As I read through The Youth in Asia by David Sedaris, I noticed that he mostly utilizes direct dialogue whenever his parents are speaking. There are a few moments where Sedaris and a few other characters speak in quotes, but a majority of the direct dialogue is from the mother and father talking about their pets in some way. A notable example is how they would respond whenever their most cherished dog, Melina, destroyed one of Sedaris’ possessions, such as “‘That’s what you get for leaving your wallet on the kitchen table,’” (112). I believe that these quotes serve to emphasize the point that his parents have a strong devotion to their dog. In contrast, Sedaris uses summary and indirect dialogue to breeze through the lives and deaths of
