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  • Essay / The duty of the writer in Me Talk Pretty One Day, a book by David Sedaris

    The duty of the writer is the responsibility of the author to connect and convey his message, through the expression of human nature, to the audience in his craft. William Faulkner, 1949 Nobel Prize winner, expounds on the importance of responsibility in his acceptance speech. Essay composers, including Sedaris, in “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” embody the writer's duty described by Faulkner, using personal anecdote and satirical attitude to convey the need for perseverance in the face of challenge. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay William Faulkner believed that writers should incorporate “love, honor, pity, pride, compassion and sacrifice” in their texts. Authors should express the emotions of the human heart and not be afraid to write about fear and truth. In doing so, their voice “will not simply be the testimony of man, it can be one of the accessories, the pillars which help him to endure and to overcome”; their voice becomes a beacon of support and guidance. It highlights the need for emotions to connect with the audience and convey an individual's purpose. Only then can a writer's duty be fulfilled. Sedaris uses Faulkner's stated attributes of the writer's duty in "Me Talk Pretty One Day." In the essay, the narrator is Sedaris himself, a forty-year-old adult who is transferred to France to embark on a journey of learning the French language. Through this essay, he describes the process of learning a new language, particularly French in context, as a quagmire. Sedaris illustrates the need for perseverance in the face of a challenge such as learning French, thus establishing the duty of the writer. Through the use of personal anecdotes, he creates a first-hand account of his experience as a nervous French student to connect with the reader. Ethos is primarily present in the anecdote because it is based on Sedaris's real-life encounters with learning French. Use of personal pronouns, "...(a) I hadn't been asked this question in a while and (b) I realized, laughing, that I didn't know the alphabet myself", and specific details about his learning experience in the anecdote, sparks the connection between the author and the audience with credibility. Readers can trust the content of the essay through the personal narrative and relive Sedaris's struggle to learn French. Additionally, through the connection made, he can motivate the audience as he presents himself as a symbol of perseverance for individuals who share similar situations with him while facing a challenge. The connection between him and the audience is further strengthened by vivid, metaphorical images. language leading to the pathos present in his anecdotes. He correlates his surroundings with distinct visuals associated with his emotions: "Her rabbit mouth was blowing, and she was looking at her knees as if the proper return was sewn...", showing the condescending face given off by his teacher when comparing her to a predator watching its prey from above. Sedaris let the audience know that he was not only intimidated by his teacher's antics but also by the French language itself: "My fear and unease crept beyond the confines of the classroom and m accompanied them on the wide boulevards. » The language had an impact on his social life outside of class: he turned away from opportunities requiring him to speak in the dialect. Despite the negativity of his teacher and the frightening impression of French, he tried hard to understand the content of the course, “.