Thesis Statement
In this essay, I am going to discuss how storytelling is used in different works. The comparison between storytelling and writing will also appear in the piece. I shall look at the ideas expressed by David Sedaris in the book ‘me talk pretty one day’ as well as the impression from ‘what writing is.’ I will also discuss the effects of the spoken words as expressed in the two writings.
To begin with, David Sedaris expresses difficulties experienced when trying to learn a foreign language. David Sedaris realized that it was difficult to learn a foreign language when attending a French class. From the story, we find out that pronouncing a word or an alphabet differs from one language to the other. David did not know how to pronounce the alphabet even though the alphabet was made up of the same letters. David found it hard to answer the question of the alphabet. In this, we see that through storytelling, one expresses oneself (Roy, Brandon, et al. p 66). The difference between understanding and learning to speak a language is brought out. After some time, David could hear and understand the French language but still could not pronounce the words.
In the book, ’ Me Talk Pretty One Day,’ we find irritation, which comes from profound understanding. David is abused by the teacher due to the inability to pronounce French words and alphabets (Karp, David .p 85). In writing, one reads the words the way they are written. Pronunciation does not matter much in reading as long as the person reading understands the printed piece. In writing, it is essential to disconnect from the environment. Stephen King advises one to take a risk when writing. One should disconnect from the world to enable concentration on writing. In writing, a clear choice of the words to be used is crucial to a writer. Selection of the word differs in the literature and storytelling in that while writing, the word chosen should express the feeling and the emotion of the writer at the time of writing.
In writing, sentence structure should be considered, as argued in Justin Key’s blog. In the book ‘what is writing’ by Stephen King, sentence structure is well illustrated. From the beginning of the writing to the end, the ideas connect from one to the other without mixing up the ideas. Another crucial aspect of writing, according to Justin Key, is the description (Herold and Christopher, p 71). The way Stephen Key describes the place Stephen was and the surrounding environment helps the reader understand the concepts of the writing. Another description in Stephen’s article is the table’s size, length, and width, as well as the items on the table. The description brings us to one of the core differences between reading a written work and listening to a story. In reading, you cannot see the material of the item described in the article, and you cannot verify the availability of the report at the scene. In storytelling, both the audience, the storyteller and the items required, in most cases, share the stage. By dividing the scene, the audience identifies the material and confirms the availability of the elements described.
Another difference is that even though the chosen words in writing have an effect on the intended audience, the writer cannot see the impact of the words (Herold and Christopher, p 75). Justin’s blog shows the need for a good choice of words. The writer should choose words that are clear and simple. The words chosen should as well affect the writer (Plante, p 39). From David’s ‘me talk pretty one day,’ the effect of the word used by the teacher are expressed openly. David reveals the pain and frustration gone through as a result of poor pronunciation. The word the teacher uses also shows the pain due to the inability of the learners.
The interview by Colin Marshal on better writing illustrates how to improve the writing process. David categorizes the writing process into stages: reading the written article roundly, keeping a diary, and carrying a notebook. Reading the article will help the writer to confirm whether there is a rhyming theme as well as establish the rhythm. My thought diary acts as a reminder of the activities to be carried out at different times. The notebook is for writing on. An author writes at any place as long as one has an idea of what to write.
Spoken word is a situation where an individual or a group of individuals takes time to talk to the audience. The speaker may recite a poem, sing a song or tell a story while the audience listens. Spoken words have a variety of importance. One of the important aspects of the spoken word is teaching the audience. As seen from the story of David, ‘I talk pretty one day,’ after taking time to listen to the teacher, David could understand everything in French. Through the spoken word, David and the rest of the students learned French (Roy, Brandon, et al., p 65).
Another impression of the spoken word is that the word would be used to trigger the mind of the audience to think. When David heard the teacher was exhausted from the foolishness shown, David decided to work extra hard to ensure that there was something in return for the teacher’s attempt. Immediately, David’s mind opened and responded to the teacher. Those words from the teacher made David to trigger the mind to get a response. The spoken words teach the audience. The spoken words are also used to trigger the emotions of the intended audience. From the book what is writing, the fact that there was Christmas shopping would tell the emotion of the wife. The wife was frustrated by the fact that there was no shopping for Christmas. Another emotion from this is the happiness from the visit of Stephen’s son.
Spoken words motivate the audience to work even harder to improve their own situation. Immediately, the teacher referred to David as lazy, and David added additional time to time spent on homework. David increased the time used, especially when the teacher required the student to work on an essay as well as an extra four hours at night for doing other usual homework. By doing so, David would create a positive self-identity and build up self-esteem as soon as David pronounced the French alphabet. On the other hand, spoken words can be used to demoralize the listener. After the students expressed themselves in class, the teacher saw no good thing in what the learners said. The teacher took time to criticize every speaker who gave out their own views in class. By the end of the day, the learners went home feeling low and demoralized. The learners believed that nothing good would come out of them.
In conclusion, trying to learn a foreign language can be a problem, as expressed by David, but with self-motivation, one can quickly learn the language. As long as one is familiar with a different language, one needs to accept the criticism that comes with the new environment. When learning, one feels like a little child, no matter how big a person seems. This situation appears immediately after the teacher starts teaching the alphabet in French (Van, p. 125). David realized that the French alphabet was not familiar and, hence, like a small kindergarten child. The entire class, therefore, had to spend weeks experiencing verbal abuse from the teacher for them to learn. The abuses used by the teacher made the student feel low and idiotic even though, to some extent, the injuries encouraged some of the clients to work extra hard to improve their pronunciation of the French alphabet. David explains how bad the experience was having forgotten the word ‘typewriter’ in French.
Works Cited
Herold, J. Christopher. Mind of Napoleon: A selection of his written and spoken words. Pickle Partners Publishing, (2016): 70-76
Karp, David A. Speaking of sadness: Depression, disconnection, and the meanings of illness. Oxford University Press, (2016): 80-90
Plante, David. Difficult Women: A Memoir of Three. New York Review of Books, (2017); 35-45
Roy, Brandon C., et al. “Predicting the birth of a spoken word.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112.41 (2015): 63-68.
Van Manen, Max. Phenomenology of practice: Meaning-giving methods in phenomenological research and writing. Routledge, (2016): 115-130
