Now We Are Five Response

The telling sign that David Sedaris is a great writer is the fact that he can turn any situation or story into a great piece of writing. As I was reading Now We Are Five, I noticed that Sedaris’s story itself did not intrigue me. I imagined myself faced with the task of writing the same story, and all I foresee on my imaginary paper is a sad a boring story. Sedaris’s writing, however, kept me engaged throughout the story.

One means through which he accomplishes this is dialogue use. Sedaris is able to capture many key characteristics of his family members through the dialogue he includes, making his story more personable. He explains his sister’s desire to not have her family attend her memorial service, and then imagines his mother’s response: “So put that in your pipe and smoke it.” Through this quote, I imagine Mamma Sedaris as a sturdy woman who takes crap from no one.  Also, this quote perfectly compliments the sassy, yet strict personality I imagine this mother-of-six to embodying.

Sedaris paints a situation in which his brother, Paul, plays a trick him involving a fake sneeze that unintentionally splashes a woman next to them. Sedaris writes:

“Sorry, man,” Paul said when she turned around, horrified. “I was just playing a joke on my brother.”

The woman had many thin bracelets on, and they jangled as she brushed her hand against the back of her head.

“You called her ‘man,’ ” I said to him after she walked off.

“For real?” he asked.

Amy mimicked him perfectly. “For real?”

I love this exchange of dialogue because it captures the playfulness existent between the three siblings featured. Paul is seen as fratty-goofball, seeking attention and laughs through the creative means of fake sneezing on his brother. Sedaris calls his brother out on his initial mistake, making him the realist in the scenario. And Amy finishes the exchange by further picking on Paul, mimicking his lack-luster response. This dialogue reminds me of how I would communicate with my brother: lovingly, yet trigger happy to jump on the opportunity to make myself sound smarter.