“Me Talk Pretty One Day”

“Me Talk Pretty One Day” is a non-fiction essay written by David Sedaris. The essay was written in 2005 and it is about Sedaris’ personal experiences when learning to speak French. The main theme of the essay is the attitude to learning a new language. My analysis of “Me Talk Pretty One Day” will include an interpretation of the language, tone and the attitude to learning a foreign language.

In “Me Talk Pretty One Day”, David Sedaris writes about his struggles when learning French. As a 41-year old writer, Sedaris moves to Paris to learn the language. The essay is about his experiences at the school and with his awfully strict French teacher. At the very first day the teacher tears Sedaris down and takes all self-esteem out of him. She humiliates and demeans him and all his new classmates, because they cannot speak fluent French. This results in him being so afraid of saying anything wrong, and he therefore avoids doing things that requires him to speak, such as asking for directions, answering the phone and ordering coffee or food.

The text is well written and the language is informal and simple, yet still very clever. It is written in an everyday language with dialog and a vocabulary that is also informal and simple; to give an example he uses phrases as “nerve-raking” and “rattle off” (page 1 line 15 and page 1 line 17). The tone in the essay is casual and informal, as Sedaris uses a lot of humour and sarcasm. This makes the text funny and easy to read. He uses figurative language, simile and metaphors, when describing his experiences. In this given example, he uses simile to describe the student’s intense way of distancing herself from the teacher, “…she stared down at her lap as though the appropriate comeback were stitched somewhere alongside the zipper of her slacks” (page 1, lines 39-40).
Already from the beginning of the text, we are introduced to the way Sedaris uses metaphors, “it’s everybody into the language pool, sink or swim” (page 1, line 16). The use of metaphors and simile enhances the reader’s perception of the situation. Furthermore, it creates an image of the situation in the reader’s mind, and again contributes to the casual and humoristic tone in the essay. When describing the horrible treatment in a funny and ironic way, the writer creates a distance to the unpleasant experiences. For instance, Sedaris uses letters in a random combination when he repeats the French words he does not understand, “After being singled out as a lazy kfdtinvfm…” (Page 3, line 90). It is indicated that the word he does not understand, is a curse word said by the teacher, to once again tear him down. Therefore when Sedaris replaces the harsh word with random letters, he creates a distances to the situation and makes it funny.

David Sedaris’ attitude to learning French changes throughout the story. In the beginning he is curious and excited about learning French, but after the first day he loses all courage and confidence after the teacher scolds him. She beats every part of self-esteem out of him, and he becomes so terrified of saying anything wrong. He starts to focus on his mistakes instead of learning, “Before beginning school, there’d been no shutting me up, but now I was convinced that everything I said was wrong” (page 3 line 102-103). Sedaris is so afraid of being picked on in class that he studies for many hours every day, and makes an extra effort to stand out. Sedaris’ attitude changes at the end of the essay, as he suddenly understands every word the teacher is saying. Despite the fact that the sentence is an insult to him, he feels very rewarded and happy to finally understand what she is saying, “I settled back, bathing in the subtle beauty of each new curse and insult” (page 3 line 124). This small victory revives his curiosity and lust for learning. The attitude towards learning French has changed for the positive, as the unorthodox teaching method finally paid off.

Sedaris uses all of the appeal forms in his essay to connect with the reader. He combines ethos and pathos when appealing to the readers’ emotions. The writer paints a vivid picture of how the teacher would treat her students. She is described as a wild animal and a bully. With his use of imagery the writer connects with the reader on an emotional level. This triggers sympathy and emotions within the reader, because we are all able to recognize some parts of his experiences. We feel sorry for him and only wishes to see him succeed. Sedaris appeals to our logic and reason by making ironic insinuations. To give an example, he describes his time with his French teacher as being, “in the presence of a wild animal, something completely unpredictable. Her temperament was not based on a series of good or bad days but rather, on good or bad moments” (page 2, line 81). This statement implies that he, on the contrary, is a rational and predictable man while his teacher seems unstable and slightly sadistic. It is important to keep in mind that the essay is subjective, and that the writer uses the different appeals to prove a point and promote his message.

In conclusion, Sedaris’ informal and casual way of writing creates a connection with the reader and makes it easy to relate to his experiences. The humorous and sarcastic tone of the essay keeps the reader interested and curious throughout the whole text. The figurative language and ironic distance underline the unpleasant treatment by Sedaris’ French teacher.
The intention with the essay is to explain to the readers that sometimes when learning a foreign language, you might have to seize to untraditional methods. Even though it can be very difficult at the beginning, you have to stick with it and study hard, and at some point you will start to understand more and more.