Zach Panos
Period 6
David Sedaris “Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa”
I believe Sedaris chose to have many examples throughout his story, so that he could verify
his main point that not everybody grows up exactly the same. Multiple examples work out better
than a single example in this scenario because overall, it provides a better description and insight
for the reader. I also believe that the first five paragraphs are about a conversation David and
Hugh had, because it provides first hand experiences and thoughts on what each character
thought was “normal”. Also, the author uses parallelism in paragraph 8 to explain the difference
between him and Hugh by explaining how Hugh had a house for of helpers, and he had nothing.
He then points this out by going on to say that having protection means you are rich and
important. He also bashes on himself by calling him a petty thief, which again describes how
little of importance he is. Lastly, David uses very specific and concrete language throughout the
essay. Some examples of this would be when he says his life was unspeakably dull, how he
describes Hugh won the prize when it came to “nouns and verbs”, and how he describes Hugh
and his family adventure on “one ordinary Congo day”.
Barbara Lazear Ascher “On Compassion”
In Ascher’s essay, the two men exemplify, in my opinion, the average human. In the first
scenario, quite clearly both the man and the women with her baby look different, but on the
inside they are exactly the same. The man does not say a word to the stranger as he approaches
her, as most of us would do, though the women still feels the need to protect her love one
because of the appearance of the man. In the second scenario, the man is casually playing with
his feet. When someone is bored, is it not uncommon for one to make due of their time and find
something productive to do. Though that may not be the main point illustrated, that is how it is
laid out in my eyes. With that being said, Ascher’s thesis of the essay is to observe her
surroundings, as her purpose is to examine the true motives between various gestures of
kindness, wondering if they are caused by either fear or compassion. Just like the stories, Barbara
choses to start her story with supporting examples for easy clarification. If the reader has a
scenario in their mind on how something is happening, it is easier to apply a concept or idea to
the story. Ascher uses a variety of paragraph structure throughout the essay, like in paragraph 13.
In this paragraph, she emphasizes the importance of compassion and how it is learned. In basic
terms, compassion is a skill one must learn through life experiences, and is not something they
are born with. In that paragraph she also describes the differences between empathy and
compassion. Empathy is defined as the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing
of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another. Compassion is defined as a feeling of deep
sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire
to alleviate the suffering. With knowing this, Ascher says that “empathy is the mother of
compassion”. I believe this to be true because empathy is the art of being able to share ones
feelings and emotions, and compassion is feeling bad for ones mistakes and misfortunes.