Skip to main content

Us and Them Reading Response

       One of the personal narratives was Us and Them by David Sedaris. This short essay tells the story from a small boys perspective as he observes and studies his mysterious neighbors, the Tomkeys. It was very interesting to read this narrative because it was told by a third grader who thought all of the families in the world were exactly like his. And if there was a family who was different, they were basically aliens. For example, when he sees the family sitting down at dinner without the TV on, he thinks thats the strangest thing in the world.

        Another aspect of the essay I found intriguing was the irony aspect of it all. One example of irony is when the young boy and his family are sitting around the TV discussing the new neighbors. They discuss how the Tomkeys supposedly don't believe in TV, so they don't have one. As the father eats his meal, he says ,"Well, good for him. I don't know that I believe in it either." His mother agrees and they continue watching the news, and "what ever came on after the news".

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thanksgiving Break

        During my thanksgiving break, the first thing I did was go to drivers ed. It felt just like school because I would have to get up early and I wouldn't get home until four. Although the class itself was boring, my friend Katherine was also there, so that made it much better. Once we were done with class, we would go to the mall or Perkins Rowe. Four days later, we were done with the class, and we could finally relax.           On thanksgiving day, I woke up and watched the parade with my family. This is something I've done ever since I was little. Our thanksgiving meal didn't take that much time because it was just me, my parents, and my sister who were eating at our house. This year was very different because all of my other Thanksgivings were with my whole family, so it was nice to have a small meal with just us four. Once the holiday had passed, I spent time with my friends and took time to relax.
5 comments
Read more

Fall Break

       Fall break is one of my favorite times of the year because it gives me time to relax and do whatever I want. My break started off with having a friend over to spend the night. While she was over, we went to the Episcopal football game and met up with some people there. We stayed until the very end and cheered on the Knights. After the game, we went back to my house and watched some movies.        The next day, we went to the mall. It was so much fun because we got to walk around and shop. One of my favorite stores at the mall is Sephora. We went to Sephora and tested all of the newest make-up and skin care products. After a long day of shopping, we went to the food court and got some ice cream. Once we had both gotten home, I spent the next few days relaxing and taking a break from school.
8 comments
Read more

Human Nature

       I believe that humans are fundamentally good, but everyone is different. Everyone starts out good, but they are then confronted with decisions that shape what they are truly like.  I believe this because I have seen people from different backgrounds, parents, and parts of the world. For example, I went back to Tyler, TX, where I lived before here, and I saw how much all of my friends had changed from when we were kids and how different they were from my friends who grew up in Baton Rouge. Growing up in different environments changes the way people think and act.        Even though I think people are fundamentally good, I believe that people have free will to compliment or change that. Everyone in the world is flawed in someway, and that is caused by peoples decisions. Those decisions can lead to changes in judgement. So, if someones judgement is changed, that may change the way they view and feel about different situations. But, peop...
1 comment
Read more