“The Girl Next Door” by David Sedaris Essay

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The thing about a victim that is tragic is in each is a penchant to victimize. Subtly, in “ shows this to his readers. Two parent-child relationships are on display in this short story. One is shared by the main character, who remains unnamed, and his mother. The other is shared by the main character’s two neighbors. Brandi is 9-years old, and is the title character. She “latched onto” (Sedaris, 2009, p.1) the main character shortly after he moves into her building. Her relationship with her mother can be best summed by the following: “A normal mother might have wondered what was up—her nine-year-old daughter spending time with a twenty-six-year-old man—but this one didn’t seem to care” (Sedaris, 2009, p.1). The main character’s relationship with his mother can be summed also: “She liked to take my problems back to the source, which was usually me” (Sedaris, 2009, p.1). His mother is overbearing, while Brandi’s is neglectful. Though the main character claims to be reaching out to the young girl, he cannot help but to make use of her vulnerability to help himself feel smart, strong, and capable—a stark contrast to the insufficiency he must endure in his dealings with his mother. Brandi steals from him, at which point the major conflict emerges. The important thing to notice is that both of these children victimize each other in proportion to the extent of their own victimizations. The main character’s mother stays true to her overbearing nature in response to this conflict. She insists that he leave the building, and she finances his move into an apartment some blocks away.

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References

Sedaris, David. (2003). : How Much Trouble Could a Nine-Year Old Be? The New Yorker: 1-6. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2021, December 18). "The Girl Next Door" by David Sedaris. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-girl-next-door-by-david-sedaris/

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""The Girl Next Door" by David Sedaris." IvyPanda, 18 Dec. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/the-girl-next-door-by-david-sedaris/.

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IvyPanda. (2021) '"The Girl Next Door" by David Sedaris'. 18 December.

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IvyPanda. 2021. ""The Girl Next Door" by David Sedaris." December 18, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-girl-next-door-by-david-sedaris/.

1. IvyPanda. ""The Girl Next Door" by David Sedaris." December 18, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-girl-next-door-by-david-sedaris/.


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IvyPanda. ""The Girl Next Door" by David Sedaris." December 18, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-girl-next-door-by-david-sedaris/.

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