Go Carolina

Sedaris uses an allusion to a crime show/spy thriller—the common diction, vernacular, and imagery—in his essay to convey his experience in a relatable way. The very first line begins the allusion: “Anyone who watches even the slightest amount of TV is familiar with the scene: An agent knocks on the door of some seemingly ordinary home or office” (1). Sedaris draws in his audience, as he knows that the spy lexicon is widely understood. Sedaris uses this language to paint Agent Samson as a cold, calculating manipulator out to condemn an innocent victim. Even the classroom is portrayed as a small, windowless interrogation room where bloodstains have most likely been covered up. Through this allusion, Sedaris compares the familiar feelings of tension, anxiety, and nervousness that typify a spy thriller to his plight as a fifth-grade student in speech therapy.

The central conflict of the essay is David versus Agent Samson. David is the innocent 10-year-old who has a lisp and is just trying to hide his sexuality and live his life. Samson is the inexperienced speech therapist who’s trying to “correct” the lisps of the students she works with. The conflict continues throughout the essay, and David tries to be the victor in this battle in order to keep his sexuality hidden and retain the lisp. This conflict pits him against Agent Samson, and in the end, David is victorious, even if accidentally, because Agent Samson leaves and David gets to continue his life, lisp intact.

Sedaris employs diction that is typical of the American South. He uses this diction especially when referring to Agent Samson in order to belittle her and reduce her credibility. On the day of their first meeting, Sedaris describes her: “Here was a person for whom the word pen had two syllables. Her people undoubtedly drank from clay jugs and hollered for Paw when the vittles were ready—so who was she to advise me on anything?” (2). By discrediting her, Sedaris negates her diagnosis of him; therefore, he can choose to believe that he’s unaffected by her vision of him. His word choice allows him to put Samson in a stereotypical box. She can’t harm him because he has diminished her and she’s no longer a threat.