Me Talk Pretty One Day Summary

Me Talk Pretty One Day is an essays collection by David Sedaris, prominent American comedian and author, that explores his identity through stories of his childhood, cultural background, sexuality, and family. These factors shaped who he is today and reflect on the how he managed to make his way to find his place in the world.
One of the major revolving themes throughout the collection is the relationship between Sedaris and language. This relationship represents his obstacle of speech impairment in his childhood in Go Carolina and his French language class in Jesus Shave which emphasize Sedaris’s inability to conform to or use the language spoken by the people around him. It played an important role of presenting Sedaris as someone who is outcast and different

while not explicitly mentioning his sexuality or belief.
While I concede that Sedaris’s used of the language barrier is to show the issue of stereotyping of homosexual men, but on closer inspection, Sedaris’s essays are highlighting the challenge of communication with their surrounding that children, and even adults, often have to learn in order to fit into society.
The importance of language is much more than communication, it is also a way for individuals to understand and empathize with each other. We can see that Sedaris thinks that language skills are needed for meaningful contact with others, as those with better language skills tend to enjoy more social recognition. For example, in Go Carolina Sedaris mentions how in his therapy session he “saw no popular students… obviously, there was some connection between a sibilate s and a complete lack of” social recognition (9). It was impossible to spot popular students among his fellow classmates, just “boys like me” who are outcast and different (Go Carolina, 9). This problem imposes multiple obstacles on the individual. People who feel insecure when communicating often suffer from anxiety communicating with other people. In order to survive, many have to adopt resources from their surrounding to overcome these challenges similar to Sedaris who picks up dictionary in order to avoid the S word. Other, however, may avoid speaking completely and, consequently, they have to deal with social isolation and inability to engage with others. Sedaris demonstrates in Jesus Shave that just as it is extremely difficult for foreigners to try and assimilate to French-speaking culture, those who can’t speak the language in the way that fit the expectations of society will remain a foreigner to that culture.
Inability to understand each other due to language barriers can create a disparity between individuals.

Sedaris’s inability to speak the language is also subtly hinted in Genetic Engineering where we are shown the distance between his world and his father’s world. His father, an engineer, speaks the language via a technical lense, while Sedaris does not. This irreconcilable difference led to the situation where Sedaris “tried to creep by unnoticed” (36) which goes show how disconnect in communication led to avoidance or social isolation. A similar event also occurs in Go Carolina when Sedaris mentions that his fellow speech therapy classmate “were all a little quieter” after realizing the “problem” with how they speak (12). In Jesus Shave, the language barrier became the main obstacle for Sedaris to convey his beliefs to someone different from him. This not only shows his inability to connect with others around him due to language but how it leads to conflict with his teacher in accepting French culture. Ultimately, it is impossible for an individual to have a sense of belonging or connection with others if he or she does not speak the language as it is one form of identity that is communicable to

others.