Blog #4: Go Carolina

Precis:

David Sedaris, in his “Go Carolina,” asserts that there was a special mold for teenage boys when he was growing up, but if you didn’t fit that mold you should embrace your personality instead of trying to be like everyone else. Sedaris employs personal anecdote, self-deprecating humor, sarcasm and analogies to illustrate this message. His purpose is to show his audience that even though society may knock on your door, it may be better to do things “the hard way” and go against the tide to be your true self. He appeals to an audience of men, women, boys and girls who are struggling to find their identity through the noise of their external influences.

Response:

1. The speech therapy story is very telling of school methods. It basically posits that teachers are out to get students who they perceive as “different” or “slow," and they want to publicize the shortcomings of their students. In the story, Mrs. Samson is referred to as an “agent” who is coming to take David for his crime of being unable to pronounce his s’s. I don’t think this depiction of school methods is true. Especially at the Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys, and especially with this teacher named Mrs. Ashley Brown, there is a sense of a common goal between the students and the faculty. I think this holds true as a general principle as well: teachers usually come to sincerely care about their students, and they just want the best for them.
2. Sedaris uses humor admirably throughout this piece to illustrate things that, upon deeper analysis, should not be taken lightly. For example, when Mrs. Samson is thinking about putting a sign on the speech therapy room. Sedaris thinks that it should say “FUTURE HOMOSEXUALS OF AMERICA.” I mean, when I read this I laughed out loud, but it’s actually kind of sad. He’s only a child, and he feels like everybody sees him as different, as a homosexual, someone who is inferior to them. Sedaris uses the humor so well and it makes his stories that much more fun to read.
3. Sedaris’ tone is lighthearted and fun. He takes things to the extreme and really uses his imagination. For example, he says that the teacher was probably saying things like “David’s not here today but if he were, he’d have a speech therapy session at two-thirty.” This gives the story, one with so much underlying meaning, a comic relief that is essential for its enjoyment.