The Man Who Mistook His Hat for a Meal is a short memoir written by David Sedaris. Sedaris is known for being a humorous writer often using sarcastic language and witty imagery throughout his stories. This piece is no exception to Sedaris's style. In this piece one of his strongest techniques is being very blunt. The piece discusses his father's for hoarding habits. His father will save perishable items of food and revisit them as if they had never been hidden and were still good as new. This piece address his father's strange antiques through background flashbacks and the occurring story of their family dinner. Since his father's habit was one that was quite strange the only way to truly get that across would be to tell the story exactly as it was and that is exactly what Sedaris does. He describe the spoiled foods in short but sweet detailed descriptions and causes the reader to no longer be able to view such foods in the same way. It comes off as humorous but that is one of Sedaris's strongest writing attributes. He takes on rather heavy topics or issues and makes them seem lighter by portraying them humorously. Another example of one of his works that have taken on a serious issue in a similar way is his short story A Plague of Tics. In that piece he writes about his struggle with obsessive compulsive behaviors but he does so in such a way that it isn't a drag. Overall Sedaris is able to get his story across most effectively through his humor and vivd imagery.
http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0699-JUN_SEDARIS_1
No comments:
Post a Comment