Poplar Kids By David Sedaris Summary
David Sedaris throughout this story is social comparing himself to the poplar kids. This is evident by the way he talks about the popular kids because he is on the outside of the group which is evident throughout the story. His idealization of the popular crowd is so profound that when he over hears the other kids at the Labor Day celebration he did not realize that there are other popular groups out there. This is upward social comparison. He believe that the popular kids somehow are better off that he is. He believes that this is something untie to his environment. His constant comparison is so extreme that he studies them like a subject in school. While studying them he has evaluated his worth to be far less than that of the popular kids. Even when he gets
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hit in the face with a rock by Thad he finds himself feeling proud of it because he feels like they are paying attention to him. Also when his father tells him to fight back. He states “Boys who spent their weekends making banana nut muffins did, as a rule, excel in the art of hand-to-hand combat.”(44) HE has compared his ability to fight back as poorly because he bakes. Another comparison comes when first meetings Thad’s father. HE evaluates the clothing he is wearing and the contents of the rumpus-room. Simply because of what he is wearing and the contents of the rumpus room he declares how nice he think it is. He does this by looking at his father to next to Thad’s father and the Popes domineer when he is calling out his their son. He determined because of his ditty shoes, drinking from the can, and honkey Greek phrases that they do not belong. Also he thinks that Thad has this natural ability to please people. A quality that he thinks he does not have which he determines is the key to popularity. This causes him to believe that he could have the natural ability to please people if I was not for his father. He believes that his self-concept would be different if it was not for his father. Even when entering the tenth grade and the popularity of certain people had disappear he still felt obligates to believe in the “monarchy”
In Sedaris’s story you can see him using the idea of the looking glass self.
An example of this is when he is begin his father to change his outfit before the meeting. He first considers how it will look to the Popes if his father shows up dressed in work clothing. Secondly he is afraid of how the Popes will likely judge his father for his messy dress. This causes an emotional response causing him to demand his father to change before they go over to the Popes. He calls on his mother to reason with his father to change. Another example of this is during the conversation between the Sedaris father and the Popes things get a bit heated. During this intense interaction Sedaris states “the trio of Popes exchanged meaningful glances, holding what amounted to a brief telepathic powwow. “This man is Crazy”. This by looking outside himself threw his father he socially feels he does belong around the popular kids and stats it is his dads fault Even though his father would tell him that the judgement of others did not matter he still believes that these peoples matters. He constantly thinks that other people are judging his external appearance through not just himself but his family specially his father in this
story.
When trying to figure out who will pay for the route canal Sedaris evaluation of himself is very low. His self-esteem is low because he does not feel like he fits in. He judges himself lower than that of his popular peers. HE thinks that he is unlucky that his father was the way he was resulting in him not having the ability to please people. When asked if he wants and drink he thinks to himself that he does not want to deplete Thad’s soda supply. Also he does think that they have to make the Popes pay for his tooth. Thinking that sense he is his parent’s child that they are entitled to pay for the cost regardless of what transpired. So Even Though Thad is responsible for the need to fix his tooth he does not blame him for his actions.
hit in the face with a rock by Thad he finds himself feeling proud of it because he feels like they are paying attention to him. Also when his father tells him to fight back. He states “Boys who spent their weekends making banana nut muffins did, as a rule, excel in the art of hand-to-hand combat.”(44) HE has compared his ability to fight back as poorly because he bakes. Another comparison comes when first meetings Thad’s father. HE evaluates the clothing he is wearing and the contents of the rumpus-room. Simply because of what he is wearing and the contents of the rumpus room he declares how nice he think it is. He does this by looking at his father to next to Thad’s father and the Popes domineer when he is calling out his their son. He determined because of his ditty shoes, drinking from the can, and honkey Greek phrases that they do not belong. Also he thinks that Thad has this natural ability to please people. A quality that he thinks he does not have which he determines is the key to popularity. This causes him to believe that he could have the natural ability to please people if I was not for his father. He believes that his self-concept would be different if it was not for his father. Even when entering the tenth grade and the popularity of certain people had disappear he still felt obligates to believe in the “monarchy”
In Sedaris’s story you can see him using the idea of the looking glass self.
An example of this is when he is begin his father to change his outfit before the meeting. He first considers how it will look to the Popes if his father shows up dressed in work clothing. Secondly he is afraid of how the Popes will likely judge his father for his messy dress. This causes an emotional response causing him to demand his father to change before they go over to the Popes. He calls on his mother to reason with his father to change. Another example of this is during the conversation between the Sedaris father and the Popes things get a bit heated. During this intense interaction Sedaris states “the trio of Popes exchanged meaningful glances, holding what amounted to a brief telepathic powwow. “This man is Crazy”. This by looking outside himself threw his father he socially feels he does belong around the popular kids and stats it is his dads fault Even though his father would tell him that the judgement of others did not matter he still believes that these peoples matters. He constantly thinks that other people are judging his external appearance through not just himself but his family specially his father in this
story.
When trying to figure out who will pay for the route canal Sedaris evaluation of himself is very low. His self-esteem is low because he does not feel like he fits in. He judges himself lower than that of his popular peers. HE thinks that he is unlucky that his father was the way he was resulting in him not having the ability to please people. When asked if he wants and drink he thinks to himself that he does not want to deplete Thad’s soda supply. Also he does think that they have to make the Popes pay for his tooth. Thinking that sense he is his parent’s child that they are entitled to pay for the cost regardless of what transpired. So Even Though Thad is responsible for the need to fix his tooth he does not blame him for his actions.