Close Reading (9 September 2011)

Me Talk Pretty One Day - by David Sedaris
http://www.macobo.com/essays/epdf/Me%20Talk%20Pretty%20One%20Day%20by%20Sedaris.pdf
     David Sedaris's writing is unique in many ways, but one thing that really sets him apart from the rest is his use of vivid imagery. Within the first paragraph, he draws in his reader with a, quite frankly, weird image of the "Festyland" amusement park sign. This "far-flung amusement park... advertises with billboards picturing a cartoon stegosaurus sitting in a canoe and eating what appears to be a ham sandwich." Already the reader feels like they don't belong in their sorroundings, which is just as Sedaris felt. As he becomes more alienated throughout the essay, his mental strength degrades and he begins to create the most interesting images in his head. For example, he asks himself: "why they don't sell cuts of meat in vending machines." The sudden image in the reader's mind of a vending machine full of meat is what makes reading a David Sedaris essay one of a kind.
    An overarching theme in this essay, and in many of Sedaris's essays that are from his time in France, is the feeling of not belonging. The language used in the second paragraph is key to introducing this theme. He begins by having the students around him talking about all of their "vacations", which, by the way, are very important in French culture. Words like "mutual friends" are used to further create an atmosphere of which Sedaris is not part of. Moreover, all of the other students appear "young, attractive, and well-dressed" with "an ease and confidence" that he does not posess. This continues to contribute to his feeling of alienation and uncertainty. With the introduction of his malicious French teacher, on the other hand, David suddenly comes to the conclusion that "I was not alone." This outside force pops the bubble formed around the 'cool kids' and brings everyone closer together. The students bond over their terrifying experiences with the teacher and use their bad French "in the sort of conversation commonly overheard in refugee camps." This goes to show, a common enemy may still defeat you, but the victims usually end up bonding together over the experience.
    The most detail in this piece goes into describing the French teacher that seems to have traumatized Sedaris. At first the reader can accredit the teacher's image to a novice student's first-day jitters. However, the teacher goes on to repeatedly harass the students. She makes the students feel as if they are not good enough to learn the French language. For example, "The teachers reaction led me to believe that these mistakes were capital crimes in the country of France." The in-depth description of her as she "crouched low for her attack" instills fear in the reader, probably because most of us have encountered a teacher sometime in our student years that reminds us of this horrible woman. But even in the darkest of times, Sedaris still manages to fit in a couple jokes: "'I hate you,' she said to me one afternoon. Her english was flawless. 'I really really hate you.' Call me sensitive, but I couldn't help but take that personally." In the end, however, her cruelty ends up giving a sense of hope that only a true American could muster up: "The teacher continued her diatribe and I settled back, bathing in the subtle beauty of each new curse and insult."