David Sedaris' Welcome to French Class Critical Analysis Essay

In this narration, David Sedaris returns to school at a late age and tell his experiences there with that oldness. Sedaris had since wanted to learn French and subsequently relocated to Paris, France to learn the language. The author takes his readers through his academic adventures in the foreign land. He narrates the challenges of being an older student and how he coped with the struggle in the new culture. He is bugged out by an arrogant professor who seemed to hate him a lot, abusing and belittling him at every instance. Eventually, after all the misery, Sedaris can understand French and equally speak some of it. The author uses a humorous and sarcastic narration that with no doubt makes the story enjoyable. On the same note, his nature of detailing experiences makes it possible for readers to understand what he is communicating quickly. In general, through the humorous narration, Sedaris informs readers that even older students can overcome a challenging situation in the foreign country and realize academic achievements.

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Sedaris story is exhilaratingly humorous from the first paragraph to the last. The author structures the narration with the intention to amuse. He does so through a blend of comedic tone and self-criticism to narrate the challenges he faced in his earlier days in France. For example, Sedaris introduces the first section with comic labeling. Sedaris (2010) calls it, "...Welcome to French class where you learn to juggle irregular verbs, flying chalks, and the constant threats of bodily harm" hinting at the humiliating encounters that the author is about to experience.

It is not much deep into the narration that the author makes his readers understand that going to school at the age of 41 is a challenging situation. He first of all humorously laughs at himself by saying he is "a true debutante" (Sedaris, 2010). Further, he shows how challenging the classroom situation was. Everyone in his class is "...young, well dressed and attractive." Also, all the students in the class speak what sounds like fluent French. These students display a different level of confidence. All these make him feel intimidated and out of place. Though his challenges are as a result of his age, Sedaris experience in his first days in the classroom is relatable. In joining college or high school, one will tend to feel that they are outcast especially before they have made friends. Without any doubt, there is usually the feeling that the students already in the classroom are way better than yourself. This is because people come from different background. When your classmates seem to know more and flow better with the teacher, one can think that they cannot achieve academically. However, this is usually just a matter of time before someone adapts.

Another challenge that made Sedaris feel like an outcast was the constant belittling that came from his professor. Even though no student was exempted from the professor's abuses, he thinks that he is abused more than others. This makes him fear the professor and would not seek clarification on what he doesn't grasp. The narration offers many exciting occurrences that prove Sedaris feared her. For example, his description of the professor is quite entertaining and surprising. Calling a professor, a sadist is not a typical way to refer to an educator. Whether or not this is her real nature, the challenges Sedaris experiences would not happen without the professor. There are specific statements the author makes on the harsh things his professor did to him. In an incident, contrary to his worries, his professor had him answer a question. Basing his answers on his love for IBM typewriters, he makes a mess of the pronunciation of many words. The teacher's reaction was not motivating at all and made him think that his mistakes were punishable by death. Sedaris (2010) say that; "you exhaust me with your foolishness and reward my efforts with nothing but pain..." However, in a melodramatic turn of things, the instructors' comments happen to make him realize that he can understand French, "I know the thing what you speak exactly now." The authors, ability to understand what his classmates and the teacher were saying makes him proud. He considers this a little victory and believes that someday he will be able to speak French fluently. He adds more efforts in his study and works extra hard to learn French. This challenge is compelling, and readers can relate to it.

Sedaris humorous narration in 'Welcome to the French class,' presents some challenges faced by students in the class setting. The two problems that have been established in this analysis educates on two crucial issues. The first one is that when learning, the surrounding has a lot of impact on students. What is important is to try and adjust fast and cope with the challenges presented in this new environment CITATION McE08 \l 1033 (McEachern, Aluede, & Kenny, 2008). In the case of the author, he had a monstrous professor who was out to demoralize students. While most students would succumb to such pressures, Sedaris positivity and his will to work with the challenge was an advantage. The other one is that age is nothing but a number especially when it comes to learning and trying different things. Despite his age, the author moved from to a foreign land to learn their language. Unquestionably, there is a significant disparity between the USA and other foreign nations. In the USA there is cultural diversity meaning that people are tolerant of each other despite their background. In the classroom setting, professors will try to be understanding on international students especially those who cannot speak fluent English. In Sedaris case, what happened is a total opposite of this. However, despite everything, he becomes victories and proves that even older students can overcome challenging situations in foreign countries.

Conclusion

In summary, older students can overcome challenging situations in foreign countries as well. Sedaris narration of his encounters in France is humorous and educative. From the experiences, in the French class, the author shows the struggles of international students and presents the primary goal that one should not give up no matter what happens. Even though they might be in a classroom where their mates are quite younger than them, this should not let them feel intimidated. Equally, abusive or belittling remarks from the teachers should not be demotivators but motivators. Or rather, students should seek to improvise and overcome such a challenge. Nothing in life is hard to crack, all that is required is the strong will to never get demoralized. Set your eyes on the price.

References

McEachern, A. G., Aluede, O., & Kenny, M. C. (2008). Emotional abuse in the classroom: Implications and interventions for counselors. Journal of Counseling & Development, 86(1), 3-10.

Sedaris, D. (2010). Me talk pretty one day. Hachette UK.