Literary Analysis Of David Sedaris's 'Obama !'

If you asked random Europeans who the first American president was you will probably be shocked to witness how many wouldn 't know. Likewise, if you asked Americans where Denmark is located not many would be able to point it out on a map. You could continue testing people and get the same result: not many Europeans know much about American history and culture and vice versa. However, the lack of knowledge does not stop people from having strong opinions on many matters, especially politics, and it can be a factor for prejudice. This is what David Sedaris strongly points out in his essay: "Obama!!!"

David Sedaris is an American comedian and author who lives in France with his boyfriend Hugh. He has noticed that when it comes to French politics people do not share their own political views, all the while they still are too eager to talk about American politics. This bothers him, which is clear in the way he writes with an ironic distance and criticism.

An interesting feature in this essay is the tone and writing style. Sedaris writes with an informal and personal style. He tells the reader about himself and his own personal experiences while he takes a stand point the reader can relate to. He quickly includes his boyfriend Hugh in the story, just like he is quick to make fun of the local people and newspapers: "If it 's not hard to get written up in, say, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it 's really, really not hard to find yourself in L 'Orne Combattante. In fact, it 's