In “Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa” by David Sedaris his purpose is to show how foolish and insane it is not to appreciate what you have. His essay encourages the reader to be satisfied with what they have and not focus on what they do not. The first argument is found in the title, the fact that he didn’t grow up in the continent of Africa, rather Hugh did, is childish. The fact that Sedaris claims ownership to Hugh’s upbringing introduces the idea of envy of others. However, Sedaris compares his childhood moments with Hugh’s, “certain events are parallel but compared to Hugh’s, “my childhood was unspeakably dull. When I was seven years old, my family moved to North Carolina. When he was seven years old, Hugh’s family moved to the Congo. We had a collie and a house cat, they had a monkey and two horses names Charlie Brown and Satan. I threw stones at stop signs. Hugh threw stones at crocodiles”. Sedaris describes his childhood as ordinary for an American, perhaps even monotonous. He uses parallel sentence structure to compare Hugh’s and himself, despite Sedaris preferring Hugh’s childhood memories. This emphasizes how he significantly compares his life to Hugh’s. One memory in particular displays irony in a more dramatic way, “he turned from face to face and was looking up at Hugh when one of the brothers drew a pistol from his back pocket, held it against the animal’s temple, and the shot the piglet, execution style. Blood spattered, frightened children wept, and the man with the gun offered the teacher and bus driver some meat from a freshly slaughtered goat”. Sedaris sees this field trip occasion as one of Hugh’s significant memories, when in reality it really isn’t. This is an example of ridiculousness therefore shows the envy of wanting what others have. His ignorance is evident in the sentence, “when I’m told such stories, it’s all I can do hold back my feelings of jealously. An Ethiopian slaughterhouse. Some people have all the luck. When I was in elementary school, the best we ever got was a trip to Old Salem or Colonial Williamsburg, one of those preserved brick villages where time supposedly stands still and someone earns his living as a town crier”. Therefore, David Sedaris compares two lives; in this case he compares his own with his partner Hugh. One life being extra ordinary and dull while the other was spontaneous and outrageous. This story also contrasts the life style of Hugh's old life to his new one. He went from a dream life to a life one should despise. The author soon comes to realize that he should be happy with what he has and learns to stop comparing his life with others. In the end he happened to take the memories from Hugh's life style and pretended as if they were his own, but does comes to realize he should be glad about what his life has to offer.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl are two of the most influential autobiographies of slavery. Douglass’s experiences are similar to Harriet Jacobs’s, but they have their differences. Jacobs said “O, you happy free women, contrast your New Year’s day with that of a poor bondwoman! With you it is a pleasant season, and the light of day is blessed.” Douglass said “The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege.”…
- 419 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
While reading the first half of the book of Tomas Rivera's short story “And the Earth Did Not Devour Him,” Rivera tells the story about a young boy who has severely struggled to understand how exactly he has lost a year in his life. Rivera starts the book with the boy thinking about when the last year began and ended. He experiences reality as well as memories as he tries to adjust his mind. So far, many themes of literature can be seen in the book including racism and education. I also noticed the many self-held thoughts of conversation by the young boy as he struggles to remember his lost year.…
- 633 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Response: (R) This passage displays the everlasting influence a childhood experience can have on the future of that affected individual. We may believe that a short span of our childhood doesn’t impose any significance to who we are on, yet it’s the other way around. Although, we may not remember the exact details of our experiences, we still have reconciliation of the gist’s of them. Reconciliation, we either have through generations of story-telling or pictures. With the author, Wes Moore, his childhood story was a blessing as compare to the other Wes Moore. The author was able to reminisce on the adventures he had with his father, he was able to properly mourn his father’s death. He was able to properly say, “yes, I had a father. A father…
- 296 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In the first two paragraphs, the speaker establishes that he feels and is treated as if he is lesser than the Burmese. He states, “I was hated by large numbers of people - the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me.” Through his use of irony, he shows what imperialism has created. He was not “important” in the way that most would associate with this word. He had attention, but it was all negative. The society hated him because he was protecting the people that were taking over their country, even though he had no choice. This hate has lead to him feeling less important than the rest of his society. Additionally, he says that he is “young and ill-educated”. This appeals to pathos by getting the reader to feel sympathetic for the speaker. Both of these words carry connotations that relate to having less importance. The speaker's attitude is this way because of the situation he is put into. In reality, he is in charge as the…
