David Sedaris is a one of the best-selling authors. One of his books is called "Naked." In this book he talks about his life. David Sedaris is a great writer who wrote about his family and himself when he was growing up. While most people usually don't like talking about the humiliating moments of their lives, he presents the reader with his own obsessions and the numerous interesting and funny events from the life of his family. Sedaris uses a lot of sarcasm in his book; therefore it is very appealing and interesting to read. Sedaris was able to see the irony in any situation. I think this quality is very important in dealing with different issues in our lives. In the chapter "A Plague of Tics", Sedaris describes his obsessive behavior. He was obsessed with almost everything. He would press his face against and lick different subjects surrounding him, he would count how many steps it was from his school to his house: "...no more than six hundred and thirty-seven steps" (p.8), he would arrange toasters, blenders and other kitchen appliances in a straight row, punch himself in the nose, and this list is not complete. The author knew he had a problem and hated it: "What I really hated, of course, was my mind. There must have been an off switch somewhere, but I was damned if I could find it" (p.9); however, he had to do it because his mind was telling him to: "I loved it. Touching objects satisfied a mental itch" (p.15). Of course, he did not know what to do about the problem; he was just a little boy who had a mind that wouldn't let him pass by a mailbox and not touch or lick it. He would not forgive himself for that: "I personally had to do these things because nothing was worse than the anguish of not doing them" (p.9). Neverth... ... middle of paper ... ...y from danger: "Danger was everywhere and it was our father's lifelong duty to warn us" (p.47). His mother was a very strong woman. She was diagnosed with cancer and did not even want to tell her kids that: "our mother worried that once we found out, we would treat her differently, delicately." Sedaris always tried to get her love and attention even though she was not the type of mother who always kissed her kids and told them she loved them. One time at end of their conversation, he told her "I love you" and the answer he got was: "I am going to pretend I didn't hear that" (p. 240). As we can see, the relationships of the author with members of his family were kind of unusual and complex. Nevertheless, he wrote a great book about it. The irony is seen in every one of his chapters. I enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend to other people.
In the article Skin Deep written by Nina Jablonski and George Chaplin, they discuss and look deeper into the diverse differences in skin color. Our skin color has developed over the years to be dark enough to prevent the damaging sunlight that has been harming our skin and the nutrient folate that it carries. At the same time out skin is light enough to receive vitamin D.
In this book, and in, ‘Naked’, one of the essays in the book, Mr. Sedaris fantasizes of a future where he can learn to keep secrets, as in the book, “no one dreams of the things he already possesses”, he continues to write, “am not sure which is more likely to happen, the chance that he will one day be able to keep secrets or sleep with the president. From the book, the essays clearly shows the author has made a career with no secrets. He recounts the secrets from the soap opera stars that he emulates through a voice of
Another interesting factor about this story is the irony and tone in this story and how it adds toward each character.
It was also to show that people are more concerned with their own feelings than others. The entire time the man sitting next to Sedaris, he does not once ask if he is okay or acknowledge the fact that this man is sobbing. Instead Sedaris was more concerned with getting an extra bowl of ice cream. At the end of his story, Sedaris is crying along with his seatmate not out of sympathy, but out of self-pity. He has realized how much time has passed and how many great memories he has had. It was because of the grieving he saw the man sitting beside him doing that it might have been the first time in his life that David Sedaris had actually grieved. It was not the show off type of grief, it was genuine and heartfelt, the kind of emotions that more people need. Sedaris might have realized how little time people have and how quickly it can go by. It also shows that it doesn’t matter what class on a plan someone is in, when a certain emotion is hit everyone is the
Finally, within the syntax of the novel, Sedaris has interlocked various arguments together with the choice of his words. He skillfully crafts a very sarcastic and humorous piece through applying an argument that is intermingled with generalizations. Thus, it means that the syntax is direct and declarative. For instance, the author states that the teacher is exhausting him with her foolishness and is rewarding her efforts with barely anything but pain. However, the syntax that the author used in some parts of the essay can be said to be confusing because he is fond of changing the topics or employing a different approach of transition in order to make his point of view clear to the readers. This is evident because at some point of the story, he would insert the earlier events or apply metaphors to describe a given occurrence.
