Strange Story

          In “Plague of Tics”, David Sedaris goes through childhood memories. In the essay, Sedaris shared his school experiences from the start of school at a young age to college. Throughout his stories, Sedaris describes his strange actions. Some of Sedaris’ memories include licking the light switch in his classroom, pressing his nose against windows and mailboxes, and tapping his forehead with the heel of his shoe. Every year, his teacher would come and have a conference with his mother. His mother would always make jokes and imitate gestures and actions that Sedaris does in the classroom. Every year, Sedaris’ mother would know exactly what he is doing in the classroom. It seems like Sedaris didn’t really understand what was going around him. His brain seemed to function in a completely different way from normal human beings. Throughout the essay, Sedaris mentions ways his parents disrespect for having problems. An example he mentioned is when his father told him not to press his nose against the window and when Sedaris’ instinct kicked in, his father stopped the car and gave Sedaris a nosebleed. From the essay, I think its safe to assume that Sedaris’ parents did like him, but were unknowledgeable about that the diseases in his brain. Towards the end of the essay, Sedaris mentions that he has been diagnosed with Tourettes and OCD.  He also states that his symptoms diminished after being introduced to cigarettes in college. When I first read this essay, I was creeped out all throughout the story especially the ending in which he mentions that he basically killed people through the use of a hot air balloon. I’m not really sure if that last part is real, but it was really disturbing. To draw in the audience, David Sedaris explains stories in childhood that are completely abnormal. From his strange interactions with light switches, mailboxes, and other objects, I as the audience was completely drawn in to this insane essay. From beginning to end, I had no idea how this was going to end. From the reading, you can tell that Sedaris’ voice is probably confused. Sedaris’ actions in his younger years seem to be completely normal for him. Sedaris looked at everyone else’s actions as abnormal. In conclusion, Sedaris goes through his childhood and shows the audience his perspective with his symptoms of OCD and Tourettes.