- 742 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
2. Feliks Skrzynecki did not learn English when he moved to Australia and requires Peter to be a translator, causing difficulties assimilating. “Did you father even attempt to learn English?” a rude Department Clark remarked to Peter. However this did not bring Feliks down, he did not give in to Australia society of consumerism. Instead he grew his own garden and created his own sanctuary of security, and health. The simile “Loved his garden like an only child”, proposes a great sense of pride in his garden, perhaps because he feels he belongs here. “Spent years walking its parameter”, suggests that Feliks was always spending time in his garden and not with Peter, perhaps the garden reminded him of his beloved Poland.…
- 853 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In the Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, Douglass uses rhetorical devices to convey his meaning that slavery is the worst possible experience for humanity in a contemptuous tone. Douglass states, “the wretchedness of slavery, and the blessedness of freedom, were perpetually before me.” This use of antithesis in parallel structure is used to convey his meaning by contrasting the two ideas of slavery and freedom, showing how extremely awful or beautiful each is and to show the differences between them. The use of the word “wretchedness” creates a contemptuous tone in this quote. He then goes on to state that upon arriving in New York he felt “like one who had escaped a den of hungry lions.” This simile is used to show the extent of his fear when in the south, showing how slavery is the worst experience for humankind. This comparison is made using a scornful tone, shown by the dehumanizing of the South through slavery. Next, Douglass explains that during his stay in the North “[he] was afraid to speak to any one for fear of speaking to any one for fear of speaking to the wrong one, and thereby falling into the hands of money-loving kidnappers, whose business it was to lie in wait for the panting fugitive, as the ferocious beats of the forest lie in wait for their prey.” Douglass writes this long sentence for the rhetorical effect of imitating the style of a person ranting, or speaking uncontrollably due to fear to show the horror of slavery. This is written in a bitter or scornful tone through his descriptions of the fugitive kidnappers. Douglass also includes that “[he] saw in every white man an enemy and in every colored man cause for distrust.” This almost equal parallelism is used to compare the common fear Douglass had for both races. The negative outlook on both races shows Douglass’s disdainful tone. Douglass further explains his outlook when he states his motto at the time was “Trust no man!” This…
- 482 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
On the way to the lake, White wonders how the lake would be different; " how time would have marred this unique, this holy spot . . .". He was certain there would be changes as he slowly descended into detailed reminiscences of the smells of his old bedroom and the "stillness of the cathedral". When White and his son settled into the campsite and as he heard his son sneak out to go to the shore, something White used to do, he adopted a "dual existence" and had, "by simple transposition", become his father and his son was himself as a young boy. The imagery used by White contributes to the comparison in the essay because it leads the reader through the entire passage with words so rich and alive the reader could feel exactly what White was feeling and in turn relate those feelings to their own experiences and fond memories. The speaker also uses the repetitive statement that " there had been no years", that is, he felt he…
- 893 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Baker’s value of historical exactness over memory is seen through the juxtaposition of his father’s shared experience against his mother’s lone survival. He sees his father’s past “written on page of history shared by other survivors” while his mother “could not point to anyone”. As the novel progresses, this preference for history over memory is diminished. History is characterized as cold and lifeless being: “papers (that are)…echoes of the past, dark shadows without screams, without smells, without fear”. The repetition of “without” emphasizes the lack of emotion present in historical accounts.…
- 1102 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
This helps to show how each of these characters differ. The two points of view also run parallel to each other, which exemplifies how the two are very similar, and have faced many of the same issues in life. This memoir is used to show how two people can be of different races, ages, and genders, but also deal with the same things in life, and embrace the life they live however odd it may…
- 917 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
