Themes In Me Talk Pretty One Day Sedaris

Fitting into society is something we all strive for at some point in life, rather it is with the popular kids at school, or society’s beauty standards, we all want to feel like we belong. Of course, we wouldn’t know belonging without alienation. We must fear one to appreciate the other. Like oblivion, neither dynamic is avoidable; there will be a time when we fit in, and times that we don’t, that’s just life. In David Sedaris’ novel, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Sedaris brilliantly displays a theme of belonging vs alienation; throughout the majority of his essays included in part one. Go Carolina, tells the story of Sedaris’ experience with a lisp in school, and his relationship with his speech therapist. Go Carolina, has a strong theme of belonging …show more content…
Sedaris, now a college art student, faces alienation in a whole new way. In the beginning, Sedaris talks about his sister Gretchen, who was a talented artist, but was clearly very different from the other Sedaris children. “Nothing we did or said made any sense to her, as she seemed to follow the rules and customs of some exotic, faraway nation.” It’s apparent that Gretchen is very unique and shares little to nothing in common with her siblings, making her the alien of this situation. Later in the essay, Sedaris introduces us to his meth-head companions. At one point, Sedaris’ artwork was accepted, while his friends’ weren't. “This officially confirmed their outsider status and made me an enemy of the avant-garde.” His friends were all deemed outcasts, and he was outcasted by the outcasts, because his art was accepted. This essay shows that the role of the alien, is not always portrayed by the same person, and sometimes you can fit in and face alienation; it all depends on the …show more content…
This essay tells the reader, about one of Sedaris’ friends from North Carolina, who regularly visits him in New York. One this particular visit, she invites her friend Bonnie to come along. Bonnie is quite the character to say the least. She always thinks she is being taken for a fool, because she's not from the city, and there was a certain moment when she wanted to go to the Plaza hotel for tea, and Sedaris suggested she change clothes, to blend in with the plaza crowd. “The crowd at the Plaza would most likely be dressed up, and I worried that she might feel out of place in an outfit that most people associate with manual labor.” The words “out of place” is what caught my attention, and easily allows me to connect it to the theme. Here, Sedaris tries to protect Bonnie from possible alienation to no avail. However, she ended up fitting in just fine with the crowd at the