Summary of story - Essay Example

This essay is based on the experiences of a family in a new The family is made up of a father and mother who remain un d, their son and two daughters named Lisa and Gretchen (Sedaris 2004). Their experiences are narrated by the son. He refers to his own family as “Us” and an unusual family they meet in the new neighbourhood (the Tomkins’) as “Them”.“Us and Them” tells a good story; one of the normal happenings in a sub-urban neighbourhood. There is the nosey neighbour who gossips and that odd family that lives down the street.

It is narrated from point of pity with a pinch of humor. The narrator is quoted saying; “they have turned my pity into something hard and ugly” (Sedaris 2004). “Us and Them” runs along three key events. The first is a move. The narrator’s family has moved from the country of New York State to North Carolina Suburb (Sedaris 2004). The narrator clearly describes the difference in these two environments. Within a year, they move again, but to a spitting distance.Halloween, a popular American holiday is the second event.

The Narrator expresses disappointment on this day. He was looking forward to going in a disguise to door for the traditional trick or treat; but they were off to the lake. He however went only to meet a coffee can full of bargain confectionery and with it a sign that read “DON’T BE GREEDY” (Sedaris 2004). Finally, on the night after Halloween, the entire Tomkins family shows up in costume at the narrator’s door for trick or treat. This angers the narrator who attributes this behaviour to their lack of a TV (Sedaris 2004).

His anger graduates to hate when he is forced to give away his ‘earned’ candy to these pesky neighbours. REFFERENCESedaris, David. Dress Your Family With Corduroy and Denim: Us and Them. New York: Little Brown and Company, 2004.