English 102
E. Johnston
September 21, 2007
An Obsession or No?
What makes a person come up with the ideas they portray in their writing? How does a writer derive their language, and such creativity that attracts us as the readers to keep reading? Or should I say, “What makes them tick?”
One piece of literature that has stood out to me was the book Naked by David Sedaris. This book to me is by far the most interesting book I have encountered in a long time. It’s not your average book. Instead of having just one main story, Sedaris carries you on a journey with different stories of experiences that have happened in his life. I have never really been able to make a connection with an author before, until I read an essay from this book called “The Women’s Open.”
Sedaris’ way of writing is very unique. He begins most of these stories with a short passage that ends up foreshadowing an event that will later happen. “My sister Lisa became a woman on the fourteenth hole of the Pinehurst golf course. That’s what she was told by the stranger who led her to the women’s lounge. Relax, sugar, you’re a woman now” (Sedaris 53). He opens his stories this way, in hopes that the reader will know the importance and the significance behind the story. Once he is done with the foreshadowing, he continues on with the story. I find this to be very effective with drawing you in as the reader. Sedaris’ use of hooks to begin each essay pulls me in, making me want to read more. Plus, the comical sides to majority of his essays, definitely makes you want to further the reading to see what is going to happen next.
In the story, “The Women’s Open,” you come to understand that Sedaris’ father has an obsession with the game of golf. Due to his obsession, Sedaris allows the reader to get a better understanding of how this got in the way of what should have been important. He is not expressing that his father was a horrible person, or that he was not a good dad. It...