Me Talk Pretty one Day – David Sedaris
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David Sedaris honesty and special way of writing, intrigues you as a reader. His tone and use of humor, gives you an insurance of entertainment. Even though his language is very sarcastic and entertaining, he defiantly tries to get bigger points across.
In this essay, I will focus on his use of Pathos, his tone and his attitude regarding the French class and his experience of learning French.
A Big Amount of Pathos
David Sedaris uses a bunch of pathos in his writing. He captivates his readers by his humoristic way of writing, and he will defiantly appeal to your emotions in the positive way. Already at the start, he describes a billboard, where there is a Stegosaurus in a canoe, eating a sandwich. At this time, you will already know that this will be a funny story. Sometimes he just writes some insignificant letters, forming a word, instead of a real French word: “If you have not meimslsxp or lgpdmurct by this time, then you should not be in this room. Has everyone apzkiubjxow? Everyone? Good, we shall begin”(line 21-22) . This gives us, as readers, a picture of how hard it actually is to learn French. In this way, we can easily put us in his situation.
A Twist of Humor & Honesty
David Sedaris uses a very clear language, making it impossible to be confused about his attitude. His tone is crucial for our understanding of his attitude, and his view on the French class. It is the small words and his humoristic way of writing, that makes his statement come clear. His tone is actually both positive and negative, in the way he describes. On one hand, he wants to give up sometimes: “Over time it became impossible to believe that any of us would ever improve”(line 117). His teacher is the reason, of his quitting-thoughts and that is why his tone is especially negative when he describes or quotes her. He describes her as someone who is aggressive and likes to make the students feel stupid. He even says that they are in the presence of a wild animal. “We soon learned to dodge chalk and protect our heads and stomachs whenever she approached us with a question. She hadnt yet punched anyone, but it seemed wise to protect ourselves against the inevitable”(83-85) . This is more than teacher-respect, this is actually fear. Sedaris also describes her reaction to a grammar mistake: “The teachers reaction led me to believe that these mistakes were capital crimes in the country of France.” Like written above, she leaves her students with a feeling of stupidity. The way he reacts to her actions, makes is it clear, that this woman is not a peaceful creature. You cant say that this woman likes him either: “Every day spent with you is like having a caesarean action”(line 119-120) was what she told him, when she singled him out.
On the other hand,