Exploring the Text

  1. How does David Sedaris establish a humorous tone in the first two paragraphs? What details contribute to this tone?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Me Talk Pretty One Day - Exploring the Text: How does David Sedaris establish a humorous tone in the first two paragraphs? What details contribute to this tone?
  2. How does Sedaris manage to make us laugh at the other students without seeming to mock or make fun of them? What effect does he achieve by including actual dialogue?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Me Talk Pretty One Day - Exploring the Text: How does Sedaris manage to make us laugh at the other students without seeming to mock or make fun of them? What effect does he achieve by including actual dialogue?
  3. How does Sedaris characterize the teacher? Is she intentionally cruel, an effective teacher, an overly strict disciplinarian? Is she portrayed as a stereotype? Refer to specific details and passages from the essay to explain your response.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Me Talk Pretty One Day - Exploring the Text: How does Sedaris characterize the teacher? Is she intentionally cruel, an effective teacher, an overly strict disciplinarian? Is she portrayed as a stereotype? Refer to specific details and passages from the essay to explain your response.
  4. What does Sedaris mean when he writes that “understanding” another language is “a small step, nothing more, yet its rewards are intoxicating and deceptive” (para. 28)?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Me Talk Pretty One Day - Exploring the Text: What does Sedaris mean when he writes that “understanding” another language is “a small step, nothing more, yet its rewards are intoxicating and deceptive” (para. 28)?
  5. Sedaris uses both understatement and hyperbole in this essay. Identify two examples of each, and explain the effect.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Me Talk Pretty One Day - Exploring the Text: Sedaris uses both understatement and hyperbole in this essay. Identify two examples of each, and explain the effect.
  6. Like most humorists, Sedaris makes a serious point through laughter and comedy. What is his point in this essay? Try stating it in one or two sentences.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Me Talk Pretty One Day - Exploring the Text: Like most humorists, Sedaris makes a serious point through laughter and comedy. What is his point in this essay? Try stating it in one or two sentences.
  7. Sedaris describes what for most of us would be a very unusual class—that is, a class in a foreign country with students from all over the world. Yet, for this essay to be funny, it must resonate with us to some extent. What aspect of the experience of being a student does Sedaris count on as common ground between himself and his readers?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Me Talk Pretty One Day - Exploring the Text: Sedaris describes what for most of us would be a very unusual class—that is, a class in a foreign country with students from all over the world. Yet, for this essay to be funny, it must resonate with us to some extent. What aspect of the experience of being a student does Sedaris count on as common ground between himself and his readers?
  8. In Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic, philosopher Henri Bergson writes, “Several have defined man as ‘an animal which laughs.’ They might equally as well have defined him as an animal which is laughed at; for if any other animal, or some lifeless object, produces the same effect, it is always because of some resemblance to man, or the stamp he gives it or the use he puts it to.” Does “Me Talk Pretty One Day” more effectively present people as creatures who laugh or are laughed at?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 5 - Me Talk Pretty One Day - Exploring the Text: In Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic, philosopher Henri Bergson writes, “Several have defined man as ‘an animal which laughs.’ They might equally as well have defined him as an animal which is laughed at; for if any other animal, or some lifeless object, produces the same effect, it is always because of some resemblance to man, or the stamp he gives it or the use he puts it to.” Does “Me Talk Pretty One Day” more effectively present people as creatures who laugh or are laughed at?