TOW Post #12- IRB: Me Talk Pretty One Day Part 1

            The most important and memorable moments of our lives take place between our late childhood and teenage years. It is usually the time where search to find out who we are and who we want to become; we take risks and do things that we don't want to, but that we have to hoping it has good better outcome than the situation. This is a main focus on then first part of the book Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. The book is split up into two parts, "Part One" and "Part Deux"meaning there could be two different purposes or one that applies to both parts, but there is a sole purpose for part one. Sedaris uses detailed personal anecdotes and situational humor to encourage his readers to do or try something when they are afraid to do so.
            As mentioned before Sedaris wrote the first part of the book ("Part One") about his late childhood and early teenager years. The reader finds out within the first few pages that Sedaris has a lisp and cannot pronounce S's. He starts off the book with an anecdote about the time he first started speech therapy. He recalls that he had no idea what was going on when his teacher said that he had to leave the classroom with the unfamiliar woman that was standing in the doorway. He then goes on to tell that the lady ended up being his speech therapist. Taking a look at this anecdote, Sedaris being a quiet an shy boy at the time must have been scared when he was asked to leave the room with a stranger, but it demonstrated that he went with the flow and left the classroom even when he was afraid to do so.
             Besides using anecdotes Sedaris also uses situational humor in order to achieve his purpose. For example he adds a humorous aspect to the anecdote mentioned above by recalling that he tried to speak without having to pronounce and "s" sounding words. It was funny because he said ridiculous phrases just in order to avoid his speech impediment. There were many other situational humor incorporated by Sedaris similar to this one. This shows that although he was timid and scared of his speech flaw he still continued to talk and found his way around his fear and also embarrassment. By using these two strategies Sedaris was able to achieve his purpose, for the first half at least.