Reflective Essay

Essay

This essay, entitled "Me Talk Pretty One Day" is written by David Sedaris and is an excerpt from his book Me Talk Pretty One Day.  Sedaris is, among many things, a comedic writer and this essay was completely in-keeping with his award-winning satiric style.  He is thoroughly engrossing as he explains the horrors of his French class.  The reader can understand perfectly what it was like to be in class with his crazy French teacher, which is a huge accomplishment.  Such descriptions as "she crouched low for her attack" are simple ways that Sedaris emphasizes the unique personality.  It is effective in making a possibly long description to be simple as well as informative.

A literary device that Sedaris employs is a humorous use of diction.  He says that he is having trouble picking up the French language, so when he is quoting his French teacher, he uses gibberish in place of the French words he didn't know.  For example, he says, “'Were you always this palicmkrexis?' she asked. 'Even a fiuscrzsa ticiwelmun knows that a typewriter is feminine.'"  By using this technique, the reader experiences the same confusion that Sedaris did.  This way, we understand more of his story while at the same time providing a humorous subtlety that keeps the interest piqued.

Other than his talented use of comedy to relate a story, Sedaris also uses other techniques to keep the reader's attention.  One of the best ways he does this is by varying sentence structures.  His sentences do not always begin with "I", but rather some with gerunds or prepositions.  This keeps the story flowing and keeps it from becoming monotonous.  The flow is kept moving.  Also, he shows his talent for writing by using advanced punctuation such as colons, semicolons, and dashes.  These are used perfectly and help to emphasize important details and break up the writing, without becoming overbearing.

As an AP Essay, this would work perfectly.  His syntax and diction are advanced and well-used so as to add to the meaning of the work.  The format is flowing and lively and his light, silly tone keeps the reader interested.  Even though his tone is less formal, it does not detract from the story.  I am impressed with his ability to create a brilliant picture with little to no unnecessary detail.  These are all factors that are important on the AP test, and therefore I believe he would get a top-marking grade.