Six to eight black men - David Sedaris

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• mavo
• Leerjaar 4

Essay reading: Six to eight black men 

David Sedaris

Who is David Sedaris?

Humorist

Essayist

The essay (2004) is meant to be funny.

 

The subject is 'zwarte piet'
(the way he used to be)

What do you expect? Make some predictions.

KOZP (kick out zwarte piet): what do we know about this?

They have been protesting and slowly changing the so-called  "tradition" for over ten years now. 
The essay we'll read is older (from 2004)!

Vocabulary: look up new words

Some expressions and chunks (and phrasal verbs): to get your bearings / bide your time / to tend to go overboard / to narrow it down /  duking it out amongst themselves / to stay put / a hard pill to swallow 

Some vocabulary: enclosed / companion / homogenous / reassure / regionalism / icebreaker / barnyard animals / disbelief / pious / mass / devote / quaint / resembling / carryover / cultural chauvenist / denounced / grotesque / redefined / hostility / perverse / go off / barricade / furnace / vaporize / bounty / hairy / to anticipate / second-rate / competitive / hostile 

Enclosed

afgeschermd / opgesloten

mass & devote

de mis (in de kerk) & toewijden

quaint

disbelief (ongeloof)

Hostility

Vijandigheid

barricade

vaporize

Farm animals

official population numbers 

 hidden from view

 all of the same kind / similar

fat

someone who thinks his own culture is better than other cultures

devout (moral)

cloth covering a tea pot to keep warm

census figures

concealed

homogenous

barnyard animals

pious

Obese

tea cozy

cultural chauvinist

Read the story again and underline lines in which Sedaris uses irony/sarcasm/satire

Discuss with your group what the effect of the lines you underlined are.

Why did you choose those lines, and what is the effect on the reader?

Now, let's look at the end of the essay together.

Write:

1) Write  down what you think he was trying to accomplish with the story. Also write down your opinion: did he succeed? Why (not)?
2) Write a review: what did you think of the essay?
3) Write your own personal reaction 

Share

First with your group, then hand it in with me

Finish this sentence: In this class I learned......

Finish this sentence: This class made me think about....

Finish the sentence: What I'd like to say about this class is....