David's Mother

Sedaris' "Go Carolina" looked at social constructions, education, and conformation.  This writing gives the reader a lot of information, with a dash of humor to help it be understood.  I decided to look at David's interactions with his mother.  The first time we see David talk to his mother, he is complaining to her about his speech therapist.  His mother responds saying "I'm sure she's not that bad. Giver her a break.  The girl's just trying to do her job" (9).  Although his mother does not side with David's complaints of the therapist, I imagine this being a comfortable, teasing scene between David and his mother.  This thought is strengthened by the fact that David continues to rely in his mother.  The easy-going interactions between David and his mother contrast with the interactions between David and the therapist.  The therapist is manipulative, and does not seem to care much for David.  At his last therapy session, Miss Samson is able to trick David into making a s sound, and she reacts not as the reader would expect her to act: "She laughed much more than she needed to and was still at it when she signed the form recommending me for the following year's speech therapy program" (15).  This would have been devastating for a child, and not highly constructive toward his therapy.  When David relays the story to his mother, she laughs just as Miss Samson had, saying to her son "you've got to admit that you really are a sucker" (15).  David ends on a note of humor: "I agreed but, because none of my speech classes ever made a difference, I still prefer to use the word chump" (15).  David acknowledges that he agreed with his mother, and ends recalling that his speech therapy was unsuccessful.  I imagine that his mother was who David trusted, and that although she supported his therapy, her support was not in the interest of changing her son.  She displays the same humorous personality as her son in "Go Carolina."