context of the GLCEs: -Questioning and Connecting: *they will question about the pieces that they read and they will connect to them as well by specifically asking: * How are the characters' strengths and weaknesses alike or different from my own strengths and weaknesses? *how do I relate to the characteristic that they wrote about *discuss connections to a text as part of a group *will also connect to each other in the classroom by presenting and displaying work of classmates *will use technology to connect to other students and the text in their blog *the texts chosen will also help students to make connections to the writers because there are both men and women represented (knowledge of American minority literature) *1.2: using writing and speaking for personal growth and understanding -Feel: *we will discuss what feelings all three pieces invoke *we will also learn how to sum up feelings using flash fiction *we will learn (when we read as writers) how the author conjures these feelings up in us -Evaluate: *we evaluate the effectiveness of many of the conventions used in these pieces *in the student work we evaluate the work as a class according to my rubric with a chance for the students to add on things that they think need to be assessed as well *we will critically read these pieces *develop literary judgment *1.3: communicate in speech *2.1: develop critical reading Reading as a Writer within the context of the GLICEs: -Conventions: *these will be examined in the flash fiction and are specifically identified with the use of the colon in the studied piece *the constant use of quotation marks to set words apart will be discussed and assessed. In addition, we will come up with an alternative to the quotation marks the author uses in the first piece *sentence variety in both large works discussed in class, students will begin to get emerged in different types of sentences, and after pointing some out and using these differing mentor texts, students will being to implement varied sentences into their work *will begin to evaluate structure as a whole for a piece *4.2: understand how language variety reflects and shapes the reading experience -Organization: *we will work on learning how structure and purpose of texts support us in using them more effectively -Voice: *the bold in-your-face voice will be discussed in the first piece as well as the effect that it has on my students as an audience *examine characterization *identify writer's tone

10 -Word Choice: *the use of the same word multiple times in the first piece will be discussed as well as it's effectivness and why. This idea will help students to begin to play with convention and how breaking certain conventions get across certain messages and meanings. *build vocabulary knowledge *work on choosing precise words -Ideas: *how does the student example get their message across in their work? And how will that help my students write their own pieces? *students will identify what an allusion is and will decide if it adds or takes away from the first piece of work that we read

11 Working under the Model Unit 9.1: Introduction to High School Reading (overarching text: House on Mango Street; overarching questions: Who am I?, How do my skills and talents help to define me?, and How do I relate to my family, my community, and society?) This lesson will be the second in a series of lessons that begin the class and accompany The House On Mango Street. Through a study of this novel we will answer the guiding questions mentioned above as does the character in the book. The first lesson on the second day of class in ninth grade will be using the chapter My Name as a mentor text for each students' own name pieces. All of the lessons throughout this unit will in-turn also build a classroom community and allow the students a chance to get to know each other through their work. In addition, this lesson will help students to begin to look at literature critically and to study short stories. This lesson will also help my students to get into our classroom's mantra of learning from texts. Speaking and technology will be a part of this lesson, as well as many of the other lessons in this unit. The assignment due for this lesson can be revised and will fulfill the standards: 1.1 understand and practice writing as a recursive process, 1.2 we will use writing and speaking for personal understanding and growth, 1.3 communicate in speech, writing, and multimedia content, 2.1 developing critical reading and listening, 2.3 develop as a reader and listener for personal and social purposes through independent and collaborative reading, 3.2 read and respond to literature, 4.1 begin to understand the use the English language effectively, and 4.2 start to understand how language variety reflects and shapes experience. This lesson as a part of this unit will help the students to better understand literature, writing in response to literature, learn how to write from a study of literature, and will learn more about who they are and who their classmates are.