This blog is a place where you and your fellow ENG101 classmates can share your work. Feel free to post any of your brainstorm ideas or your essay drafts - anything from your first to final drafts. Pay attention to each other, make thoughtful contributions, ask plenty of questions, and most importantly, enjoy each other!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Memento Mori
What struck you as interesting in this story? What "made" the story? Do you know someone who is hard to shop for, crack, etc?
I really enjoyed this story. I sounds a lot like me. I know a couple of people that its hard to shop for. I would like to read more of his writings. There were parts where I felt that I was right there with her.
I think what made the story was the tone Sedaris used, I felt that he was often a bit sarcastic. What struck me as most fascinating in this story was the title. When I originally Google searched for the story, the first listed page said that Memento Mori means "Remember that you will die," roughly translated. Keeping this in mind, it was interesting applying the title to the story. I thought what Sedaris was trying to say was maybe that all of the worries we put into buying someone a gift really don't matter after all. I can recall so many times that I was anxious about what to buy my dad for Christmas, he does the same thing- when you ask him what he wants, he'll shrug his shoulders. When Christmas day comes, or his birthday, he never really cares anyway about what he gets.
The thing I found interesting was the whole thought behind the story. Who would think to write about presents, and how annoying it is when people won't tell you what they really want. One of the neatest things about the essay was Sedaris's idea, "It’s the things you don’t buy that stay with you the longest." The things we want but can't have go like an unscratched itch that we all feel we need. Yet, in reality the items don't matter at all and won't make a bit of difference in our lives. That sentence is what made the story for me. Another idea that came to mind when reading this story is that the gift itself isn't important, but the time that you spend with the people is.
And yes I know many people that are very difficult to shop for, yet they like whatever you get them. Random gifts are the best if you ask me!
I really loved this, it start out. I started reading it in class, and actually laughed out loud (stupidly), so I think I got very "into" it. To be honest, I have to say what was so interesting about this story was how David Sedaris was able to incorporate his life so clearly. I got to know him in this, and I think that's why I liked it so much. I got to know his family, his past, his boyfriend, where he lived. He was able to make me feel quite comfortable with him, and his life. And that made me comfortable, and able to journey with him and his boyfriend's skeleton. I normally don't worry too much about gifts, because I like creating a random little gift boxes for people.
It was a very interesting peice. I am still a little confused as to the gender of the narrator but I think he is a gay man. His brother says "I should have paid him back his 25,000 dollars" and the significant other is Hugh. I think it would bother me too to have a skeleton especially in the bedroom. I have nightmares even if I just think about dinosaurs before bed, let alone fell asleep with a skeleton breathing down my neck.
I am rather confused. I can’t tell if this is an all fiction story, or if it is just one big metaphor. Is it really a skeleton, or does the skeleton have a bigger significance. (Is it really a skeleton in the closet?) If the main character is not meant to be gay, then ignore that comment) On another note, I though the descriptive writing was amazing. He painted a picture that is STILL in my head. His tone of voice also set off with a bit of cocky humor, which I really enjoy. Sarcasm is one of my favorite qualities in writing. Overall I really enjoyed this piece, it was a little lengthy, but the more I think about it, the length was necessary. I would read it again and recommend it, because it put a few smirks on my face.
I actually liked this story. I loved thinking about how buying certain people gifts can be really hard. Who would ever think to write about a subject like this. Giving a gift to someone is not the important part of life, but being with that person and having those memories to share are what make things in life important. Also I thought that the story was written very clearly, easily understood. I think that the skeleton was a very important part of the story. Thinking about death and what things in life are important. The part I remember most is how no matter where the person was, the skeleton reminded them that indeed they were going to die. It really makes you think about life.
I found the baby skeleton part very interesting and very discomforting. Maybe it's just me but the idea of buying a skeleton of a baby really creeps me out. Something else I found interesting was the sentence about how the skeleton doesn't disappear.
