Let It Snow David Sedaris Analysis

What happens when snow days go awry? David Sedaris, a popular comedian, radio contributor, and satirical writer, who frequently contributes to The New Yorker sought to share his personal story of such an instance. Sedaris has written many works all varying in subject matter, including novels Holidays on Ice and Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, as well as several essays including Naked and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. "Let it Snow" by David Sedaris is a narrative that was published in The New York Times about Sedaris' recollection of being locked out of his house by his mother during a snow day in Sedaris' adolescence. His general purpose in writing this piece was to entertain his readers by sharing one of his personal memories …show more content…
Hyperboles, or exaggerated statements, are used by Sedaris to illustrate the dramatic nature that children tend to portray. For example, Sedaris writes, "Dusk approached, and as it grew colder it occurred to us that we could possibly die." In this scene, young David is thinking that the cold might kill them, and contemplates a scenario in which that is the case. He thinks that he and his sisters would not be found until years later. David rationalizes the thought by thinking "It happened, surely." Sedaris also places hyperbole within the sentence "I pictured Gretchen, her life hanging by a thread as my parents paced the halls of Rex Hospital, wishing they had been more attentive." Here, the author recalls imagining his sister in a feeble state, having just been run over by a car. This thought process is reflective of that which a young child would have on a normal basis. Adolescents commonly have an implausible idea, and due to their own naiveté, are able to rationalize it. The use of this statement within the passage allows the author to relate with an adolescent-natured audience by displaying his understanding of the function of a child's mind. The morbid imagery of Gretchen's life "hanging by a thread" is a hyperbole in itself because the young girl in reality would probably not have suffered …show more content…
For instance, his use of personal pronouns such as "my," "we," "our," and "us" (Sedaris) supports the idea that Sedaris writes in the form of a narrative and expresses a personal recollection. In addition, the words "drink," "bitch," "mastodons," and "escape" (Sedaris) present more adult-oriented themes and language that would not be appropriately understood by a younger audience. Sedaris' use of narrative pronouns in conjunction with mature terms indicates that he is appealing to adults, but those that have childlike qualities and enjoy