Hambardzumyan 1

Erick Hambardzumyan

Ms. Tokatyan

Honors English

February 12, 2017

1. Discuss the opportunity for success presented to Sedaris in each chapter. How do they

compare to failures of his childhood?

A. Teacher

Answer: Sedaris is given an opportunity of success by being given a successful job, a teacher.

Sedaris fails as a teacher because he is intimidated by having an improper tone, voice, sense of

vocabulary, and learning skills. It is like this because before he failed with a private agent who

taught him how to pronounce letters correctly.

B. Toilet

Answer: Sedaris was given a task that could have been managed successfully. Sedaris wanted to

not flush the toilet, but at the same time he did want to flush it because he was afraid of

humiliation by other people. This compares to the time when Sedaris had his own little fantasy of

singing, but, in reality, he did not sing well, so he tried to hide that secret.

C. Mover
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Answer: He has moved to New York City and realizes that he cant afford the cheapest apartment

with a budget of $12 a day. He needs to think strategically by walking down fifty blocks to the

library just to buy a hot dog. This relates to when Sedaris lacked intelligence in genetic

engineering, unlike his father, Lou. Sedaris is comparing him to an average person living in New

York that could afford a fair amount of everyday items.

2. What are some ways that people cope with the adversities (major or minor) they face?

Answer: When people face adversities, they would need to think strategically and logically. For

example, if you have to go to a mandatory dance class on Monday but also have an AP test on

Tuesday, you would probably skip dance class for education because education is number one.

They would have to think big and make the right decisions if it was a major adversity.

3. How can comedy be a form of overcoming obstacles or challenges?

Answer: Comedy is a form of overcoming obstacles because lets say you were given a difficult

task and think that the obstacles funny. You usually end up underestimating a situation like that,

and you start to realize that the situation should be taken seriously.

4. Does Sedaris succeed in using comedy to overcome his problems? (Consider the time of the

story narrated per chapter vs. the time writing the chapters later in his life.)

Answer: No, I do not think Sedaris succeeds in using comedy to overcome his problems because

he does not take his problems or family seriously. For example, Sedaris tells humorous stories to
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his father, and Lou just talks about jazz and engineering to Sedaris. Sedaris does not take his

thoughts into consideration and therefore he does not overcome his goals of being a good son or

being a good musician.