"Dangling between the dresser and the bedroom door, he is the last thing I see before falling asleep, and the first thing I see in the morning."
That is such a well written sentence! And it's funny too! That was certainly my favorite sentence. What "made" the story for me was how the skeleton haunted David and brutally informed him that he will die. Of all the ways to find out you are going to die, hearing it from a skeleton has to be one of the most frightening. The title tied in nicely with the point of the skeleton. The only people that are really hard to shop for is my grandparents because I don't want to buy them something that will just collect dust in their house. They are so old that they have gifts from years past and I don't want to buy them something they won't use. Similarly, because they're so old, they are also very stubborn and stuck in their ways and name brands, which makes getting anything difficult as well. Overall, I really enjoyed the article and it's droll sense of humor mixed with sarcasm.
What made the story interesting was the fact that Hugh wouldn't ever tell say what he wanted for a gift. So Sedaris always had to guess, and just buy random things like the fan that hugh said he wish he had in the summer, and he bought it for him, but gave it to him in the winter. Shopping for people is the hardest thing to do and when you give them the present and you see that excitment as they rip the paper and you get excited and then their face flattens to nothing and you hear, "oh".
I think the most interesting part of this story was the way Sedaris described everything, the details that he used really brought you into the piece. The other thing that dragged me into this story was the feeling of being lost when trying to shop for somebody. I'd say I'm fairly familiar with that feeling, and because of that I felt like I could relate to that element of the story.
I didnt love the story but it was ok. it just reminds me of how hard it is to get that perfect gift for that special someone. every year it takes me days to try to find out what to give my girlfriend and i hate that. i just want to walk into a store, look for ten minutes and buy her a gift, but that never happens. overall this story was a good one.
The way that Sedaris tells his stories is what makes them. If you have read a lot of his work, you can immediately tell when something is his because he has this sarcastic voice he always uses in his pieces.
This was an ok story. It didn't really catch me or anything but he did describe everything really well which I like. I agree with Tim on his comment lol.
I didn't really like this essay, but i did like the tone Sedaris used. Yes it is hard to find someone a gift, especially when they don't tell you what they want.
15 comments:
I really enjoyed this story. I sounds a lot like me. I know a couple of people that its hard to shop for. I would like to read more of his writings. There were parts where I felt that I was right there with her.
I think what made the story was the tone Sedaris used, I felt that he was often a bit sarcastic. What struck me as most fascinating in this story was the title. When I originally Google searched for the story, the first listed page said that Memento Mori means "Remember that you will die," roughly translated. Keeping this in mind, it was interesting applying the title to the story. I thought what Sedaris was trying to say was maybe that all of the worries we put into buying someone a gift really don't matter after all. I can recall so many times that I was anxious about what to buy my dad for Christmas, he does the same thing- when you ask him what he wants, he'll shrug his shoulders. When Christmas day comes, or his birthday, he never really cares anyway about what he gets.
The thing I found interesting was the whole thought behind the story. Who would think to write about presents, and how annoying it is when people won't tell you what they really want. One of the neatest things about the essay was Sedaris's idea, "It’s the things you don’t buy that stay with you the longest." The things we want but can't have go like an unscratched itch that we all feel we need. Yet, in reality the items don't matter at all and won't make a bit of difference in our lives. That sentence is what made the story for me. Another idea that came to mind when reading this story is that the gift itself isn't important, but the time that you spend with the people is.
And yes I know many people that are very difficult to shop for, yet they like whatever you get them. Random gifts are the best if you ask me!
I really loved this, it start out. I started reading it in class, and actually laughed out loud (stupidly), so I think I got very "into" it.
To be honest, I have to say what was so interesting about this story was how David Sedaris was able to incorporate his life so clearly. I got to know him in this, and I think that's why I liked it so much. I got to know his family, his past, his boyfriend, where he lived. He was able to make me feel quite comfortable with him, and his life. And that made me comfortable, and able to journey with him and his boyfriend's skeleton.
