Me Talk Pretty One Day Summary

Words: 937
Pages: 4

With an upbeat and fairly sarcastic attitude, it is conveyed that no amount of harassment would stop the author from reaching his goals. The article's theme of returning to school as an adult is a hilarious rehashing of the trials and tribulations of one man’s experience of learning French in Paris because author David Sedaris uprooted his life at the age of 41, enrolled into French class with a merciless teacher, and persevered through it all. In the article, "Me Talk Pretty One Day", the tone is set immediately with the first sentence, "Welcome to French class, where you must learn to juggle irregular verbs, flying chalk, and the constant threat of bodily harm." (Sedaris, Mar1999) He quickly learned that his teacher wasn't the only merciless person in Paris and he was pretty sure that the entire population was against him. The French teacher, local butcher and his building concierge encounters were all brutal. With everything that was thrown at him, everywhere he turned, he still tried to prove everyone wrong and applied more time to his studies. There wasn't a moment of this experience that seemed easy, but he didn't back down or give up. He put up with months of belittling when the average person would have already given …show more content…
Your age, location and others actions do not determine the outcome of your goal. Even with reason after reason to give up, your motivation can help you through anything including fear and humiliation. It may not be pretty, but perseverance pays off. This story could have been extremely serious and heart breaking, but seeing the humor through all the shocking behaviors helped keep this story alive and upbeat. The sarcastic humor within every comparison was enjoyable. Being able to relate with the fears only makes it funnier. He stated his feelings in such a way that it was more like watching a show than reading an