Is David Sedaris Fluent in French Now?
Analysis In Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris, an acclaimed writer and comic, discusses how learning a new language in a new country can be difficult and frightening. Sedaris explains his struggle to learn French when he moved to Paris, with the use of hyperbole and imagery. He uses the former throughout the text to describe his trouble learning the language. At one point in the text, Sedaris says "Learning French is a lot like joining a gang in that it involves a long and intensive period of hazing. And it wasn't just my teacher, the entire population seemed to be in on it (22)." This is a very obvious hyperbole. He exaggerates how hard it is to learn French by likening it to something as violent as being hazed by a gang. He also says "Her reaction [to his mispronunciation and assignment of the wrong gender to some French words] led me to believe that these mistakes were capital crimes in the country." Evidently, Sedaris is just magnifying his feelings...