Me Talk Pretty One Day revised PDF

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Me Talk Pretty One Day Paul Sutton English Department, SNHU ENG-122-Q5979 English Composition I 20EW5 Dr. Britta McCreary

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Starting school as an older person opposed to a young adult can be a big struggle. To overcome the obstacle no matter the words of naysayers, it will take perseverance, selfdetermination, and self-motivation, for you to continue your path of achieving your goals. When reading “Me Talk Pretty One Day” By David Sedaris, there are two reasons that he wrote the essay. One of the reasons was to point out the challenges he faced along with his classmates. There are some key points that David talked about to support his claim. In the first paragraph, David wrote. “At the age of 41, I am returning to school. Having to think of myself as what my French text calls a true debutant. He then went on to explain “Regardless of nationalities, everyone spoke to what I thought was excellent French. Some accents were better than others, but the student exhibited an ease and confidence I found Intimidating.” These few lines show that he was nervous and less experienced in French which led to his problem trying to catch up to the others while mixing with his fear of being an older student. He was able to express his fear despite him being older than other students. David expressed that on his first day of class it was nerve-wracking and to top it all off, the teacher came in taking turns with him and the other students pointing out their flaws as they performed for her. In paragraphs 13 and 14 he showed how hard the teacher was toward the student. “The teacher licked her lips, revealing a hint of sadist we would later come to know. She crouched low for her attack, placed her hands on the young women’s desk, and said, Oh, yeah? And you love your little war”

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As David watched the teacher go around testing his classmates French, he struggled to find something to say that she can understand and that didn’t make him sound stupid. Watching her pounce on students did not help his fear subside. He showed that even though he was in fear his self-perseverance and self-motivation outweighed it.

Self-determination is another reason Sedaris wrote the article. He talked about his time in French class. He and other students were ridiculed for not knowing the language by their teacher. He also expressed that he was talked down to by others in the town. Even with all the insults he received, he took them with stride and great perseverance. As he expressed in lines 37-39 “Learning French is a lot like joining a gang in that it involves a long and intensive period of hazing. And it wasn't just my teacher; the entire population seemed to be in on it. Following brutal encounters with my local butcher and the concierge of my building, I'd head off to class, where the teacher would hold my corrected paperwork high above her head, shouting, "Here's proof that David is an ignorant and uninspired ensigiejsokhjx." He finally started to take on the language and was amazed at how he persevered until he was able to talk back to his teacher with pride. He had succeeded. He showed that with true perseverance you can make it through the harsh reality of school. As he shared I line 40 and 41. “Refusing to stand convicted on the teacher's charges of laziness, I'd spend four hours a night on my homework, working even longer whenever we were assigned an essay. I suppose I could have gotten by with less, but I was determined to create some sort of an identity for

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myself. We'd have one of those "complete the sentence" exercises, and I'd fool with the thing for an hour.”

I feel that the audience David was targeting was that of college students that are facing a struggle in school. Even though David pointed out that he was 41, he made it clear that the younger students in the class faced the same problems he had a face. This shows that he was trying to relate to anyone that is going to school. The author chose to share the experience of his first day in class as the teacher went around the class making fun of all the students in French. He also took the time to study and was determined to learn. He hoped to finally be able to speak French fluently. I can relate to this subject because I face the same challenge. Going back to school at 40 has been a hard thing for me. This course is a new struggle for me. It is a challenge, I have not used some of these skills since high school. I am going to make it through. David’s essay gave me hope that I can make it to the end. With that said, I think he makes his argument strongly and that I can relate to his story. In conclusion to overcome the obstacles and the words of naysayers. It takes perseverance with enough self- determination and self-motivation to overcome the obstacles to achieve your goals.

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References Sedaris, D. (n.d.). me talk pretty one day. Esquire Mar1999, Vol. 131 Issue 3, p86. 3p. 1

Sedaris, D. (1999, March). Me Talk Pretty. Esquire, Vol. 131(Issue 3), 1

References

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Sedaris, D. (n.d.). me talk pretty one day. Es qui r eMar 1999,Vol .131I s sue3,p86. 3p.1

Sedar i s ,D.( 1999,Mar ch) .MeTal kPr et t y .Esqui r e,Vol .131( I ssue3) ,1...