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Cheyenne Carpenter
Ms. Simpson
College Writing and Research
Final Summary Response Essay
Depiction-Through the Son’s Eyes
Disappointment; is to fail to fulfill expectations. Disappointment is a fact of life, yet
depending on the scale of let down some may forgive. Yet in the short story titled “The
Ship Shape” in the book Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim written by David
Sedaris the letdown of the father is far greater than the level of simple forgiveness. This
is a short story of David, the main character, being let down by his father’s never ending
promises with no development in the end. After reading Sedaris’s short story I connect
with him in his use of descriptive language and the development and telling of the story,
yet I have trouble relating to him when it comes to the development of many of the
characters throughout the story.
The short story “The Ship Shape” depicts a family’s personal struggles. In the
beginning the mother and son are at the dry cleaners and overhear the women in front
of them discussing “...[her] home...well, one of [her] homes...”(18) the mother and son
go on the rest of the day mocking this lady. Yet after years this same mother and son
along with the rest of their family begin taking vacations in North Carolina to the beach.
After Lou (the father) decides he enjoys the golf course he declares that from now on
they should just “skip the middleman and just buy a place” (22). The kids as well as the
mother are ecstatic at this idea.
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Right away the parents set up a meeting with a real-estate agent nearby to just
go over the possibilities. The mom declares that “it’s just a meeting nothing more” (23).
Yet when they return from the meeting the mom is so excited she cannot contain herself
and Lou tells her to share their findings. The mother declares that they found one place
that Lou the father says is “perfect” and “a real beauty” (23). To celebrate the family
goes out to dinner and David demands another Coke and leans back in his chair “drunk
with the power of a second home” (24).
The following day their parents took them to see the house. The children spend
the car ride to the house thinking of possible names, since every house in town has one
posted on the outside. The children loved the house and even went as far as to “claim
their bedrooms” (27). Yet their father then declares a few days later that instead of
buying the house they should “buy some land, wait a few years, and think about
building...” (27) and by the final day he decided instead of buying land on Emerald
Island they should just “add a pool” (27) to their current house. Which was soon down to
just a bar in the basement. The short story ends with a summary of the future
endeavors of this family including the children's return to the beach minus their parents,
as well as the father’s lack of ability to deliver on his promises. He promises many
things like cars and trips yet never could follow through.
In the short story “The Ship Shape” written by David Sedaris one aspect that I
really enjoyed was the descriptive language throughout, including phrases such as ones
written about Emerald Island; “the oceanfront cottages were on stilts, which made them
appear if not large, then at least imposing” (21). Picturesque language such as this
using substance and description to explain what these cottages physically look like and
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how imposing their presence is on the people who come there sparks pictures in my
mind and cause me to be more immersed in the story I am reading. When Sedaris uses
descriptive language in this short story it forces the readers mind to visualize what the
character is seeing, in this situation the extravagant homes the family is seeing on their
way into town for their vacation. Also after explaining the luck of bad weather that
summer the writer describes the sky as being “mottled pewter” (22), using verbiage like
this instead of simple plain grey sparks the mind to use its imagination. Through the
descriptive language I am taking away from the story the true moments and feelings the
author is trying to resonate through his words.
The diction in this short story does an amazing job of bringing the reader in and
painting pictures in the readers’ mind of the events that are occurring. Such as the
scene at the restaurant when the parents took the children out to eat to celebrate finding
the beach house of their dreams. Sedaris explains the situation as this; “a waitress
passed the table, and without saying please, I demanded another Coke. She went on to
fetch it, and I settled back in my chair, drunk with the power of a second home” (24).
This quote alone can demonstrate all aspects of the fantastic word choice Sedaris uses
throughout this story.
This scene in the short story illustrates in the readers mind David stopping the
waitress and leisurely almost brat like sitting back in his chair while pondering all the
power he would hold with having a second house he goes on to say “when school
[begins], my classmates [will] court me, hoping I might invite them for a weekend” (24)
this statement caused a flashback in my mind to middle school to a friend I had who felt
this way about her second home.
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When an author causes the reader to have a flashback to something in their life it
means that their writing is well developed and structured in a relatable way. The phrase
“drunk with power” (24) also emanates the true power the main character feels he
holds. Although the descriptive language in this short story does a fantastic job of
creating vivid pictures the development of certain situations is lacking character
development.
In this short story a family is depicted through conversations and through David’s
perspective. Throughout the short story David mentions his siblings many times, yet the
reader is never formally introduced to all of them nor is the reader ever sure of exactly
how many there are. For me this created some confusion while reading. When reading I
want to understand who is being talked about or who exactly the conversation is
between. I believe the author should have developed the siblings in this short story
better. Possibly through a small introduction in the beginning of the story or as the story
went along introducing them when they were present in the plot.
Along with the lack of background with the siblings, I also believe the author
should have spent more time developing the father as a character due to the fact that in
the end he is who the short story is mainly about and the disappointment he brings to
the family. When the father appears in the short story Sedaris does a great job of
depicting his attitudes as well as his actions. Yet to completely understand his actions
and reasoning I believe I would need background and an introduction into the father’s
normal behaviors. And even his daily mentality since I as a reader only observe him at
the vacation home. Using a short introduction would help to eliminate any questions
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when it comes to these characters, and would help the reader better relate and
understand the characters actions throughout.
Even though there was a lack of character development in parts of this short
story there was no lack of storyline. I felt as though the plot was executed well and
flowed well throughout. As a reader I could not help but keep reading to find out how
this story ended and what the father did in the end with the disappointment he has
caused his family. I could not have picked a better ending for this story nor could I come
up with a better view to tell the story from. I enjoyed how the story was told from David’s
point of view; I thought it told the story from a childs point of view and showed how
David viewed his parents actions and decisions.
The transitions from one scene to the other are very smooth and allow the reader
time to transition into a new setting. Such as when one of the scenes end while the
children and all the parents are in the car discussing possible names from their new
home, and then the transition into the next section begins with thoughts on the new
house. The two sections are most definitely related yet occur in different settings; but
the writer composes the story in a way that makes it easy for the reader to see where
the story is going at all times.
The short story “The Ship Shape” written by David Sedaris summarizes a family's
journey in a vacation home. Sedaris uses his abilities to write a story that uses
extraordinary descriptive language and has transitions and flow and make it an easy to
read story as well as one you cannot put down. Yet even though there are many great
aspects to this story it is lacking in character development. I felt the siblings and the
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father could have been bettered introduced to help clear up any questions that would
later surface.
The father in the end cannot avoid the disappointment he causes to his family
and the children and mother cannot move on from the promises he made and did not
follow through with. Disappointment- the failure to follow through with the given
expectations; which in the end causes this family to fall apart.
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Works Cited
“Disappointment.” Webster’s New Pocket Dictionary. Cleveland: Wiley Publishing Inc.
2000. Print.
Sedaris, David. "The Ship Shape." Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. New
York: Back Bay Books, 2004. Print.