This is another piece by David Sedaris. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/01/29/070129fa_fact_sedaris?currentPage=1
As is always the case with Sedaris, the literary techniques in this piece are used with expertise and care in order to deliver a perfectly conveyed meaning. In this particular case, Sedaris uses Imagery, Syntax, and Details to recite a tale about his battle against annoying birds.
In this piece, Sedaris' use of imagery shows us perfect picture of his house after bird proofing it, which involves taping pictures of terrorist's and rock star's photographs to his windows. My favortite example of his use of imagery is when he says "the light settles on the western wall of our house, just catching two of the hijackers and a half-dozen singer-songwriters who look out from the windows". This line makes me think of a dimly lit room with silhouetted pictures in the window. By using such imagery, Sedaris is able to paint a vivid picture in the mind of his readers.
Details are, in my opinion, one of Sedaris' strong points. This piece is some of the best evidence for that argument that you can find. In this piece, he uses minor details that work together with imagery and other techniques to show the reader exactly what he wants you to see. The way Sedaris takes a brief moment to explain what room he is in and which person he has chosen to hang in the window makes me imagine him in the room with the person physically fighting the birds. This makes the whole piece for me even more hilarious as i imagine him in his bedroom with Janis Joplin fighting off a pack of birds
Syntax is another technique used well by Sedaris in this piece. Syntax it is one of my favorite techniques to inspect because the way it can change a piece so profoundly while only registering as a subtle change to the reader. Sedaris uses syntax particularly well while describing his placement of different pictures throughout the house. During the passage, Sedaris changes tho shorter but animated sentences such as "The pair then moved upstairs to my office, where Janice Joplin and I were waiting for them.". Sedaris uses this shorter more simple structure to convey a sense of urgency in his writing such that it seems he is racing the birds from room to room.
This is another great piece made even better by the skillful use of basic literary techniques. \
Nice job keeping on task and describing the methods Sedaris uses to make you laugh. I think you should mention in the thesis that Sedaris uses DIDLS to entertain the audience. It is the hidden so what meaning that you expand on in your body paragraphs. Also you have some tiny mistakes too. Try not to overcomplicate something.An example is "...which involves taping pictures of terrorist's and rock star's photographs to his windows" has redundancy. You don't need both photographs and pictures.
ReplyDeleteI like the direct quotes and examples, a great improvement over the previous one. I normally have a hard time analyzing syntax so I give you props for using that. I also agree with Billy on the length of things, only what you need.
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