Despite the mother’s countless efforts to oppress the need for change within the lives of her children, the narrator’s father seemed to have had the upper hand in the development of their children despite his limited efforts. An evidence of this can be witnessed in the occupation adopted by the narrator; as described by the line “I have to worry about being late and weather I have a clean shirt and weather my car will start and about all the other countless things one must worry about when he teaches at a great Midwestern university.” (Macleod 93) Portraying quite clearly that the narrator chose to pursue the path that his father had started him on. As opposed to the path that his mother had liked for him to have been on. Furthermore, proving that change is something that everyone adores, regardless of their age. And it was the father’s ability to accept that change within the lives of his children that allowed for him to have a greater impact upon their lives that their own mother.…
- 876 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The very essence of childhood is never forgotten. A memory, a scent, a certain feeling will never be lost in time, as the child transforms from the younger years of bliss to an older life of enduring hardships and burdens. Yet with his aging, memories are still alive in everyone. Many of the memories etched in the brain forever are caused by a parent or parents in the way they choose to raise their young sometimes creating a negative memory and also creating very positive, pleasant memories. Torn between the beliefs of two parents, Zora Neale Hurston is able to show both sides of childhood memories in her autobiography. Through diction and manipulation of point of view, Zora Neale Hurston conveys not only a plentiful and satisfying childhood within the bounds of her own childhood but also a sense of a childhood restricted by fears of the outside worlds and the fears that was apart of it.…
- 704 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The imagery Olds uses in the first section emphasizes the difference between the white woman who is the narrator and the observer and the black boy, who is the observed, as they ride the subway. The shoes he is wearing are black “laced with white” (line 3). The speaker describes the white zigzags as “intentional scars” (line 4). The scars allude to the discrimination against the black man by white society. The adjectives “intentional” denotes that whites purposely harm blacks. The image contrasts whites with blacks: whites are powerful; blacks are subservient. Similarly, the two characters are described as being “stuck on opposite sides” of the subway car; they are separated permanently from each other (lines 4-5). The description of the clothing is a third contrasting element. Here, the black man is “exposed,” while the speaker is covered in fur (line 11). This image reinforces the opposition between the white woman and the black boy.…
- 590 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
For example, Hurston brings up the idea that when seeing a little black girl, people immediately draw a connection to slavery. Hurston writes that “someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me. Slavery is sixty years in the past” (2). Hurston is so intent on not letting the past shape her present or future because she is “off to a flying start” and is in no place to “to look behind and weep” (2). Simply, Hurston is showing how even though this repeatedly occurs to her, she does not give it a second thought because she is determined to stay true to herself and what she believes…
- 610 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
A reason why the poet doesn’t feel he can relate may be because he doesn’t share the same experiences and doesn’t have the same traditions and customs that other people, both his Eastern European parents had and his Australian culture, would have shared. He can’t relate, or reminisce, or appreciate either of his two cultures, because he has never known enough about them to have an emotional attachment, and it is this lack of attachment that prevents…
- 793 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
At times, the essay makes the reader laugh and feel concern for her struggles. Dumas tries to earn our sympathy by describing the situation of her family’s difficult names. To avoid setting an over serious tone, she attempts to reflect her humorous perspective through laughable quotes such as, “She Whose Name Almost Incites Riots” (page 751). This wise introduction lets the audience know that the essay will be an enjoyable one to read with plenty of humorous lines and content. This use of pathos makes the reader learn the message of the essay without even noticing it. Another classic example of her making the audience feel sympathy is when she said people used to think her brother’s name (Neggar) sounded like a derogatory name for African Americans. The strategy of making the audience feel sorry for the author let’s them feel as if they are somehow connected to what she is saying. They feel the urge to know what happens next and their curiosity becomes stronger with each step of her life. Because readers can become tired of hearing “sob” stories, she decides to blend in the humor throughout the main portion of the…
- 1109 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays