Summary Of Go Carolina By David Sedaris

The words sound so simple coming from adults: Just be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. On the contrary, the advice can prove difficult for a child to follow. In his younger years, author David Sedaris perceived differences in his own identity and struggled with fear of judgment from others, inspiring him years later to write “Go Carolina.” His short story presents a first-person perspective, using metaphor, word choice, and imagery, to give readers a glimpse into David’s inner thoughts and feelings and explore how outside judgment damages one's self-confidence.
Sedaris implements an extended metaphor in his opener to emphasize how his difference leads to feelings of isolation and shame. He creatively introduces his work by asking readers

David clearly dislikes sports but he finds it “best to pretend otherwise” to avoid criticism of his unconventional preferences (Sedaris, 1). Further, when “Agent Samson” asks David whether he prefers State or Carolina college athletic teams, his attention immediately shifts to worry if others will call him one of the many “names for boys who [don’t] like sports” (Sedaris, 1). Sedaris includes such a thought to display David’s fear of negative opinions quickly surrounding him from classmates at school, supported by his decision to untruthfully answer State in order to conceal his true self. David’s insecurity quickly increases when the therapist draws attention to his lisp, strengthening her continual push for him to face his differences throughout the story. As a result, he sees this as an attack on his identity and therefore chooses to hide it from the world, dreading possible exposure and criticism from

David continues to use words without the “s” sound to mask his self-consciousness; eventually, however, the speech therapist tricks him into apologizing with “‘I’m thorry’” (Sedaris, 5). While it remains unclear if or when David decides to improve his lisp, the author chooses to include the moment to display his first step on the path to future self-acceptance in order to inspire readers to take pride in their differences and ignore others’ thoughts and