‘You Can’t Kill the Rooster’ by David Sedaris is a funny and yet critical essay. One of the reasons I found the essay funny is the irony in that Sedaris parents were those people who believed in the concept of perfection. Sedaris and his other siblings were brought up in a strict culture that required them to speak correctly without using any vulgar or even incorrect English like ‘y’all’ in place of ‘you all’(Sedaris, p 1). Smoking cigarettes was not allowed and as Sedaris puts it, this was something that could cause them to be disinherited.

The irony comes in with their small brother Paul who was the complete opposite of what their parents advocated for in regard to use of vulgar language and the way he carried himself. The use of terms ‘motherfucker’, ‘bitch’, ‘pussy’, and ‘shit’ is the common language for Paul (Sedaris, p 1). He constantly smokes weed and their parents have come to accept it even though they do not like it. Another funny but at the same time sad is the fact that Sedaris parent’s in trying their strictness pushed their children away and the only child that they allowed to be himself (Paul) is the one that sticks with them at their old age. Paul even with his character is a loving and caring individual, he is the only one that visits his father during thanksgiving and when his house was destroyed by the hurricane (Sedaris, p 1).

This story is considered to an important piece of modern non-fiction because it is real; it is more than just a funny family story. This is a reflection of the modern society, where parents struggle so much to perfect their children and they end up pushing them away in the end. The children that do not conform to the norms of their parents expectations are looked at as failures. The parents however have no choice but to love and accept them because these are the individuals that show them love and stick by them even at their old age.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Sedaris, David. “You Can't Kill the Rooster: Esquire: JUNE 1998.” Esquire,

            https://classic.esquire.com/article/1998/6/1/you-cant-kill-the-rooster.