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Module Three Lesson Three Activity
In the following excerpt from his book Me Talk Pretty One Day, David
Sedaris describes his first encounters with a speech therapist when he was
a child. Please read the excerpt and complete the chart noting the
sentence the word came from, part of speech, denotation, and connotation
of the word.
ANYONE WHO WATCHES EVEN THE SLIGHTEST amount of TV is
familiar with the scene: An agent knocks on the door of some seemingly
ordinary home or office. The door opens, and the person holding the knob
is asked to identify himself. The agent then says, "I'm going to ask you to
come with me."
They're always remarkably calm, these agents. If asked "Why do I need to
go anywhere with you?" they'll straighten their shirt cuffs or idly brush stray
hairs from the sleeves of their sport coats and say, "Oh, I think we both
know why."
The suspect then chooses between doing things the hard way and doing
things the easy way, and the scene ends with either gunfire or the
gentlemanly application of handcuffs. Occasionally it's a case of mistaken
identity, but most often the suspect knows exactly why he's being taken. It
seems he's been expecting this to happen. The anticipation has ruled his
life, and now, finally, the wait is over. You're sometimes led to believe that
this person is actually relieved, but I've never bought it. Though it probably
has its moments, the average day spent in hiding is bound to beat the
average day spent in prison. When it comes time to decide who gets the
bottom bunk, I think anyone would agree that there's a lot to be said for
doing things the hard way.
The agent came for me during a geography lesson. She entered the room
and nodded at my fifth-grade teacher, who stood frowning at a map of
Europe. What would needle me later was the realization that this had all
been prearranged.
My capture had been scheduled to go down at exactly 2:30 on a Thursday
afternoon. The agent would be wearing a dung-colored blazer over a red
knit turtleneck, her heels sensibly low in case the suspect should attempt a
quick getaway.
"David," the teacher said, "this is Miss Samson, and she'd like you to go
with her now." No one else had been called, so why me? I ran down a list of
recent crimes, looking for a conviction that might stick. Setting fire to a
reportedly flameproof Halloween costume, stealing a set of barbecue tongs
from an unguarded patio, altering the word hit on a list of rules posted on
the gymnasium door; never did it occur to me that I might be innocent.
"You might want to take your books with you," the teacher said. "And your
jacket. You probably won't be back before the bell rings."
Though she seemed old at the time, the agent was most likely fresh out of
college. She walked beside me and asked what appeared to be an
innocent and unrelated question: "So, which do you like better, State or
Carolina?"
She was referring to the athletic rivalry between the Triangle area's two
largest universities. Those who cared about such things tended to express
their allegiance by wearing either Tar Heel powder blue, or Wolf Pack red,
two colors that managed to look good on no one. The question of team
preference was common in our part of North Carolina, and the answer
supposedly spoke volumes about the kind of person you either were or
hoped to become.
I had no interest in football or basketball but had learned it was best to
pretend otherwise. If a boy didn't care for barbecued chicken or potato
chips, people would accept it as a matter of personal taste, saying, "Oh
well, I guess it takes all kinds."
When the subject came up, I found it best to ask which team my questioner
preferred. Then I'd say, "Really? Me, too!" Asked by the agent which team I
supported, I took my cue from her red turtleneck and told her that I was for
State.
"Definitely State. State all the way." It was an answer I would regret for
years to come.
"State, did you say?" the agent asked.
"Yes, State. They're the greatest."
"I see." She led me through an unmarked door near the principal's office,
into a small, windowless room furnished with two facing desks. It was the
kind of room where you'd grill someone until they snapped, the kind
frequently painted so as to cover the bloodstains. She gestured toward
what was to become my regular seat, then continued her line of
questioning.
"And what exactly are they, State and Carolina?"
"Colleges? Universities?"
She opened a file on her desk, saying, "Yes, you're right. Your answers are
correct, but you're saying them incorrectly. You're telling me that they're
collegeth and univerthitieth, when actually they're colleges and universities.
You're giving me a th sound instead of a nice clear s. Can you hear the
distinction between the two different sounds?"
I nodded. "May I please have an actual answer?" "Uh-huh."
" 'Uh-huh' is not a word."
"Okay."
"Okay what?"
"Okay," I said. "Sure, I can hear it."
"You can hear what, the distinction? The contrast?"
"Yeah, that."
It was the first battle of my war against the letter s, and I was determined to
dig my foxhole before the sun went down. According to Agent Samson, a
"state certified speech therapist," my s was sibilate, meaning that I lisped.
This was not news to me.
Please copy What is What is the What is the
the sentence the part denotation of the connotation of the
that shows the of word? word?
word here. speech?
Agent An agent noun An agent is The connotation is
knocks on the someone who works that the agent here is
door of some for an organization a speech pathologist
seemingly sometimes secretly who seems secretive
ordinary home like a detective. about her purposes in
or office. removing him from
the classroom for
help.
needle What would verb To bother or annoy Shows how this
needle me later someone, can be in memory kept bugging
was the a small and sneaky him,it didn’t hurt at
realization that way the time. But later he
this had all couldn’t stop thinking
been about it. Makes him
prearranged. feel like he was
tricked.
capture My capture had noun The act of being He’s joking, making it
been caught or taken sound like he’s a
scheduled to criminal. Adds humor
go down at and shows how
exactly 2:30 on serious it felt to him
a Thursday as a kid.
afternoon.
suspect noun Someone thought to Makes Sedaris seem
have done guilty even though
Occasionally something wrong or he’s innocent. He’s
it's a case of illegal. comparing himself to
mistaken a criminal again,
identity, but which makes the
most often the situation feel more
suspect knows intense and kind of
exactly why funny.
he's being
taken.
crimes I ran down a noun Actions that break He’s joking about
list of recent the law. childhood mistakes
crimes, looking like burning a
for a conviction costume or stealing
that might stick. tongs, but he treats
them like real crimes.
Showing how he felt
paranoid
battle noun A fight between two He’s talking about his
sides, usually in war. speech issues like it’s
a literal war. Making it
It was the first dramatic but funny at
battle of my the same time
war against the showing how hard it
letter s, and I was to deal with this.
was
determined to
dig my foxhole
before the sun
went down.
