David Sedaris’ Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is
a collection of essays about David’s family and personal life. The essays all
include funny situations varying in types of humor, but there is a common theme
of pity in each of Sedaris’ chapters. I found myself laughing at several of his
jokes even if they were dark or aimed towards those I pitied in the story. We
have learned from Kierkegaard that pain and irony, or conflict can be one of
the major sources of humor. I believe that Sedaris uses this pitiful theme to
relate to his audience and create a funny twist in several of his chapters.
The first few
essays are focused on his early life. These chapters focused on his
dysfunctional family and awkward social life, which I’m sure everyone can
relate to. One of the essays I thought was funny was the first one of the book,
“Us and Them.” I found this funny, because Sedaris is perplexed that the Tomkey
family did not own, or believe in television. Young David spends his days
studying them, watching over the kids in school, and peering into their window.
He does not understand what one could do without a TV, and is concerned that
they will miss popular references and not fit in. I found this funny, because I
also found TV to be an essential part of life in my adolescence. On the other
hand, I am currently watching “Black Mirror” on Netflix. This show is a drama
with individual episodes that demonstrate how technology is destroying man. I
just thought it was funny how David’s viewpoint as a child is that one cannot
fit in society without a television, and pities the Tomkeys. (Possibly a little
incongruity).
This pity is also
present in “full house” the fourth Chapter. Sedaris is invited to a sleepover
and is forced to go. He is attacked and gets his nipples twisted, as anyone
would at an adolescent sleepover. Sedaris then makes a joke, “I understood
little Lauren was smart to have cut out early” (Sedaris 36). This is Sedaris’
dark sense of humor, but it does demonstrate pain+distance or tragedy+time.
Most of Sedaris’
jokes branch from how life is suffering. He does have some uplifting parts of
the story however. I found It extremely interesting how my attitude toward the
mother changed after the chapter “The girl next door,” where David’s mother
comes to help him pack in his apartment, after he finds out the girl next door
he tried to befriend had been stealing from him. The girl, Brandi, calls her a
bitch and she replies, “sister, you don’t know the half of it” (Sedaris 122). My
opinion of David’s mother changed drastically after she helps him out of his
situation, especially since his father will not help him because of his
sexuality. Until this point I did think the mother was a little bratty; she
locked her kids out in the snow and drank wine all day, and seems like a Debby
downer. For some reason after this somewhat “affectionate” moment, I found her
old antics to be pretty funny.
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