A Rhetorical Look at Sedaris [TA]

The rhetorical triangle can be a valuable tool when it comes to analyzing literature, such as David Sedaris’ memoir, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.  The three points of the rhetorical triangle (speaker, audience and subject) work together to give the writing an overall purpose.  The speaker (Sedaris, in this case) and his readers are connected by a common interest in comedy and anecdotes, both of which are contained in all of Sedaris’ infamously funny memoirs.  This mutual passion for sarcasm and wit between author and reader gives Sedaris a reason to write his stories down in the first place, not to mention writing them in a flawlessly entertaining fashion.  It is important for a speaker to be conscious of the topic he or she is writing about and have a relatively close connection to it.  In the case of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, the subject is the actual past of the author, giving it a special meaning to both the author and the reader.  This non-fiction writing draws the final connection of the rhetorical the triangle; the audience and the subject have a lot in common.  Because the stories told by Sedaris are all true, most readers can find many similarities between Sedaris’ life and their own, whether it be related to family, friends, setting or emotion.  The harmonies connection between speaker, audience and subject in Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim gives the memoir a purpose: to entertain readers by telling outrageously funny yet relatable stories from Sedaris’ own life.

                The most prominent elicitation of pathos in Sedaris’ memoir is through humor and wit.  By recalling stories from his childhood and early adulthood in a fashion twisted with sarcasm and hints of melancholy, Sedaris is able to make readers laugh chapter after chapter, even if the laughter is based on pity.  The essay “Blood Work” tells the story of Sedaris being mistaken as an erotic housecleaner and suffering the consequences of the confusion of his “client.”  Though this is arguably the most hilarious anecdote in the entire memoir, certain moments leave the reader feeling disgusted and laughing from discomfort rather than pleasure.  Nevertheless, whether it be through humor, sadness, or discomfort, readers are able to feel the emotions in Sedaris’ stories thanks to his witty writing style and real-life events.

                Like most non-fiction works of literature, ethos is established by the fact that the author experienced the events of the book first-hand.  It is most definitely possible that Sedaris could be making up many of his stories.  However, the common reader has a difficult time imagining how any author could draw such funny stories from his or her imagination.  Such outrageous anecdotes could only be a product of luck and a writer with a taste for humor.  The fact that he draws in real people from his life, such as his family members, old friends, and lovers, gives him credibility, especially because his sisters and current lover are people that can be easily looked up on the internet. Sedaris’ growing reputation has given him credibility over the years that his writing career has prospered.  Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim shows the establishment of Sedaris’ ethos by bearing his very real and witty character as a non-fiction author.

                Non-fiction writing rarely calls for the employment of logos, since much of the reasoning behind events is due to the personalities of the people involved in each story.  Sedaris’ audience members are bound to find themselves wondering why certain people in these anecdotes think and react to situations in the way that they do.  Sedaris provides a reasonable answer to these questions by attempting to accurately portray the personalities of each character in a way that connects directly to their words and actions.  For example, readers can use the information that Sedaris provides about his own father to explain why he kicked his son out of the house for being gay.  The author also shows why his mother is so stressed by telling stories of the trouble that her children regularly got themselves into.  Sedaris uses this descriptive technique to show that characters’ physical and emotional reactions are based on their personalities, effectively employing logos in his memoir. 

Let's do a Follow-Up

It is slightly difficult to conjure up questions that I have after reading this book for two reasons.   The first reason is because I have already discussed a lot of the questions I've had while reading the book, and the other reason is because I like to almost forget a book after I’m done reading it.  It might sound awful, but I’m not a fan of reading books that stick with me for ages after I finish them.  Anyway, I’ll discuss a few literary moles that have managed to dig their way into the well-kempt lawn that is my mind. 
                Sedaris’ relationship with his partner, Hugh, is a rather confusing one.  I find relationships in general to be quite baffling, especially when I have minimal knowledge about homosexual relationships.  I absolutely love Sedaris’ description of the love between Hugh and himself in the essay “The End of the Affair,” in which he very blatantly discusses the reality of getting into arguments with a lover.  I can definitely appreciate a raw approach to typical communication and compatibility problems of a relationship as opposed to a mushy approach, especially when the romantic aspect is preserved within the conflict.  My question is not a clean-cut one, but I just wonder how Sedaris and his partner have managed to make it work after all these years while having seemingly polar opposite personalities. 
                A major aspect of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is Sedaris’ family, which brings a lot of entertainment into each story.  Sedaris has a countless amount of siblings, all of which have massively colorful personalities and a plethora of great stories revolving around them.  The thing that struck me was how extremely different David Sedaris seems to be compared to the rest of his siblings.  I can see connections between him and his parents, but he seems to have gone off in a completely different direction than any of his siblings.  I suppose David Sedaris’ life seems to give him the “black sheep” status within his family.
                While reading Sedaris’ essays, I often find myself trying to recall a story that is funny enough to be written down and published in a book.  Oftentimes I fail to recall such a story (let alone a whole book of stories) and I wind up contemplating how Sedaris managed to have such an eventful life.  That would be my grand follow-up question to Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim: how can someone lead such a colorful lifestyle worthy of its own publication?  I’d like to live like that.

