Me Talk Pretty One Day Summary

Fear is one of the greatest motivators of all. In this particular essay from Sedaris’ book, he's having difficulty learning the French language after his move to Paris from the United States. His teacher, with a stone cold and belittling personality, only makes learning the language more frustrating. In “Me Talk Pretty One Day” David Sedaris shows the power of intimidation through the structure, quality, and the applicability of the information shared.
This piece outlines a sequence of events and encounters in the class that led to the writer, David Sedaris’ motivation to learn the French language. The French teacher uses what many would consider very traditional means of motivation to teach her students the French language. The

story unfolds with a new student meeting his teacher and classmates for the first time in a French class in Paris. The writer is a student and has recently relocated to Paris, France from the United States. The story is written in the first person narrative and based on the American student’s viewpoint of the class. He and his fellow classmates are all foreigners and understandably a little insecure about their new surroundings and their current lack of knowledge of the French language. The teachers intimidating means of teaching them the language seems to be the main theme of the story. Some examples of this intimidation include; “She crouched low for her attack” (Sedaris 12). This gives the reader the definite impression of a lion about to pounce on its prey. “We didn’t know it then, but the coming months would teach us what it was like to spend time in the presence of a wild animal” (Sedaris 13). Again, leaving the reader with the impression of danger. The writer’s wit and humor throughout the piece made it a very enjoyable read.
I liked the writer’s format and the way he gave his opinion based on the actual events. I especially enjoyed the completely illegible words he used when describing a quote made by the teacher that he was entirely unable to comprehend. ““Were you always this palicmkrexis?” she asked. “Even a fiuscrzsa ticiwelmun knows that a typewriter is feminine”” (Sedaris 13). His sarcasm was perfectly executed throughout the story, ““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 it personally” (Sedaris 13). The accounts of the interactions with his teacher and students shine a humorous light on some of the darkest moments. After a student mentioned the mosquito as one of her dislikes of the world, the teacher’s stinging reply was ““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 it that we’ve been blessed with someone as unique and original as you? Tell us, please”” (Sedaris 12). His positive outlook as a writer shows itself throughout the piece with humor, sarcasm, insight and realism which gives the reader a much better ability to connect with Sedaris, the protagonist in the story.
This piece is astoundingly relatable.

Anyone who has ever been a student, which would be virtually anyone who would read this book, could recall a memory from school of a teacher who attempted and often succeeded in putting the fear of God in them; a teacher who made them too afraid to fail; a teacher who gave them the incentive to learn against all odds. Sometimes fear can establish a commonality between peers that may not have formed without it. “My only comfort was the knowledge that I was not alone. Huddled in the hallways and making the most of our pathetic French, my fellow students and I engaged in the sort of conversation commonly overhead in refugee camps. “Sometimes me cry alone at night”” (Sedaris 14). Sometimes we learn to confront our fears on our own. When we were very young our parents would worn us not to touch something that was hot. They may even have given this advice as we were reaching for the stove. “Don't touch that, its hot!” This is good advice and the high pitched scream may also have helped get our attention, but the permanent memory from the burn you received by the temptation to find out for yourself, worked even better. Fear and the memory of pain or anguish, teaches us to never touch something that is hot without protection. Humans learn from and are driven by fear; fear of pain, fear of failure, and fear of embarrassment. That isn't to say using fear as a means of motivation is the best way to teach a student. An intimidating teacher may also have a lot of failing students. Some students may avoid asking pertinent questions, some may drop out of the class, others may simply fail because they loss the confidence needed to

succeed.
In “Me Talk Pretty One Day” David Sedaris shows the power of intimidation through the structure, quality, and the applicability of the information shared. This was a comical piece about Sedaris’ hard time learning the French language. He did an excellent job executing the information, making it an enjoyable read, and making it relatable to his readers. It makes us, the readers, think back about our similar experiences that we encountered in the past with a tough teacher.