DAVID SEDARIS Us and them - Essay Example

DAVID SEDARIS Us and Them The narrative “us and them” by Sedaris revolves around conformist and non-conformist of the norms. To portray this picture, David has explored his neighbors in regards to television. In his neighborhood everyone is watching the television except Mr. Tom keys family. According to him, this family is not normal, since they are behind in technology. Furthermore, Tom key is mean since he has denied his family the aspect of entertainment (Sedaris, page 5).
The author seemed amused by the fact that the Tom keys do not watch television yet the other whole of the estate have television. He is also curious to know what this family does during dinner time, only to find that they practice the sense of togetherness through usual talks. Though it seemed weird to the author not to conform to the norm of watching news at that particular hour, he later realized that; this family was even more normal than those families that watched the television. The aspect of equality was practiced in this homestead. Everyone had an opportunity to express their opinion and ideas during the conversation, unlike the author’s home where the parents watched the news and other programs after the news.
The other concept carried by the narrative id irony, where the conformist who believed to live a correct life did not show generosity and politeness. This clear from non-conformist expression, they have placed a sign board that urges others not be greedy. However, all we see is that those who thought they were perfect were even worse in their conduct (Sedaris, page 9). The author consumes all the candy without sharing with Tom key’s children. The aspect of irony is evident in that; the audience expects the non-conformist of television to have more mistakes, by the fact that they were behind in terms of technology. Nevertheless, those who conform to the usual norms are even worse.
Reference
Sedaris, David. Dress your family in corduroy and denim. Boston: Little, Brown, 2004. Print.
Sedaris, David. Holidays on ice. 2nd Ed. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2008. Print.
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2004/jun/sedaris/usandthem.html” Read More