Entry 2: Memoirs

Out of the several memoirs from today's class, two that really stood out for me were David Sedaris' Big Boy and Augusten Burroughs' Ass Burger. I am going to begin with Sedaris' piece. I found that the blunt, colloquial descriptions in the story really allowed for one to become involved in the event/predicament that the author found himself in. The comparison of the turd sitting in the toilet to "this coiled specimen, as thick as a burrito" really places in one's mind an unforgettable image. As well, the use of italics helps to create a sense of urgency in the situation. "Just a minute", "I'll be out in a second!" and "Here I come. I'm just washing  up." help to transport oneself into the state of panic in which the author was feeling. Also, this event all takes place in one very specific setting. This factor assists in recreating this moment as it is all focused into one area. In the story, everything revolves around where he is currently positioned, as though his whole existence depends on the disappearance of this inconvenient turd. "It wasn't fair," it was not "his job", however he somehow felt a huge obligation to remove it from existence. All of these effects combined resulted in a very successful recreation of that particular moment. 

 

The other memoir, Ass Burger takes place in a longer space of time. Burroughs uses many descriptive side-notes in his story which overall creates an atmosphere that makes one feel as though they experienced the same events. He uses the comparison of him and his brother to demonstrate how they operate completely differently. The following is an excerpt that I think captures this efficiently: "Well, that's just unacceptable. I mean, you're reading at a third-grade level. Don't you find that alarming?" Considering I was in the third grade, no, I didn't." His brother's obscurities are shown through his lack of social cues, as he blatantly asks his mother's friend, "Didn't you have an abortion last year?" However, his missed social cues are contrasted with his genius abilities, as he ends up building the "rocket-shooting, fire-spitting, exploding guitars for the band Kiss". The author contrasts this accomplishment with that of average 17 year olds as he states, "This same year, his high-school classmates merely graduated." Throughout the remainder of the memoir, we see similar themes brought out as well as the discovery that this whole time, his brother had Asperger's syndrome. Burroughs finishes the story through confirming the personality of the brother as John delivers a gas-operated pump to his house. When asked, "But why?" he simply responds, "Because there may come a day when you need a gas-operated pump and now you'll have one". The constant descriptions and stories of John, the older brother confirm his role in the story. The ending of the story is really effective, because it leaves you right in the heart of the situation, thinking about the rest of the story up until that point.