A plague of tics analysis essay

David Raymond Sedaris is an American author, comedian, humorist and a radio contributor, and a best-selling author of books like ‘Me talk pretty one day’ and ‘When you are engulfed in flames’, One of his many books is ‘A plague of tics,’ which he uses to describe his life as a long time sufferer of obsessive-compulsive disorder, also known as OCD. Just like in his other books, Sedaris uses many language effects such as humor and irony to tell his story. He is quite a good storyteller and uses his life in a fun way to teach people about life.

Sedaris uses humor to discuss such a serious issue that e was going through. That makes the book interesting and easier to read. After the confrontation with his teacher at the school, he finally went home performing his usual rituals such as counting his steps and finally his mother approached him with the issue. As usual, he didn’t see anything wrong with his actions, and when asked he would get on the defensive side. His mother noted that it was not only his teacher who was complaining but also their neighbor Mrs., Keening who had called her complaining that Sedaris was on his knees and hands kissing her evening edition of the newspaper. Sedaris’ answer was “I wasn’t kissing it. I was just trying to read the headline.” (Sedaris 362) It is humorous because he doesn’t deny that he was at Mrs. Keening’s but gives an explanation as to what he was doing. Despite his condition, he has such an optimistic view on life, and simply doesn’t understand why all these people are not letting him be.

A plague of tics analysis essay

What makes Sedaris a good storyteller is the fact that in a story that s supposed o be serious and sad because of the condition he has, he uses different storytelling methods to make sure that his audience is entertained. Instead of introducing his story with a long boring narration, he uses hyperbole. He is in the classroom when his teacher addresses him. “You’re up and down like a flea. I turn my back for two minutes and there you are with your tongue presses against that light switch. Maybe they do so where you come from, but here in my classroom we don’t leave our seats and lick things whenever we please.” (Sedaris 359) Being the first paragraph of the story, it gets the reader curious and drawn more into the story.

A plague of tics analysis essay

Sedaris’ story is worth reading in the sense that even for those who do not have his condition of obsessive-compulsive disorder, along with the way they find something that they can identify with about him. Especially with teenagers and young adults, at times they do things that are not pleasing and offend their parents and teachers, but instead of trying to understand them, all they get are threats with the hope that they will change them Just like Sedaris father threatened him after the visit from the teacher. “You touch your nose to that windshield one more time and I’ll guarantee you’ll wish you hadn’t.” He didn’t bother to understand why his son was behaving differently; all he wanted was for it to stop.

A plague of tics is not just about the story of a boy with obsessive-compulsive behavior, but one about life and how people should approach it with a positive attitude no matter the circumstances. Sedaris is a good storyteller and uses his skills t talk about something so sad in such a humorous manner.

REFERENCES

Sedaris, David. A Plague of Tics. 1997 ed. Boston: Little, Brown, n.d. Print.

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