(Question Answered: What questions do you have after reading the text?)

I've Been Successfully Baited by a Comedian

                   Without a doubt, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim has got to be one of the strangest book titles I’ve ever come across, simply because it is so difficult to determine what the book itself will be about.  I didn’t try to analyze the title too much before opening the book; I like that aura of mystery that most titles tend to emit.  The only thing I could really guess was that Sedaris would talk about his family, but even that I was unsure about.  Don’t even try to decipher Sedaris’ mind. It’s a lost cause, as far as I can tell, and it takes the fun out of reading his books.

                I was told by someone who has read almost all of Sedaris’ books that reader always learns the meaning behind the title, no matter how strange it is. As it turns out, I was blatantly lied to, for Sedaris never tells a story in which people are dressed in corduroy and denim, even in the form of some odd metaphor. The only parts that were even partially relevant to the title were minuscule and forgettable.  For example, Sedaris uses his essay “The Change in Me” to talk about his dramatic wardrobe change in middle school, which gave him an excuse to buy a pair of “blue corduroy hip-huggers.” Another essay titled “A Can of Worms,” a customer sitting next to Sedaris at a dinner in California is described to be wearing a pair of corduroy pants.  It is possible that the only I reason I managed to pick out these minor details was because I like word “corduroy.” Nevertheless, these are the only literary links that I found to have any kind of relevance to the title, besides the frequent discussion of family.

                Naturally, I used my good ol’ pal known as “The Internet” to solve the mystery behind the title Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.  According to the book's Wikipedia page, Sedaris explained the title to a group of fans at a public appearance in Cleveland, Ohio.  He explained that he had been on a deadline when it came to titling the book, so he used the title of a book that his partner, Hugh, had a dream about about.  The title of the book in Hugh’s dream had been in French, but it was nothing less than original.  So there we have it; my patient reading in anticipation to learn the meaning behind the title of this book has all been in vain, and could have been answered in the beginning with a simple Google search.  But I guess that’s life, isn't it?

               
(Question Answered: What is the significance of the title? What can we conclude from the title before opening the text? What do we learn about the title as we read?)

The Sedaris Thirst Shall Never Be Quenched

                I have been looking for a good excuse to sit down and read and entire book by David Sedaris for years.  Now that I am able to read one (despite the fact that I haven’t finished reading Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim quite yet), I have already settled that I will be finding time to read more of Sedaris’ books in the future.  

                In the essay “Repeat After Me,” Sedaris describes a visit he made to his sister’s house in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  Throughout the anecdote, he discusses the small stories about his older sister that she never intended to spread beyond her brother’s knowledge, but eventually ended up in one of David Sedaris’ books.  Considering the fact that Lisa Sedaris is not David Sedaris’ only interesting family member, it is not a surprise that Lisa’s stories are not the only ones that make it into her brother’s books.  In fact, all of the author’s siblings (and even extended family members) have at least one story worthy of a spot in the infamous Sedaris memoirs.  It is impossible to be surprised at how often Sedaris writes about his own family, since they are quite an odd bunch to begin with. 
                After realizing just how many hilarious and noteworthy incidents that have been produced by various members of the Sedaris family, I began to understand that shelves upon shelves of volumes of anecdotes could be constructed if David Sedaris somehow managed to find the time and commitment to recall each funny story from his past.  Therefore, I cannot imagine stopping at Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim when it comes to reading Sedaris’ books.  I will most definitely be picking up another one of his memoirs at some point in the near future.
(Question Answered: Would you read another book by this author? Why or why not?)