“Why I Live at the P.O.” by Eudora Welty and “Us and Them” by David Sedaris are the two literary pieces that will be analyzed. The two literatures are centered around family and have shown similarities and differences in many literary elements such as plot, theme, point of view, and symbolism. Through the use of first person narration, unreliable narrators, and technology, we are able to see how three families each have a different way of living and interacting in their households.
Point of view
The two literary texts, “Why I Live at the P.O.” and “Us and Them” are both written in first person narrative. We see this by the use of the words “I, we, and my” being repeated throughout each story. In the short story “Why I Live at the P.O.,” Sister …show more content…
The narrator and his family had just moved to the state of North Carolina from New York, sometime around the 1960s. The rising action begins when Sedaris learns that his neighbors across the street, the Tomkeys, doesn’t watch television. He was very enthused by this information, so he began watching the family through their windows during the day and night time, to learn about what goes on in their household. The turning point in the story occurs after the Tomkeys return home from their weekend trip and begins trick-or-treating a day after Halloween. Sedaris true colors begins to show when his mother asks for him and his to sister to grab some of their candy and share it with the Tomkeys children. “The other candy. Kids why don’t you run and go get it?” stated Mama (Sedaris 3). Immediately, Sedaris goes upstairs and enters his candy bag pondering on whether or not he will share his candy. He ends up sticking to his selfish ways and stuffs all of his candy into his mouth, including the chocolate candy bars he is allergic to. “I panicked by the thought of her hand on my doorknob. I tore off the wrappers and began cramming the candy bars into my mouth, desperately, like someone in a contest” (Sedaris 4). He learns of his selfishness only after his mother fussed him out about his actions. “You should look at yourself, she said.” I mean really look at …show more content…
Sedaris believed that his neighbors were out of touch with the world and are strange simply because of their complete restricted usage of television in the home. He failed to understand how the Tomkeys can be considered a normal family without having access to a television. “I hoped that in walking around after dark, I might witness a murder, but for the most part our neighbors just sat in their living rooms, watching TV (Sedaris 1).” This misunderstanding was all because everyone in the neighborhood sat in their living rooms watching TV, except for the Tomkeys. When comparing both stories and the three different families we see how technology is a distraction that put strains on family time and
Point of view
The two literary texts, “Why I Live at the P.O.” and “Us and Them” are both written in first person narrative. We see this by the use of the words “I, we, and my” being repeated throughout each story. In the short story “Why I Live at the P.O.,” Sister …show more content…
The narrator and his family had just moved to the state of North Carolina from New York, sometime around the 1960s. The rising action begins when Sedaris learns that his neighbors across the street, the Tomkeys, doesn’t watch television. He was very enthused by this information, so he began watching the family through their windows during the day and night time, to learn about what goes on in their household. The turning point in the story occurs after the Tomkeys return home from their weekend trip and begins trick-or-treating a day after Halloween. Sedaris true colors begins to show when his mother asks for him and his to sister to grab some of their candy and share it with the Tomkeys children. “The other candy. Kids why don’t you run and go get it?” stated Mama (Sedaris 3). Immediately, Sedaris goes upstairs and enters his candy bag pondering on whether or not he will share his candy. He ends up sticking to his selfish ways and stuffs all of his candy into his mouth, including the chocolate candy bars he is allergic to. “I panicked by the thought of her hand on my doorknob. I tore off the wrappers and began cramming the candy bars into my mouth, desperately, like someone in a contest” (Sedaris 4). He learns of his selfishness only after his mother fussed him out about his actions. “You should look at yourself, she said.” I mean really look at …show more content…
Sedaris believed that his neighbors were out of touch with the world and are strange simply because of their complete restricted usage of television in the home. He failed to understand how the Tomkeys can be considered a normal family without having access to a television. “I hoped that in walking around after dark, I might witness a murder, but for the most part our neighbors just sat in their living rooms, watching TV (Sedaris 1).” This misunderstanding was all because everyone in the neighborhood sat in their living rooms watching TV, except for the Tomkeys. When comparing both stories and the three different families we see how technology is a distraction that put strains on family time and