In order to establish a humorous tone in the first two paragraphs of his essay "Me Talk Pretty One Day," David Sedaris does two things: 1. He creates an absurd character (himself), and 2. He places this character in an uncomfortable setting.
In the opening paragraph, Sedaris establishes himself as an absurd character. He opens the essay with his age ("At the age of forty-one...") and then goes on to call himself a "true debutant." He explains that he's moved to France to go back to school to learn French, but he's really excited about having a student ID which allows him discounts at places, particularly an amusement park with an advertisement that really excites him (it "advertises with billboards picturing a cartoon stegosaurus sitting in a canoe and eating what appears to be a ham sandwich.").
Then Sedaris creates an intimidating setting that he is entering. Everyone who attends the school, except for himself, spoke French well. In addition, the students were all "young, attractive, and well dressed." He explains that he feels completely out of place "not unlike Pa Kettle trapped backstage after a fashion show."
By placing an absurd character in an intimidating situation, Sedaris is telling his readers to expect the unexpected.
No comments:
Post a Comment