...hese characters we better and more pure, bad things would might have not happened to them like they did. In this situation, cosmic irony is used to show how someone’s fate can be decided by the life decisions they make. It was only destiny that brought the Misfit and the family together.
his goal is to bring back proof of the wolves decimating effect on the northern
In the essay “The Man at the River,” written by Dave Eggers is about an American man who does not want to cross the river with his Sudanese friends because of the fear of getting his cut infected.
... the world, but that one can gain “wholeness” only by devoting oneself to your fellow human beings. He matures under stress and commits to bettering the future for himself and his family. After seeing so much injustice, he finally realizes that “his” people are all people. He cannot stand working for his family’s well-being if it means taking work from another family. He ends up leaving his family to set out on a course of public action. With his rational, calm temperament, it’s no wonder he handles such inhumane treatment so well. I would speculate that he would become an effective political leader if there were to be a sequel to the story. Overall, this is a story that is completely focused on what it means to be a family, what humans need to survive, and the idea of human weakness in self-interest. Families are truly the bedrock of not only society, but humanity.
Daru, the schoolteacher in a remote area of Algeria, is torn between duty and what he believes is the right thing to do when he is suddenly forced in the middle of a situation he does not expect. He must escort an Arabic prisoner to the nearest town. It is not that Daru has much sympathy for the man; in fact, he does not, and actually finds himself disliking the Arab for disrupting so many lives. "Daru felt a sudden wrath against the man, against all men with their rotten spite, their tireless hates, their blood lust." Unfortunately, Daru loves his homeland, and cannot bear to think of leaving, despite the chaos that is raging around him between France and the Algerian natives. I believe that Daru makes the right choice in letting the prisoner choose his own fate. Daru has reaso...
An Uncommitted Child The novel, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, describes the life of a man who lives through his music and his childish ways. Rob Fleming is a man who struggles with commitment when it comes to what he needs, yet commits to what he wants. This lack of commitment leaves Rob struggling with the relationships with the people in his daily life. Living his life in a careless and childish manner, Rob Fleming burns the bridges with those who are close to him, and as a result realizes how much he truly cares for them when it’s too late. There were many jobs that Rob had taken over over the years; with each job he has there is a lack of passion and drive which results in his lack of commitment.
For David Sedaris, growing up was not the typical fun and excitement as it was for other teenagers his age. Sedaris battled a secret that was looked down upon by all of society as well as the world around him. A secret that left him feeling shameful about his everyday life and constantly wishing he could do something, anything, to change it.
One’s identity is influenced by many things. It’s something that one has a choice of what he wants to become. One has a personal choice as to what identity he possesses; for instance, he can choose what he likes, who he wishes to be friends with, and what he wears. After all, “Fashion is an expression of personal identity” (Latterell 11). Queen Latifah states, “All things start inside your soul and work outward” meaning that it is one’s choice as to what he lets work its way out (Latifah 34). People have even made personal choices that affect their identity by changing their name. Just as Firoozeh Dumas describes in The “F Word”, “Thus I started sixth grade with my new, easy name and life became infinitely simpler” (Dumas 86). People made fun of Dumas’ name, Firoozeh, and thus made her want to change her name to fit in; she changed her identity. An identity is mainly comprised of personal choice.
The novel, Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other (2011) written by Sherry Turkle, presents many controversial views, and demonstrating numerous examples of how technology is replacing complex pieces and relationships in our life. The book is slightly divided into two parts with the first focused on social robots and their relationships with people. The second half is much different, focusing on the online world and it’s presence in society. Overall, Turkle makes many personally agreeable and disagreeable points in the book that bring it together as a whole.
The irony at the end of this story is very interesting. O’ Connor forces the reader to wonder which characters are “Good Men”, perhaps by the end of the story she is trying to convey two points: first, that a discerning “Good Man” can be very difficult, second that a manipulative, self centered, and hollow character: The Grandmother is a devastating way to be, both for a person individually and for everyone else around them. The reader is at least left wondering if some or all of the clues to irony I provided apply in some way to the outcome of this story.