David Sedaris, a humorist and writer, presents a compilation of comical personalessays in Me Talk Pretty One Day. The essays are strung together with Sedaris'scandid manner and a persistent language theme. The book is divided into two parts,and with a few exceptions, focuses on the early part of Sedaris's life in the first half,and the more recent years of his life while living in France in the second half.
David Sedaris opens his book with “ANYONE WHO WATCHES EVEN THE SLIGHTEST amount of TV is familiar with the scene: An agent knocks on the door of some seemingly ordinary home or office. The door opens, and the person holding the knob is asked to identify himself. The agent then says, "I'm going to ask you to come with me.” Why do you suppose Sedaris opens this chapter this way and is it effective?
2. On page 5 Miss Sampson asks David “ So, which do you like better, State or Carolina.” Why did she ask young David this question?
3. React to this quote."The woman spoke with a heavy western North Carolina accent, which I used itdiscredit her authority." Chap. 1, Go Carolina, p. 7
4. On page 7 David says “the word therapy suggested a profound failure on my part.” What failures may he be talking about?
5. React to this quote.“Yes’ became ‘correct,’ or a military ‘affirmative.’ ‘Please,’ became ‘with your kind permission,’ questions were pleaded rather than asked, … [and] ‘Rivers’ became either ‘a river or two’ or ‘many a river’.”
6.How did “Agent Sampson” trick David?
Chapter 2 - Giant Dreams, Midget Abilities
1. What is David's father love and only form of rebellion?
4. How were Mr. Mancini and David both "men trapped inside a boy's body"?
5. Why does Mr. Mancini explode expressing didtaste for David's singing?
6. 6. React to this quote ."I'd always thought of Mister Mancini as a blowhard, a pocket playboy, but watchinghim dip his hamburger into a sad puddle of mayonnaise, I broadened my view andcame to see him as a wee outsider, a misfit whose take−it−or−leave−it attitude had lefthim all alone." Chap. 2, Giant Dreams, Midget Abilities, p. 27
Note - Like the previous essay , Sedaris continues the theme of self versus society, which started during his childhood when he felt like an outcast.
Chapter 3 - Genetic Engineering
1. How different are David and his father?
Chapter 4 - Twelve Moments in the Life of the Artist
1. React to these quotes.
A) "Everything round me was art, from the stains in my bathtub to the razor blade and short length of drinking straw I used to cut and ingest my speed." p.46
B) "The art world was our conceptual oyster, and we ate it raw."p.47
C)"It was the artist's duty to find the appropriate objects, and the audience's job to decipher meaning. If the piece failed to work, it was their fault, not yours." p. 52
D) " Doesn't he see the Botticelli hanging on the wall behind me? He has no idea how to behave in an art museum? " p.54
Chapter 5 - You Can't Kill the Rooster
1. Who is the rooster?
2. Why is Paul his father's best ally and worst nightmare?
Chapter 6 - The Youth in Asia
1. The history of pets in the Sedaris family is recounted in this chapter. Do you have a humorous story about one of your pets?
Chapter 7 - The Learning Curve
"I was given two weeks to prepare, a period I spent searching for a briefcase andstanding before my full−length mirror, repeating the words, "Hello, class, my name isMr. Sedaris." Chap. 7, The Learning Curve, p. 84 How does this quote sum up David's teaching experience?
1. React to this quote -"I know it sounds calculating, but if you're not cute, you might as well be clever."
Chap. 14, See You Again Yesterday, p. 156
2. How does Sedaris use humor to show the typical stereotypical American citizen?
3. Why do three village teenagers hangout at David's and Hugh's yard?
4. Why does David feel like the "village idiot"?
Chapter 15 - Me Talk Pretty One Day
1. How did Sedaris take a potentially boring experience - auditing a beginner's language class-and turn it into a humorous essay? What were the funniest parts of the essay? An interviewer wrote that Sedaris's signature is "deadpan" humor. What is deadpan humor? Identify - and characterize the effectiveness of -examples of it in "Me Talk Pretty One Day."
2 . How would you characterize the tone of the following comments from the teacher?“‘Oh really,’ the teacher said. ‘How very interesting. I thought that everyone loved the mosquito, but here, in front of all the world, you claim to detest him. How is itthat we’ve been blessed with someone as unique and original as you? Tell us,please.’”
3. In the language classroom, as the narrator mentions, we are often asked to talk about things that we would never in reality talk about:
“How often is one asked what he loves in this world? More to the point, how often is one asked and then publicly ridiculed for his answer?”
Have you ever had a similar feeling in a language classroom?
4. Although the teacher in this story is associated with feelings of fear and dread, do you think this kind of teacher could also have positive effects?
5. How surprised were you by the last line in the essay? To what extent did you expect that Sedaris would speak fluently because he understood his teacher's French perfectly? How does the title of the essay reflect the meaning of the chapter?
Jesus Shaves
1. " And what does one do on the fourtenth of July? Does one celebrate Bastille Day?" This essay takes place in a french class explaining holidays , how does it show how traditions may be hard to explain from one person to another or one culture from another?
The Tapeworm Is In
1. Why does David call himself a tapeworm?
2. " The outside world suddenly became as private as you want it to be. It's like being deaf but with none of the disadvantages" David is talking about his walkman , is this kind of true or do you have other reasons you may use a walkman? Other technologies ?
Make That a Double
1. How did David solve the problem of masculine and feminine forms in the French language?
Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa
1. "Certain events are parallel, but compared with Hugh's, my childhood was unspeakably dull." Give examples from this section that may have shocked you about Hugh's childhood.
21 Down
1. What flaw does Sedaris find in himself?
2. According to Sedaris, why is education important?
The City of Light in the Dark
1. In this essay Sedaris starts to talk about cultural differences between Americans and the French. How does Sedaris describe the differences in attending the movies?
2. Did you find it strange that Sedaris hasn't visited historical places?
I Pledge Allegiance to the Bag
1. What are some of the stereotypes the French had about Americans?
2. When visiting America, how does Sedaris use his wit to describe signs across America?
"Everywhere you turn the obvious is being stated. CANNON MAY BE LOUD.MOVING SIDEWALK IS ABOUT TO END."
Picka Pocketoni
1. " The trumpeting elephants of the human race." Who is being described?
2. What does the man on the subway mean when he says: “This little froggy is ripe”?
3. What is the narrator implying when he says that: “The couple’s bright new his and hers sneakers suggested that might be headed somewhere dressy for dinner”?
4. Find at least two places in the text where the author uses exaggeration to make a point.
I Almost Saw This Girl Get Killed
1. "We might have watched her, hanging by a strap umpteen feet in the air, but, even worse, she had been forced to watch us." React
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