I normally don't worry too much about gifts, because I like creating a random little gift boxes for people.
It was a very interesting peice. I am still a little confused as to the gender of the narrator but I think he is a gay man. His brother says "I should have paid him back his 25,000 dollars" and the significant other is Hugh. I think it would bother me too to have a skeleton especially in the bedroom. I have nightmares even if I just think about dinosaurs before bed, let alone fell asleep with a skeleton breathing down my neck.
I am rather confused. I can’t tell if this is an all fiction story, or if it is just one big metaphor. Is it really a skeleton, or does the skeleton have a bigger significance. (Is it really a skeleton in the closet?) If the main character is not meant to be gay, then ignore that comment)
On another note, I though the descriptive writing was amazing. He painted a picture that is STILL in my head. His tone of voice also set off with a bit of cocky humor, which I really enjoy. Sarcasm is one of my favorite qualities in writing.
Overall I really enjoyed this piece, it was a little lengthy, but the more I think about it, the length was necessary. I would read it again and recommend it, because it put a few smirks on my face.
I actually liked this story. I loved thinking about how buying certain people gifts can be really hard. Who would ever think to write about a subject like this. Giving a gift to someone is not the important part of life, but being with that person and having those memories to share are what make things in life important. Also I thought that the story was written very clearly, easily understood. I think that the skeleton was a very important part of the story. Thinking about death and what things in life are important. The part I remember most is how no matter where the person was, the skeleton reminded them that indeed they were going to die. It really makes you think about life.
i liked this story.. it made me think on how hard it is to buy my girlfriend gifts.. it sucks
I found the baby skeleton part very interesting and very discomforting. Maybe it's just me but the idea of buying a skeleton of a baby really creeps me out.
Something else I found interesting was the sentence about how the skeleton doesn't disappear.
"Dangling between the dresser and the bedroom door, he is the last thing I see before falling asleep, and the first thing I see in the morning."
That is such a well written sentence! And it's funny too! That was certainly my favorite sentence.
What "made" the story for me was how the skeleton haunted David and brutally informed him that he will die. Of all the ways to find out you are going to die, hearing it from a skeleton has to be one of the most frightening. The title tied in nicely with the point of the skeleton.
The only people that are really hard to shop for is my grandparents because I don't want to buy them something that will just collect dust in their house. They are so old that they have gifts from years past and I don't want to buy them something they won't use. Similarly, because they're so old, they are also very stubborn and stuck in their ways and name brands, which makes getting anything difficult as well.
Overall, I really enjoyed the article and it's droll sense of humor mixed with sarcasm.
What made the story interesting was the fact that Hugh wouldn't ever tell say what he wanted for a gift. So Sedaris always had to guess, and just buy random things like the fan that hugh said he wish he had in the summer, and he bought it for him, but gave it to him in the winter. Shopping for people is the hardest thing to do and when you give them the present and you see that excitment as they rip the paper and you get excited and then their face flattens to nothing and you hear, "oh".
I think the most interesting part of this story was the way Sedaris described everything, the details that he used really brought you into the piece. The other thing that dragged me into this story was the feeling of being lost when trying to shop for somebody. I'd say I'm fairly familiar with that feeling, and because of that I felt like I could relate to that element of the story.
I didnt love the story but it was ok. it just reminds me of how hard it is to get that perfect gift for that special someone. every year it takes me days to try to find out what to give my girlfriend and i hate that. i just want to walk into a store, look for ten minutes and buy her a gift, but that never happens. overall this story was a good one.
The way that Sedaris tells his stories is what makes them. If you have read a lot of his work, you can immediately tell when something is his because he has this sarcastic voice he always uses in his pieces.
This was an ok story. It didn't really catch me or anything but he did describe everything really well which I like. I agree with Tim on his comment lol.
I didn't really like this essay, but i did like the tone Sedaris used. Yes it is hard to find someone a gift, especially when they don't tell you what they want.
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