David Sedaris is a writer who grew up with questionable habits and methods.
David
Sedaris in his essay, “Plague of Tics”, entertains his audience with anecdotes of his hardships
as a child with undiagnosed tics and impulses.
By using humor throughout his writing, Sedaris brings comedic light to his dark situation.
He was constantly misunderstood by his parents who often ignored his symptoms and
impulsions. Sedaris explained that, “She noticed my tics and habits but was never shamed or
seriously bothered by any of them” (pg.368). His mother would describe it as “the touching” or
his “special problems”. She would then convince the author’s teachers that he will soon pass
this phase. To minimize the seriousness of this, he used humor in the essay. He would
frequently respond with funny remarks to stick to his purpose of entertaining. The author was
heavily criticized by his third-grade teacher, Miss Chestnut. She was upset with him constantly,
particularly the day where her lightswitch was being licked by Sedaris. When Sedaris’ mother
asked what happened in his teacher’s classroom that day, he answered with: “She’s old. There
are spots on her hands” (pg.364). These amusing comments are used to lighten the mood of his
readers while learning about his childhood. He incorporates irony in his story to create contrast
in his writing and to emphasize his point, as well. He notes, “...short distance… I could make the
trip in an hour” (pg.361). Sedaris uses this to show how much of his life is taken up by his
mysterious impulses. Irony is also commonly used to construct comedic relief, which the author
is known for.
Sedaris’ tone, imagery and diction is developed with the use of strong word choices,
sentence structure and writing style. His tone is very self-deprecating, and the use of rhetorical
questions enhances this. The rhetorical questions show his feelings towards the other
characters in the narration. “It wasn’t ‘hitting,’ it was tapping; but still, how did she know what I
was about to do?” notes Sedaris (pg.361). It shows the author’s thought process, which is
easier to appreciate than to just read his explanation on what he was feeling at the time. This,
paired with the influential word choices, keeps the reader interested in the story. The author
chooses the words “demanded” and “commanded” , on pages 362 and 363, as a way to
describe the urgent need of his tics. These specific choices show how convinced he was that it
was necessary to go through with his impulses. He mentions “[my] shoe was calling me. Take
me off, it whispered” (pg. 360). The use of personification in this essay is very intense and
descriptive. He personifies his tics as another way to convince his reader that he had to take his
shoe off. The shoe was calling to soothe him.
The author utilizes imagery in a way to make the reader understand him on a deeper
level. In doing this, it conveys the effect of this disorder. It shows the big and minor
inconveniences he was forced to go through every single day. He recounts, “I wiped the cat hair
off my lips and proceeded to the kitchen” (pg. 363). It already took him a long time to get home,
but it was even longer to get to his room. By explaining in great detail what happened to him, it
gives the reader a better insight on his struggles. He even portrays his mother very clearly,
recounting many minute details. During her visits with Miss Chestnut, he remembered her eyes
as, “ a cat catching sight of a squirrel” (pg. 365). He writes this to give the reader a better
visualization of the scene, which provides the reader with an image of the scene. (ADD MORE
HERE)
Though the main purpose of this essay was to entertain the reader with his heavy
criticism, the reader cannot help but feel angry with the parents for treating their child this way.
The author understands how heavy the topic is. Because of this, Sedaris comdicially uses these
devices to show the truth of how it was to live in these conditions, and he does tell the story
interestingly and effortlessly.
