Blog 14

Since I was not in class on Tuesday, I cannot comment on Group 4 or 5's presentations. Instead, I will briefly comment on each of my group mates presentations and recommend specific stories or areas of research for them that I hope they will find helpful.

Kylie, I think "Let It Snow" would be a great story for you to look at, particularly page 15 with the discussion of who should have to lie in the street. There are two parts to this that speak to sibling relations and the power structure inherent among siblings. First, David thinks that if one of them dies "the rest of us would be more valuable." Children often feel their parents affection is divided among the children, which leads to sibling rivalry as a means of getting attention from their parents. Second, the way the responsibility of lying in the street is successively passed down from older to younger sibling until Tiffany, the youngest with "no concept of death," is forced to lie in the street shows the hierarchal structure the young Sedaris' created. Tiffany will "do just about anything in return for a little affection." She is the youngest and most needy for attention. I think it would be interesting to examine the ways birth order affects the roles children play and how this is represented in literature.

Evan, for a brief time I was also thinking about writing about the relationship between David and his father, particularly how David's sexuality complicates his relationship with his father. "Hejira" might be an interesting story for you to look at. Lou kicks David out for being gay but can't even bring himself to say that's the reason. All he can say is, "I think we both know why we're doing this," but, in fact, David doesn't know. Lou's inability to express his emotions complicates his communication with his son. You could look at Death of a Salesman and the relationship between Willy and Biff for another example of a father's emotional reticence preventing from communicating with his son.

Emma, both "The Ship Shape" and "Slumus Lordicus" deal with Sedaris' issues with economic status. He gets a feeling of superiority based on either owning a vacation home or owning the duplexes. This is a boost for him due to usual lack of confidence and insecurities due to his feeling he is an outsider because of his sexuality. The smug attitude with which he deals with the waitress on page 24 shows the feelings of superiority that being wealthier than someone else gives him. Also, you could look at the story "Chipped Beef" from Sedaris' earlier collection Naked. In this story a very insecure young David dreams of being rich and famous and believes when he is people will finally like him.

Jesse, have you thought about examining the way Sedaris' describes his entire family as being outsiders, and how he is an outsider even within his own family? In "Us and Them" and "Consider the Stars," Sedaris' tries to trace his social problems back to his family and how their status as Greek Orthodox Northerners in the South makes them all stand out. Also, you may want to check out a book called Out, Loud and Laughing, which is a collection of funny essays from LGBT writers.