Sedaris Blog

1. The writer grabbed my attention with his first sentence.
2. The writer explains he has moved to Paris in order to better understand and speak the native French language. He doesn't go in to details of his life bio. He is writing about his experience of transitioning from New York to a foreign country.
3. The writer is able to give the reader a good feel about his surroundings. As a reader, it was like being in the class next to him as he described the teacher and students that were in the classroom. Also, through a flashback, the reader can tell that his mom may have been a little crazy through the quotes from her that he gives.
4. It's easy for the reader to get a feel for how his professor is like. Through both his descriptions and quotes, we can understand the professor thinks very highly of herself. As mentioned above, we even get a brief quote that shows us what his mom may have been like.
5. The two main visuals we are able to see as readers is the classroom, and the first day of school. He describes the first day accurately to any persons first day of class. I was able to strongly relate to him with his first day of class. The reader feels like they are sitting in class with the writer as he describes the atmosphered and mood within it. We can feel how intimidating his professor is.
5. The writer is explaining his transition from New York to Paris. He doesn't refer back to New York and what it was like very often. He stays focused on the experience in Paris. We can't tell how this experience shaped who he has become, but we can see how he took on this experience of learning a new culture. In the end, the reader can see that he now understands the language but hasn't yet learned completely how to speak it.
6. Their doesn't seem to be a conclusion. It ends with him saying he now understands the language, but finishes by not speaking it right. He almost leaves the reader with a "to be continued" ending.