74 pages • 2 hours read
David SedarisA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.
Short Answer
1. What is the purpose of imagination? How does it develop, and how can it help a person cope with the challenges of daily life?
Teaching Suggestion: This prompt introduces the theme of Imagination and Reality. David Sedaris’s essays include detailed fantasies that allow him to escape from the real world and his own perceived shortcomings. Using his imagination, he envisions himself in situations in which he fulfills his dreams—often with humorous results. Students may be able to relate to and empathize with Sedaris more if they reflect on how they have personally used humor to cope with difficult situations.
2. In what ways could assumptions about a country’s citizens vary from reality, especially when viewed from an outsider’s perspective? How are these assumptions often created?
Teaching Suggestion: This prompt introduces the themes of Language, Class Difference and France’s Perception of America/Americans, and Self-Identity and Sexuality.
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