Monday, January 27, 2014
Zhi Huang (respond to this)
In "Remembering my childhood on the continent of Africa" by David Sedaris we learn about the childhood of Sedaris. In this short piece Sedaris also envies the childhood of Hughs who has a very different childhood unlike any other. Sedaris goes in detail of how Hughs childhood consist of taking class trips to the slaughterhouse of Ethopia and stories of pythons lurking the school gym. Sedaris seems to bash his childhood and even calls it dull compared to Hugh's. Why do you think he feels this way? What other literary techniques are used in this piece? What did you think the overall message of the story?
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When i read this the more Sedaris describes Hughs childhood the more i thought to myself why would anyone want to live that way? Having to find a place to live so young, seeing dead men and no one even blinking an eye, not being able to talk to your family. To be honest i think this whole piece has to be sarcastic i mean i see where someone would want to travel the world but it seems more like it was necessary and not a choice in Huges situation. Sedaris does give gruesome and almost unbearable detail to the morbid aspects of Huges childhood (like the execution of the pig) to add more imagery to the fact the Huges childhood was hard. Ironic how someone so privileged would want to struggle like that. I think the overall message was to be grateful for what you have.
ReplyDeleteThere were two techniques that really stuck out to me. I thought the way that Sedaris jumped from Hugh's childhood to his own was very helpful in comparing the two, more so if he had just told Hugh's story and then told his own. With a side by side comparison, I was able to see how much more Hugh experienced. Another technique that stuck out to me was the way that Sedaris described the two childhoods. If he had never told us how he felt about his own childhood, it still would have been clear just by the way he described Hugh's to his own.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading this short story I had two different thoughts. Originally I had thought why he would want to live the life that Hugh had lived because there are so many hardships from childhood until his teenage years. He had to find a place to live and no one knew his birthday. Hugh could not even watch a movie without seeing a dead man. However, when Sedaris was comparing their lives I came to see that maybe he was looking for excitement. To Sedaris his life was average and there was nothing special about it. I wonder if Hugh would want to have the life of Sedaris instead. I think the meaning of the story is that people are never content with what they have. Sedaris was living a good life but he was not happy because his life was not as exciting as Hugh's. Hugh seemed indifferent about his lifestyle at times but I wonder if he would want to live the life of Sedaris.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was strange that Sedaris was jealous of Hugh's life. It sounds like Hugh went through some very traumatic events in his childhood, including the trip to a slaughterhouse where a piglet was shot right in front of the children. It made me wonder why anyone would be jealous of this kind of life. It shows that people who think they have a boring life are curious to discover the lives of people who don't go through everyday events, even if those things are traumatic. However I feel if he could experience Hugh's life he would want his own one back.
ReplyDeleteIn reading this story, I kind of took it as people aren't really satisfied with "normalcy" in their lives. Now to me, I feel that might be a bit simplistic, but it's ultimately what Sedaris is talking about. The fact that he was jealous of what Hugh had and went through, showed that even those who live perfectly fine lives want more. Regardless of what Hugh went through, he would rather have that instead of the North Carolina life that he lived because it was something that you really wouldn't experience anywhere else. What also struck me as interesting was the fact that this story is called "Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa." Sedaris purposefully took the story of Hugh and made it his own, which is a technique that I think he used to sort of emphasize how strong this idea really is. By taking certain accounts of Hugh's life as his own, he really goes to show to what lengths one would go through in order to in effect experience the lives of others.
ReplyDeleteI find it weird that Sedaris envies Hugh's childhood for the simple fact of what Hugh went through and had to experience in Congo. Compared to his life you can say his was pretty boring and lacked excitement, unlike Hugh's who saw a dead man, snakes in the classrooms, executions. Jealousy in this story is absurd, I'm sure Hugh would've loved to live in North Carolina rather than Congo in the wild. I think the moral of the story is to appreciate what you have if your in a better situation that others.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started reading this I thought Sedaris wanted to have a life like Hugh's but once i finished the story I realized that he didn't want to see a dead man after seeing a movie or animals getting shot in the head on a field trip, he wanted more excitement in his life, he wanted interesting things to happen in it. He envies how Hugh's life was filled with adventure and excitement with exotic pets with no day ever being normal or boring while he was stuck with a dog and a cat with nothing interesting happening everyday of his life.
