Throughout the essay “The women’s open” David’s father obsession for golf is shown. The power of his obsession leads him to forget what should be important to him.
Sedaris expresses the lack of heart his father shows towards people and even his children when it comes down to golf. For example the first day Lisa ever got her period was out on the golf course while her dad was watching a professional tournament, at first while she complained about her back pains he just simply brushed her off. At the moment he realized the problem he asked a women just as devoted to golf as he to accompany her to the ladies room for a sanitary napkin. He kept David with him so he could run after the thin tees that usually flew 20 feet away from the golfers swing, just so he could keep them for good luck.
On another occasion Lisa’s mother had recorded a video of movies that they enjoy watching together. After her mother had passed away Lisa searched everywhere for the video her mother had made for her. She found it in her father’s basement along with all his golf videos. As she began to watch the video memories began to arise until a man bending down on a golf course appeared on the screen. Her father had recorded a golf tournament over her mother’s memories. Sedaris succeeded in letting the reader know how obsessed his father was with golf and the pain it put the family through.
Sedaris begins with a short passage foreshadowing an event that will occur that day. He begins this way to let the reader know that there is importance behind the story. After his foreshadowing he commences with the story.
Sedaris uses descriptive sets of paragraphs followed by dialogue to express what is going on. For example, returning from the tournament they find Lisa lying in the back seat of his Porsche. The first word out of Lisa’s mouth were not too pleasant. “My father sighed and shook his head in disappointment. This was the same way he reacted to my mother when anger and frustration caused her to forget herself. Lisa was not a daughter now but just another female unable to control her wildly shifting emotions. “Don’t mind her,” he said wiping a thin coat of pollen of the wind shield. “She’s just having lady problems.” ”
I think Sedaris was very effective in his writing. I don’t like golf but the way he expressed how his father’s obsession and how it was a dominant factor in his life was a very effective method to let the reader understand Lisa’s troubles like the book found in the woods people are not what they appear to be.
“Next of kin” is about a book called next of kin which was found under a sheet of plywood hidden in the woods. Sedaris is expressing the effect that reading may change the way you look at things. One of David’s little sister Grechen got hold of the misspelled pornographic story about an imbedded family and their open sexual experiences. Her (Grechen) suspicions began to flaunter. She suspected her parents, her great Greek grandmother, and she began to view the world as a steaming pit of bridled sexuality. “Our ancient Greek grandmother was arriving at the breakfast table with suspicious looking circles under her eyes.”
The essay begins with a short description letting the reader know where the odd book was found. I think the author began this way to let the reader gain suspicion about the origin of the book.
Sedaris uses his open vocabulary and sense of humor to relate how the odd book
affected everybody in the his household and how it began to bring suspicions towards everyone in the family. “She noted the way our mother applied lipstick at the approach of the potato chip delivery man, whom she addressed by first name and often invited to use our bathroom. Our father referred to the bank tellers as “doll” or “sweetheart,” and their responses suggested that he had taken advantage of them one time too many”
Although many people may find that there is no point to this essay enjoyed Sedaris satiric expressions and how he made everyone picture his sister Grechen observing on her family and drawing wild conclusions.
I like guys is document expressing Sedaris discovery of his homosexuality.
The author’s purpose is to let the reader understand how it felt once he started thinking and having thought odd homosexuality. He expresses his denial and a point of fear if discovered. There is also a description of his first experiences with a man.
Sedaris begins his essay by an introduction of his Spanish teacher telling a story about a little black girl. He finds this hypocritical of her because once she said she did not want her child to turn out “funny”, as in gay. most teachers including his gym teacher and his math teacher would use calling students gay as an insult but it made David continues leading him to ask himself are they talking about me?. But as he meets a gay friend in Greece he finds the insult faggot as funny. Sedaris uses methods of writing incorporating his feelings and his opinion with a touch of humor.
