Running head: The Growth of David’s Self-Realization
Naked: The Growth of David’s Self-Realization
Via Learning Experiences
Charles Joseph Arroyo-de las Peñas
University of California, Merced
David Sedaris’ Naked is a memoir, portraying David as a character constantly unable to
gain acceptance through various situations and environments. However, he progressively steps
forward onto the path of self-realization until he finally arrives at full circle from where he is at
the beginning of the book. David starts out as a little boy fantasizing about how all other people
look up to him and his family as wealthy and far superior to them. As the book moves on
however, reality slams down, showing David to be a young boy with OCD, unable to blend in
with the other kids due to his many odd yet mandatory behaviors that set him apart. While at first
he tries (and fails) to blend in with others, David slowly but surely is able to understand and
accept himself, leading to self-realization and ultimately back to the start of the memoir. These
events, which first brought him down, are what inevitably contribute to David’s gain of selfworth and pride. Chapters two, sixteen and seventeen strongly exhibit the growth experienced by
David.
Naked begins with David creating a large scene in his head picturing himself as a Jesuslike saint, both stunningly attractive as well as charitable. However, reality swiftly crashes upon
him with his mother yelling at him. Leading into chapter two, A Plague of Tics, it quickly
becomes obvious that the fairytale that David had been dreaming up in chapter one was a method
1
Running head: The Growth of David’s Self-Realization
of escape for him. Constantly dissatisfied with the life he and his family lead, David also
fantasizes about his “real” parents coming to pick him and save him. In short, he cannot accept
his family’s social status – in addition to the fact that his mother keeps giving him new sisters –
and he craves for an escape route. Perhaps it is for this reason that the tics that develop in chapter
two arise. The tics, which include: touching, licking, poking, and rearranging, all demand an
enormous chunk of concentration from David, which provides an escape route from having to
think about the lack of “family” in his family. OCD can be manifested is small children around
the age of seven due to stressful family relationships (I Heyman, D Mataix-Cols and N A
Fineberg, 2006).
Progressing through the book and into chapter sixteen, Ashes, David slowly begins to
understand more about himself, his family, and the wealth that he has one previously desired for.
He sees his mother –clearly dying of cancer – refusing to change her ways of smoking and
drinking. In some ways, this inspires him to be more firm about his own beliefs. He
acknowledged that he would be homosexual for the rest of his life, and came to terms with his
mother’s inevitable death. The emotional effect on David was not realized until later. The
relationship between them was aloof at best, with little reciprocation of love or care. At one
point, when David told his mother that he loved her, his mother responded saying she’d pretend
she hadn’t heard that (Sedaris, 1997), which clearly indicated little affection within the family.
This undoubtly contributed to the slow development
David’s final test came in the form of a nudist colony. His former thoughts and
assumptions were questioned and tested, and he came back to the “real world” a changed man.
In fact, David himself says that “It was as if I’d received the true version of the X-ray specs I’d
2
Running head: The Growth of David’s Self-Realization
ordered as a kid” (Sedaris, 1997). During his time isolated with nudists, David noticed that the
clothes that people wore did not necessarily contribute to their personality. He also came to
terms with himself, and accepted it – something he’d been unable to do for the entire course of
the book. Finally, we come full circle to the first chapter, where David felt rather superior to
others. This time, however, it was not a fantasy constructed within the confines of his brain, but
rather a genuine feeling exhibited through his expression of being and demeanor.
Throughout the book, David exhibited behavior the indicated insecurity and failure to
understand or accept himself. However, through life-altering events such as the death of his
mother and his choice of joining a nudist colony, he was finally able to see himself for who he
was, and accept it.
3
Running head: The Growth of David’s Self-Realization
References
1. Obsessive-compulsive disorder
I Heyman, D Mataix-Cols and N A Fineberg
BMJ: British Medical Journal , Vol. 333, No. 7565 (26 August 2006), pp. 424-429
Published by: BMJ Publishing Group
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40700053
2. Naked
Sedaris, David
4