Seders reflection

 Sophia Starkey 

Dr. Ellis

EN 346D

7 February 2023

Sedaris Reflection

            "you can't kill the rooster" was a chapter that stood out to me in establishing a family dynamic between his brothers' interactions with the rest of his siblings and his parents, mainly his father. The chapter begins by establishing that Sedaris' youngest brother was the only one of his multiple siblings born and raised in North Carolina. Sedaris' parents understand the gravity of the issue that moving to the south can be by enforcing the air of superiority that most from the northeast have, especially New Yorkers! His parents swear them off by saying, "ma'am or sir…mountain Dew was forbidden, and our speech was monitored for the slightest hint of a Raleigh accent" (55). The regional humor incited with this exclamation appeals to most northerners, especially me reading this. Not that there is anything wrong with North Carolina, but I, too, would not be pleased to uproot my life and move south. 

            I also thought the contrast between the father and "the rooster" is an ironic duo that seems to make sense to them. When the dad uses words like inuity and fiduciary, the brother responds to the father's interests by saying, "fuck the stock talk, hoss, I ain't investing in shit" (Sedaris 58), in which the father responds by not acting surprised or offended, just as an expressed opinion. This youngest sibling narrative, where they are allowed to say/ do whatever they want and regardless, will still hold the parent's favor. This narrative is so relatable, and Sedaris chronicles it in an extreme case. However, I believe that Rooster genuinely cares about his father, especially at the end of the chapter when his mother dies. He is the only one who lives in Raleigh to comfort his dad, even in his overuse of profanity.

 

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