Analysis Of A Plague Of Tics By David Sedaris

After reading the essays and having discussions in class, my favorite essay was “A Plague of Tics” by David Sedaris. In the excerpt, Sedaris uses a witty tone when writing about his obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders because his disability often makes people uncomfortable. Sedaris takes the audience through a series of examples of his obsessive compulsive behavior and the reactions of his teachers, family, and friends as they tried to deal with it. Sedaris, a satirist, chose humor to talk about his disorder. This approach almost makes the severe reactions of the adults to David’s condition seem less critical.
David’s used humor in his personal narrative to makes light of how he was treated as a child by the adults around him, otherwise, it might make us sad. Sedaris mother mocked him, his father threatened him, and his teachers misidentified his behavior as misconduct. The worst compulsion that Sedaris exhibited was his obsession with licking light switches. His teacher, Miss Chestnut yelled at David, “Keep your germ infested mouth off my light switch. Would you like me to come to your house and lick your switches?” David was confused because Miss …show more content…
She went to a “Blacks only” elementary school in Stamps, Arkansas during the “Jim Crow”, racially segregated South in 1940. She tells the story of the excitement she felt on her graduation day. Maya Angelou described the moments leading up to graduation, the nervousness of the faculty, the proud parents, and the overjoyed classmates. Angelou received gifts of a Mickey Mouse watch, embroidered handkerchiefs, and a collection of Edgar Allen Poe poems from her family. The graduation band played and the students marched in as they had rehearsed, then they sang the National Anthem, and the class recited the Pledge of