Introduction
‘What’s your name, girl’ is an essay about a young black girl growing up during slavery. She narrates her experience with her white employer Mrs. Cullinan. The climax of the story is when Mrs. Cullinan changes the narrator’s name from Margaret to Mary.
In ‘me talk pretty one day’ the narrator talks of his experiences in France. He describes his misadventures in learning the language. The epitome of the essay is when the French teacher insults him in French. However, the narrator becomes very proud of himself since he is able to understand every word the French teacher said.
This paper will compare and contrast the two essays. The paper will compare the two essays in terms of style and themes. The paper will start by discussing the style of first-person narration used by both writers in the two essays. The paper will continue by discussing the use of humor in both essays. Lastly, the paper will discuss the major themes discussed in the two essays. The paper will discuss the theme of racism in ‘what’s your name girl?’ Furthermore, the paper will discuss the theme of language in ‘me talk pretty one day’.
Main Body
Styles
- First-Person Narrative
The essay ‘What’s your name pretty girl?’ has been written in the first persona. The first-person narrative is told through the perspective of a child. The story is told from the view of a child that is carefully retold by a grown-up speaker.
The essay ‘me talk pretty one day” has been also written in the first persona. The author takes us through his childhood adventures. Similarly, the story is told from the view of a child that is carefully retold by a grown-up speaker.
- Humor
Angelou uses humor in her essay ‘what’s your name pretty girl?’ Angelou uses humor to describe Mrs. Cullinan. She states, “….. She said she was too delicate-boned. It was hard to imagine bones at all under those layers of fat. Miss Glory went on to say that the doctor had taken out all her lady organs. I reasoned that a pig’s organs included the lungs, heart, and liver, so if Mrs. Cullinan was walking around without these essentials, it explained why she drank alcohol out of unmarked bottles” (Angelou,2). The use of humor reduces tension in the story. For instance, there is tension after Mrs. Cullian calls Margaret (the narrator) Mary. However, the tension is reduced after Miss Glory tells that she was once called Hallelujah. The author states, “Miss Glory had a fleeting second of feeling sorry for me…… She held the back door open for me. Twenty years; I wasn’t much older than you. My name used to be Hallelujah. That’s what Ma named me, but my mistress gives me ‘Glory,’ and it stuck. I like it better too……” (Angelou, 4).
Similarly, Sedaris uses humor throughout his story. He uses humor to describe his tragic experience when learning the French language. The author describes how the French nouns intimidated him to a childish state. Sedaris states that “It’s a pretty grim world when I can’t even feel superior to a toddler” (Sedaris, 168). His answer was to convert all nouns to plural forms. This phrase brings out the desperation in a humorous way. As a result, the author is able to get the readers’ empathy. Sedaris concludes the story in a humorous way. Despite the insults hurled against him by the French teacher, the author leaves the readers still pleased with him. The author concludes, “……..The world opened up, and it was with great joy that I responded, “I know the thing that you speak exact now. Talk me more, you, plus, please, plus………” (Sedaris, 173). Not only does this phrase leave the readers happy but it also leaves the readers quite pleased with the author.
Themes
- Racism
In the story ‘what’s your name girl?’ the theme of racism is evident. According to Sarler, “Many of the problems Maya encounters in her childhood stem from the overt racism of her white neighbors” (Sarler, 22). At the beginning of the essay, the narrator states that the training to maturity given to black girls was different from that given to white girls. The author notes that “Admittedly the training was not the same. While white girls learned to waltz and sit gracefully with a teacup balanced on their knees, we were lagging behind, learning the mid-Victorian values with very little money to indulge them. (Come and see Edna Lomax spending the money she made picking cotton on five balls of ecru tatting thread” (Angelou, 1).
Furthermore, racism is more evident when Mrs. Cullinan changes Margaret’s name to Mary. We note Margaret’s frustration but there was nothing she could do about it. The author means that for a whole week she looked into her employer’s eyes when she called her the wrong name. The author states, “Every person I knew had a hellish horror of being called out of his name. It was a dangerous practice to call a Negro anything that could be loosely construed as insulting because of the centuries of their having been called n_____s…”(Angelou,4). The above phrase shows that a white person could change a black person’s name if he or she did not like the name. In Margaret’s case, Mrs. Cullinan thought Margaret’s name was too long.
- Language
In ‘me talk pretty one day’ the theme of language is evident. From an early age, the author develops his terminology to avoid lisping “s”. The author moves to France where he takes French lessons. The French professor makes ridicules the students. Throughout the essay, the author takes us through his struggle of learning the French language. The author notes that out of desperation to learn the language he changed all the nouns to plurals.
Conclusion
After comparing the two essays it is important to note that both essays have been written in the first persona. Furthermore, humor is used in both essays. However, the authors have raised different themes in their essays. The theme that is evident in Sedaris’ essay is the use of language. On the other hand, the theme that is evident in Angelou’s essay is racism.
Works Cited
Angelou, Maya (p 1, p 2, p4). ‘What’s your name Pretty Girl?’ forsyth.com. Literary Types. 2007.
Sarler, Carol (p 22). ‘A life in the day of Maya Angelou’. In Jeffrey M. Elliot. Conversations with Maya Angelou. Jackson. Mississippi: University Press, 1989. Print.
Sedaris, David (p 168, p173). ’Me Talk Pretty One Day’. New York: Little, Brown, 2000.Print.