I never want to learn French...

            This excerpt from Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris, is hard to read the right way.  I did not understand most of the context and tone until we listened to the passage read aloud in class.

Many sarcastic remarks in this story went over my head.  A good example of this is the "mosquito" conversation.  When read by Sedaris, the teacher is clearly mocking the student, whereas when I read the same words I thought the teacher was serious about her comment.  For the first few paragraphs the teacher seemed to be fairly nice, but this was not the case as far as Sedaris is concerned.  This is kind of the story of my entire experience with Sedaris' piece.

I think that this passage really only works when it is read aloud.  The tone of voice used is so important that if perceived the wrong way the entire story is changed.  I still came away with the black and white message of the breakthrough with learning a new language, but there were no deeper levels for me.

I picked up on so much more the second time when I heard the story read by the author.  Sedaris speaks in a slightly scared tone of voice, which adds new light to the story.  He sounds almost sheepish and sensitive.  The underlying sarcasm and satire are brought to the surface mainly because of the way he reads the sentences.  This is most evident when people in the class are called upon to talk about themselves.  The author jokingly makes a comment about the fact that nobody knows the exact vocabulary needed to convey their thoughts.  Then when called upon, the author mispronounces parts of his own speech and says that he loves typewriters and his floor waxer.

From Sedaris' point of view, everything the teacher says is loaded with disdain and sarcasm.  He humorously compares the teacher to a wild animal that could strike at any moment.  Sedaris also seems scared of upsetting her.  I do not know how true his perception of the teacher is, but I think this view tells a lot about Sedaris.  Maybe he is generally an intimidated person and this teacher was nothing out of the ordinary, or maybe she was really a wild animal.  He makes the teacher seem much meaner than I had previously thought, but also speaks with a sense of respect for her.  The author relays the feeling that through being tough on the class, the teacher helps them to succeed.

I think that this was the real message that Sedaris wanted his audience to take in.  Through her teaching style the teacher essentially forced her students to dive completely into their work or face ridicule.  While he did not like to take part in it, the author seems grateful to the teacher now that it is over.