ReplyDeleteSedaris wanted his life to be like Hugh's, because in comparison to his life; Sedaris's life was quite the bore. It was lacking adventure and looking at Hugh's life, he just wanted that excitment. I found the enviousness rather odd in the begining but towards the end it all made sense. This showed that people are so curious to know what it is like to go through normal everyday events. But to go through a life like Hugh's where so much was traumatic doesnt make sense. I feel like the theme and moral you can take from this story is, be happy with what you have, and appreciate it to the fullest. Even though sedaris wanted Hugh's life, i feel as if he were to be in Hugh's shoes and experience everything he has; then sedaris would think differently and start appreciating his own life the way it is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the other people in class when they say why would Sedaris ever want to live the life that Hugh's did. In the beginning it sounded like Hughs didn't have a very good life and that no one would want to live it. As the story progressed though, I kind of felt like all the things that Hughs experienced helped him in life. For example, when he had to live with complete strangers, I think that it helped him to mature and to live with more responsibility. This would help him later in life with all the difficulties life throws at you. I think that the morale of the story is to be thankful for the life that you are given; there are always going to be someone out there that has it a lot worse than you do.
ReplyDeleteAuthor keeps comparing Hugh's childhood to his own which absolutely shows his jealousy to get rid of the "dull time". But author has a clear mind because he never express the expectation of being as Hugh. He did not want to actually experience Hugh's life because it was tough with lots of hardness. However, Hugh's difficulties remind author to look his life in a varied way. He learned to cherish the life he had. Sedaris kept talking about Hugh in this article but ended it naturally. In fact, he also put his changes of minds and values inside. I like that smooth ending.
ReplyDeleteIn “Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa”, Sedaris does an adequate job in the depiction of his childhood verses that of Hugh, in that this comparison and contrast of both childhoods initially makes you (the reader) feel as if Sedaris envies the life of Hugh. However, as the story progress it becomes apparent that much of Sedaris’s envy presents itself in a sarcastic undertone, or as Shinelle put it “ this whole piece has to be sarcastic”. Furthermore, much of this sarcastic undertone is present throughout most, if not all of this short story. For example, when Sedaris is initially discussing Hugh’s field trip to slaughterhouse, he states “ Were there no autopsies scheduled at the local morgue.. Was the federal prison just a bit too far out of the way?” Suggesting that Sedaris in fact was indifferent to the idea, and to a certain extent he was undermining the trip entirely. Moreover, as I read this story I could not help but feel as if as much as it seemed that Sedaris was envious of the excitement of Hugh’s life, he felt empathetic towards him, and even to a certain extent he was able to relate to Hugh’s in certain instances. A prime example of this was when Sedaris discussed Hugh’s experience living with strangers, whom treated him as an outsider, not knowing his birthday, etc.. Verses his account in living with his grandmother living with Alzheimer’s who never was able to recognize who he was, and he constantly had identifying himself to her. Therefore, it was as if Sedaris too was an outsider or a “stranger” even to his own grandmother. As per the message of the story I agree with most of the class and disagree with some. In my opinion, the moral of the story as few have mentioned is to yes, appreciate what you have or the life you live but also what I have gathered from this story is basically that as cliché as it may sound “the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.” Even though Hugh’s lived this very interesting and exciting life, there were many drawbacks to that life, such as leaving a movie theater and seeing a dead man hanging from a telephone pole and having that not be a rarity, but instead a talking Volkswagen was a rarity.
ReplyDeleteIn "Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa", Sedaris recounts many events throughout his childhood which show the reader how much different his upbringing was than Hugh's. I like the fact that while explaining how different Hugh's life was, it was clear to me that he was jealous without him even stating it. The way he explained how adventurous, exciting, and interesting Hugh's life was, gave the reader the feeling that Sedaris is envious and wanted a childhood like that of Hugh's. I really liked this story because I think that this is something that we can all relate to at some point in our lives. Has anyone had a friend that had better toys or clothes than them? Or how about a friend that seems more successful than you and you wish for that success. There are so many examples I can give, but i think at some point in our lives, we look at others and can't help but say "What if I had their life?" In all, I think we should all be grateful for what we have in life, and never compare. Once we compare, we can't be happy.
