Cece Sammon Mr. Mohn AP Comp and Lang 23 February 2023 Education Rhetorical Analysis One of the most well-known humorists, David Sedaris discusses and pokes fun at his experience in a classroom setting, learning the French language in Paris. In his essay, “Me Talk Pretty One Day”, he is surrounded by classmates of all backgrounds. They speak different languages and have different cultures, but they all experience the same ridiculousness together. The antagonist in Sedaris’ essay is the French teacher herself— a snarky, wild woman who always seems to cross the line during her teaching.
My thoughts of “Me Talk Pretty One Day” In “Me Talk Pretty One Day” an essay written by David Sedaris, the author shares his moving to France and returning to school as an adult. The essay is informal and written in everyday language. The writer’s purpose is to inspire anyone, who encounter any obstacles that they may combat in life.
Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once said, “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” These limits are apparent in David Sedaris’ essay Me Talk Pretty One Day, where he addresses the challenges associated with learning a second language through personal experience. Although Sedaris breaks Orwell’s rule, “never use a metaphor…which you are used to seeing in print,” he does so effectively throughout the text. Additionally, an easy to follow method of organization and his appeal to Ethos and Pathos allows the reader to easily relate to his experiences. Sedaris uses a variety of dying metaphors throughout his essay to convey numerous ideas.
Many will never be able to grasp the full capacity of the power of language. Although, some of us can experience the depths of its ability through personal experience of upbringings and struggles. Jimmy Santiago Baca in “Coming into Language” talks about his own obstacles he had to overcome and how language became a way of life through the dark times of hopelessness. Whereas, Christine Marin in “Spanish Lessons” used language to find and learn about her identity to later become a voice for it and also make a difference in the community. These stories and our own backgrounds with language allow us to understand its capabilities of how it can transcend the mere means of just communication into a world of discovery and exploration.
David Sedaris has written an autobiography about his life in college called “Me Talk Pretty One Day”. Throughout his autobiography Sedaris included his interest in learning a new language. In addition to the hardship he had face throughout his learning experience in Paris. In “MTPOD”, David Sedaris included his age and college experience to suggest a theme that the pursuit of knowledge is never ending.
Most individuals are apprehensive about changes, but there may be no reason. Changes can bring benefits to those who experience them. In the essay “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” Richard Rodriguez explores his life as a bilingual child. He discusses the many changes he experiences as he goes from being fluent in Spanish to being fluent in English. Rodriguez dissuades the reader against bilingual education which is the education of nonnative English speakers in their native language.
John Biewen, the author of Scene on Radio for his series, ‘The Land That Never Has been Yet’ made this series to talk about different historical events that relate to U.S. democracy. Biewen retells events about democracy in the United States in his own insight that they are glories and full of flaws. Episode 2 of this series recounts a specific historical event with the purpose of interpreting how U.S. citizens used their hardship as an opportunity to demand a better life. This historical event is Shay’s rebellions. Throughout the episode, John Biewen uses different rhetorical modes like example, narration, and ethos to broad out his insights of this event.
Imagine moving to a different country without speaking the language spoken there fluently. Without being able to fully understand other people, it makes it impossible to feel comfortable. In Me Talk Pretty One Day, Sedaris wants his audience to realize that learning a language doesn’t happen with a couple classes. Learning a language takes time, and hunger of wanting to learn it. Him moving to France to learn French, was a drastic change not many would take.
Everyone knows the grown-ups in Charlie Brown and a person 's struggle listening to their incomprehensible murmurs. This is exactly how David Sedaris feels in his story "Me Talk Pretty One Day" while trying to learn French. Not only is Sedaris trying to learn a foreign language but he also has traveled to a foreign place to learn it: Paris. The consistent, sarcastic tone of Sedaris ' story adds humor to what is actually a stressful sounding event.
Many people around the globe can speak more than one language. In some countries, like Den-mark, it is required by the government that you learn a foreign language at school. Of course not all countries are as privileged as Denmark. Some people have to reach out themselves if they feel the need to learn a new language. One of those people is 41-year old David Sedaris, who wrote an essay called ‘Me Talk Pretty One Day’ in 2005.
Language is first learned as an infant by absorbing and mimicking one's environment, surroundings, and daily life. For some, like myself, more than one language is spoken, and learning how to balance multiple languages can be a challenge. Trying to integrate language with culture and environment at times can be interesting and other times demanding and tiresome. Maxine Hong Kingston describes her struggles in coping with the differences in her languages, coming to terms with herself, and accepting how her culture uses language in her essay, “The Language of Silence”. Although similar struggles are had by Christine Marin, she writes in her essay “Spanish Lessons”, about how she discovered her culture through language, how it empowered her, and how she learned to love that part of herself.
The power of language We all have some form of language limitations, no matter where we come from and what our background is. “Mother tongue” by Amy Tan and “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua both share similar themes in their stories that demonstrate how they both deal with how different forms of the same language are portrayed in society. In both stories they speak about what society declares the right way of speech and having to face prejudgment, the two authors share their personal experiences of how they’ve dealt with it.
The next lens, formal, focuses on critically evaluating the wording and structure used within the book. Speak is told from a teenager's perspective, so it was very important that the language matched that. Anderson did an excellent job of matching the language so that the story seemed realistic to the reader. Another element hidden in the language of Speak is the significance of the tree. When Melinda is given the art assignment to create a tree she struggles until she starts to work through her assault.
Sedaris goal in writing Me Talk Pretty One day is that learning French and living in a foreign country as an older adult is both difficult and rewarding. Through hard work and extensive studying he eventually starts to understand what his teacher is telling him. “And it struck me that, for the first time since arriving in France, I could understand every word that someone was saying.” (Sedaris) I agree with Sedaris in his claim that learning something new can be difficult and rewarding.
Women on the Homefront During World War II The World War 11 period is a very interesting time in women's history in the United States because for the first time, women were actually being encouraged to take jobs that were usually held by men and therefore needed a more "masculine attitude" . Traditional female gender roles were challenged during this time period . Not only were some of these women simply serving the country during its need in wartime, but they were trying to pursue their own passions and interests . The government and media's heavy use of propaganda such as Rosie the Riveter was used in order to manipulate and influence women into joining the workforce and taking on more "masculine" jobs, simply because the men were away at war.
