In Chang-rae Lee’s personal narrative, “Coming Home Again,”
he describes the story of his mother getting sick. He leaves out all of the
negative side effects of stomach cancer, and instead focuses on centering the narrative
around his positive connections with his mom and the food she used to make. This
is a very powerful narrative. It makes me think about how all moments need to
be cherished, because you never know what will happen in the future. There are
a few passages in the story when Lee seems to regret some of his past
decisions, but it is mostly a recollection of positive and fond memories of his
mother. He tries to let her live on even after she passes, through recreating
the meals she cooked for their family. All of the many anecdotes that Lee
includes, such as his tasting his mother’s meals again after being away at
school, and attempting to make food for her, cause the reader to feel for him.
Even though this might not be his intent, it really makes me think about all of
the precious moments that I have had, and how much they should be appreciated.
David
Sedaris’ “Plague of Tics,” on the other hand, is chronologically written, from
when he was a child to when he was in college. It is a tale about himself,
while “Coming Home Again” is a story about the author’s mother. This narrative
describes his difficult life growing up with OCD. No one seemed to understand
exactly what OCD was, or what he was going through. I cannot imagine how hard
it must have been to deal with what he dealt with for such a long time. Sedaris’
many descriptive anecdotes and dialogue cause me to feel very badly for him, and
almost uncomfortable to imagine being around him. He writes about how he does
not understand why his various tics are wrongdoings; he believes that he has no
other choice. The purpose of this narrative is not particularly clear, but I think
that Sedaris just wants readers to know what he went through, and although many
of his actions were not accepted, he got through it.
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