ReplyDeleteIn the story i could really relate to Sedaris. goring up my mom and I had just moved to the US and I always felt different because at first my english was a little off, but i would see all these kids with new toys and school supplies, after reading this story it reminded me of how sometimes it would hurt to see those things and knowing that my mom gave me her best, but I think all that envy paid off because it's made me want to work in order to get those nice things, and making the best of what you already have.
ReplyDeleteI believe that although Sedaris is the one in this story saying he wishes he had a childhood similar to Hugh’s, Hugh’s wishes he had a childhood more similar to Sedaris. To Sedaris, his idea of a normal childhood is the one that he experience. In Africa Hugh had what he believes to be the normal childhood. Sedaris in my opinion does not understand everything that happened in Hugh’s life. I believe if Sedaris had full insight on Hugh’s childhood, he would be very content with his own.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the people in the class in saying Hugh's life might not have been the most luxurious, but the experiences he had made him who he was. This is in my opinion Sedaris envied as he lived a much more constant and uneventful life. If Sedaris would have lived the life of Hugh's i believe he may have a different take on the situation. You never know what its like until you have been in a specific person's shoes.
ReplyDeleteAs a child we often compare our life to that of our peers or people/kids we hear about. Kids often envy each other. Whether it is wanting a toy someone elses has, or a wanting to go on a cool vacation, or even envying someone elses friends...we did it. Hugh's life wasn't "lavish" but it was different that Sedaris' and that was envied.
ReplyDeleteSedaris uses personal narrative in this work. He uses a comparison of his childhood with that of Hughs.
I think the moral of the story is that you should attempt to be content/happy with what you have in your own life. Don't look to others. Count your blessings. You never know what others really go through.
This story reminds me of the cliche that one always wants what they do not have. While Sedaris longed for a seemingly more exciting and dangerous life similar to that of Hughs, Hughs most likely desired a safe and average childhood like that of Sedaris. I agree with Steve in that everyone has a different take on what normality is that's very personal to their own life; even though to someone on the outside looking in, their life may seem very extreme. All in all, our experience are a key factor in shaping who are.
ReplyDeleteI believe that David Sedaris is envious of the otherness of Hugh's childhood, rather than resentful of his own. I think Sedaris feels this way because he lived a cliche, average, middle class American life while Hugh got to live an adventurous life. What Hugh seems to be describing as a scary and unwanted childhood, Sedaris describes as intriguing. Sedaris uses a technique that further implies his envy. Rather than quote everything Hugh said, Sedaris narrates himself. I think the overall moral of this story is that everybody's childhood is intriguing to another person because it's different from how they lived. Hugh was probably envious that Sedaris never had to see dead bodies outside of movie theaters while he was growing up.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Sedaris's "Remembering my childhood on the continent of Africa" all I thought about was how horrible it would have been as a child to live the way Hugh did and see everything that he saw everyday, including what he saw at the slaughterhouse and all the dead men. To see a young child live the way he did is just horrible. This is why I don't understand why Sedaris wants to live Hugh's childhood. It's ironic that he wanted to live that way when all anyone wants to do is live an easy life. Sedaris uses imagery to show us how Hugh lived. He compares his life to Hugh's side by side so you can really see how their childhoods differed. I think the reason Sedaris wanted to live Hugh's childhood was because Hugh's was a lot more exciting while Sedaris's was normal and boring. He wanted excitement and an adventure. No one is ever happy with what they have in life. I think the message here is to be happy with what you have even though someone might have it better or actually even worse.
ReplyDeleteHugh was living the "high life" and didn't live an average American Childhood. He was an American living in Africa and have the luxury and opulence as compared to Sedaris, who lived a completely different lifestyle. While in Ethiopia, he took a field trip to a slaughterhouse which was supposed to be educational, instead was traumatic from him. Sedaris was somewhat fantasizing about Hugh's life, but at the end was happy about what he had and not what Hugh had. Sedaris basically learned throughout this experience to not take things for granted and be happy with what he has that has that has carried him through a normal life.
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