Sedaris majors in both patricide and matricide at Princeton. Photo by: AndreasPraefcke/Wiki
Lots of funny quotes in this short essay. If anyone has ever struggled in what they’re going to “do” with their lives, especially those young folk attending colleges and universities, then let Sedaris show you the way. Going for that English major and your parents, as Will Smith raps, just don’t understand? You dad responds as Sedaris’ dad does by incredulating “‘You’re going to study literature and get a job doing what? …Literaturizing?’”
Sometimes I wonder if Sedaris wasn’t a fly on the wall of my own home.
Sedaris manages to keep it all together in one wrapped essay here, instead of those weird sidebars that have you believing the story is going to be about something completely different than it actually turns out to be (see the openings of The Simpsons cartoon if you want to know what this technique looks like in action). Sometimes I feel like rolling with him; most times I just want him to stick to the topic. He does here.
Gist of the Story:
Sedaris goes to Princeton. We never find out exactly why he applied or how he got in but his parents are extremely proud. His dad buys all sorts of Princeton stuff and embarrasses Sedaris, of course. Sedaris is confused about what he is studying, why he is studying, what he wants to do, etc. In one exchange with his father, Sedaris tells him he’ll be majoring in patricide, which provokes the proud and heartfelt response, “‘Killed by a Princeton graduate…my own son, no less.’” And also sparking envy from his mother, “‘So what’s wrong with matricide?…You too high and mighty to take out your own mother?’”
Maybe I’m just easily amused but I thought this exchange was hilarious. Especially after Sedaris caves into taking a double major in both patricide and matricide.
This all comes back around very neatly at the end of the tale (no spoilers here). One of the more traditionally told stories in this book.
First Lines, Last Words
“It’s been interesting to walk around campus this afternoon, as when I went to Princeton things were completely different.”
“What started as a dodge had inadvertently become my life’s work, an irony I never could have appreciated had my extraordinary parents not put me through Princeton.”
Quotable
I’m dating myself, but this was before Jesus Christ.
Book Rating
I’ll be rating When You Are Engulfed in Flames as a whole. See my book ratings and how they work.
My name is Britty and I'm chief bottle-washer at this site. I'm a book-lover, student and freelance writer when I'm not being a mom of three and wife of one.
