David Sedaris “Go, Carolina”

David Sedaris, in his essay “ Go, Carolina” (2000), claims that he struggled in school socially and physically, due to the school system’s problems with helping kids who were gay or struggling with impairments. He supports this claim by sarcastically going over a period of four months where a speech therapist attempted to help him. His purpose is to highlight problems with education and depict how students with his disability and with other issues felt like outsiders. He creates an informal relationship with the audience by using a sarcastic tone and by speaking in first person.

1. The speech therapy story revealed many issues with school systems and depicted what types of methods they use. The main issue I had with David’s school was their strategy for helping students with issues. They had speech therapists on a circuit, which meant there wasn’t a lot of consistency between teachers, and it also meant that teachers weren’t being interviewed. Miss Samson was a horrible individual and placed herself over David in a superior manner. The school never screened this teacher to see her methods. That showed a lack of caring on the school’s part. However, this story didn’t strike me as true because my school is very different. Since it is a private school, each teacher is interviewed and then watched throughout the semester. The school also sends out google questionnaires on teachers that are anonymous. This means that the school is getting input from the students. From where I come from, I could never see this happening in my school, and I pity David.
2. David Sedaris does a very good job of making heavy parts in the story lighter with comedy and sarcasm. When the Miss Samson mercilessly tricked him into speaking with a lisp, he lightened the mood, by recalling how his mom called him a “sucker”. The therapist had acted with zero respect, but David made the story seem funny. Therefore, he was able to accomplish a very depressing point in his life, without mortifying the audience. He also originally referred to Miss Samson as an agent, which in his mind made going to the therapist more lively. He was able to cope with difficult points in his life with humor and a good attitude.
3. There are a few key lines that highlight David Sedaris’ sarcastic tone. When David was complaining about Miss Samson, he said, “She was in love with the sound of her own name and seemed to view my speech impediment as a personal assault. It I wanted to spend the rest of my life as David Thedarith, then so be it. She, however, was going to be called Miss Chrissy Samson.” This line reveals how he takes his speech impediment in strides. He is able to make a joke out of a seemingly irritating situation, by referring to himself as David Thedarith. This also shows his tone as being one of positivity that overshadows serious points in his life. He again uses his speech problem in funny manner by saying how he preferred to use the word “champ” over “sucker.” David tries to give everything a humorous twist, which sums up his tone.