Summary Of Me Talk Pretty One Day By David Sedaris

Acceptance. It takes time for people to find themselves and accept themselves for what they have been through and who they are. David Sedaris’s most common theme when recounting stories from his life was finding and being at peace with his identity. In his pieces of work such as, “Laugh, Kookaburra” and “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” he discusses short stories that helped him grow into the person he is today. He wants to inform his audience in a way which will keep them entertained throughout the story. In order to do this, he incorporates the use of dark humor, creative play with diction, and a structure of dialogue & inner thinking. He combines these stylistic devices in order to target the global issue of culture, identity, and community. By

An example of this is when the kookaburra was near him, “‘Don’t be afraid,’ the waiter said, and he talked to the kookaburra in a soothing, respectful voice, the way you might talk to a child with a switchblade in his hand. For that’s what this thing’s beak was - a serious weapon.” (page 9) Through this exchange and his thoughts we are able to understand that Sedaris saw this bird as a dangerous animal, however the waiter is telling him not to be scared. Sedaris wanted the audience to notice David’s first reaction to the bird, because later as we realize the bird symbolizes himself. The audience can make the connection that when David was first starting his journey of finding himself, which was in his childhood, it was a rough beginning. A negative start doesn’t mean a negative experience however, which was shown through the other stories that David recounted. His journey of finding himself got better, as did David’s perception of the kookaburra. Additionally, the waiter told him to not be scared, which could reference his perception to his identity. On some level we can interpret that the waiter meant to remind him to not be scared of accepting himself. We, the audience, were able to make this connection because of the way that Sedaris incorporated the organization of inner thinking along with dialogue to bring out these