David Sedaris The Unconfronted Reality and Social Mores in "Big Boy" by David Sedaris

In the collection of short stories "Me talk pretty one day," author David Sedaris presented his experiences as an individual who was gradually growing in an environment that seemed hostile to what he has become: a homosexual with a lisp, though tremendously knowledgeable with words and talented with composition. This is the first impression that the reader gets as s/he reads the first story, "Go Carolina"; however, as the stories take shape, readers are entertained with Sedaris' wit and ability to talk about the 'unconfronted' and provide a human touch to the already taken-for-granted social mores of our society.

These abilities were best reflected through his short story, "Big Boy." A humorous story about Sedaris' encounter with a 'stubborn turd' that was not his own, his experience brought into fore two unique themes that he was able to generate from the story. The first theme was that Sedaris was able to confront one of the mundane realities that people face everyday, yet have failed to disclose and give human quality in it, such as the issue of getting rid of turd in a toilet. The second theme presented in the story was the extent at which people will try to save their faces in order to not become deviant in front of other people.

Given these themes in a humorous story, this paper posits...

In "Big Boy," readers see the influence of social norms at work, overpowering the individual will to exercise its right to accomplish or not accomplish according to his/her own volition. These points are expressed in the texts that follow.
The humor embedded in "Big Boy" was apparent in the topic of the story itself. Sedaris, as the individual who tried hard to flush down the toilet the unflushed turd he had found in the bathroom, was the example of the individual who faced one mundane reality that was often left unconfronted by people. Amusement and disgust was apparent in Sedaris' tone when he sarcastically described the turd as "this long and coiled specimen, as thick as a burrito" (97). Evidently, though he felt that what he was narrating about was taboo in his society, Sedaris decided to communicate with his readers what he felt was a topic worth talking about. Indeed, how many writers would have the courage to talk about a taboo subject such as turd, much less describe it in almost blatant and effectively descriptive terms?

Sedaris talked about his experience with the unflushed turd because he felt it was worth talking about. What he experienced was a purely human experience, and he intended to convey what he, a human,…