What Does It Mean To Say By David Sedaris

I would characterize David Sedaris as inconsiderate, judgmental, but lonely at times which might lead him to be inconsiderate. These would also be some of the traits that exhibits throughout the story that leads me to the kind of person he is. In the story, when the Tomkeys come the the Sedaris' door the day after Halloween, trick-or-treating a day late, Mrs. Sedaris tells her children to get some of their own candy that they earned trick-or-treating. David states in the story "...and while it would hurt to destroy them, it would hurt even more to give them away." When he stated that, he was referring to the candy that he had. I find this inconsiderate because he didn't have to give away all of his candy, just some of it that the Tomkeys could

have. Also, David stated that "To say that you do not believe in television was different from saying that you did not care for it." To me, this statement implies that David Seadris is judgmental. Mr. Tomkey could have various reasons as to why they don't believe in television.

Sedaris makes it somewhat hard to find the verbal irony in the story.

For instance, when the story begins Sedaris states, "It was more of a 'see you later' situation, but still I adopted my mother's attitude, as it allowed me to pretend that not making friends was a conscious choice. I could if I wanted to. It just wasn't the right time." What he actually means is that he has a hard time making friends. This reveals that maybe David is lonely at times because he can't make friends. Another example of verbal irony used in the story is when David's mom and dad are talking about how the Tomkeys don't have a TV. His father states "'...I don't know that I believe in it, either.'" His father is referring to the TV problem. David's mother states, "'That's exactly how I feel,' my mother said, and then my parents watched the news, and whatever came on after the news." This reveals that maybe his mother was just agreeing to be done with the conversation or that she wasn't paying a lot of

attention.

The role that the television plays in Sedaris's life is opening his eyes to how he acts and reacts about other people's opinions and life choices.

Before the story ends he thinks about himself and his actions towards the Tomkeys. He refers to himself and states, "He's a human being, but also he's a pig, surrounded by trash and gorging himself so that others may be denied. Were this the only image in the world, you'd be forced to give it your full attention, but fortunately there were others." This is when he finally realizes how he showed himself to the Tomkeys. The opinion that he might be expressing about television is that it's a everyday thing that most people have in their homes, so it would be weird not to have one in your home or to not believe in it. Sedaris comments, "Belief implied that television had a master plan and that you were against it. It also suggested that you thought too

much."

I think Sedaris learned that you shouldn't be judgmental to people that you barely know or anyone else from his experience with the Tomkeys. I believe this because he says, "Wondering about the Tomkey family made me feel generous..." I think that he says this because in a way, the Tomkeys made him actually look at himself. I think that he might want others to learn that you shouldn't be selfish or judge anyone, including people that you don't know or people that you do know. Sedaris remarks, "For months I had protected over these people, but now, with one stupid act, they had turned my pity into something hard and ugly. The shift wasn't gradual, but immediate, and it provoked an uncomfortable feeling of loss." I think that this implies that maybe he wanted to be friends with the Tomkeys, even if didn't know it yet, but he ruined that chance by be selfish and judgmental.