Does the writer provide an introduction that grabs the reader’s attention?
To be honest, I was not all that interested in the rest of the narrative after reading the introduction. I could see the humor in a forty-one year old having discounts for movies, puppets, and amusement parks, but I felt it was a little unspecific. I was unsure of where Sedaris was attending school, why he was attending school, and what his textbook considered a "true debutant" to be. However, after the first paragraph, the reader is quickly able to get into the story.
Does the writer focus on significant events in his or her life rather than trying to narrate his or her entire life’s story?
He focused mainly on his time in his French class in Paris, with minimal commentary on events outside of the classroom. These events served to emphasize how out of his element the writer was with this new language.
Do the descriptions of the characters or important objects in the memoirs include sensory details that help readers to visualize, hear, smell or feel them?
I cannot visualize his teacher, except that she was tan. However, I had a distinct sense of who she was and I could almost hear her abusing the students. He describes his fellow students as well, and we can form a picture of who they might be. He does not include many details on physical appearance, but instead focuses on each person's background and gives an account of how they present themselves to the class. His descriptions of them seem to be a little fuzzy in order to emphasize how lost he felt at the time. He could not understand all of what was being said, and they were all struggling to come up with things to say that not only answered the questions, but that they could actually say adequately. In this way, the focus becomes the teacher and how crazy she was.
Has the writer quoted speech or dialogue so as to reveal some important aspect of a character’s personality?
The writer quoted quite a bit of speech, which revealed important aspects of each character's personality.
Does the writer narrate or describe events in a way that allows readers to connect them to experiences or relationships in their own lives?
After what I felt was a slow start, I was definitely drawn into the story. Many people can relate to having a teacher who is overly harsh. And all of us at one point have been out of our element. As more and more of the teacher's character is revealed, the reader connects more and more to the narrative.
Has the writer explained the significance of the people, events, places, or objects in shaping who he or she has become? Does this explanation make sense in relation to the events, people, places, and things described throughout the memoir?
The reader shows us that the abuse he suffered from this teacher makes his desire to learn greater. He realizes towards the end of the narrative that he can at least understand all of what the teacher is saying, rather than just bits and pieces. The teacher made him study harder and become more desperate to prove his worth in the French language. This explanation does make sense, as all of the preceding text leads us up to this point.
Does the writer provide a conclusion that reinforces the point of the story?
The conclusion does reinforce the point of the story. The abuse of the teacher resulted in Sedaris working harder to learn the language. He finds that he can understand all of what the teacher is saying, and even welcomes more abuse so he can learn more.
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