From the first couple sentences of David Sedaris’ short story you may think that this story is going to be about how North Carolina never had any snow on the ground. Until one winter when North Carolina had a tremendous amount of snowfall and the author had never been happier. “School was canceled, and two days later we got lucky again. ” (Sedaris 89) After the first couple sentences, you realize this story is about so much more. You realize that David Sedaris’ main concern is the relationship between him, his mother, and his sisters who are the same situation that he is during this time in his life.
David mainly ocuses on the event when he and his sisters are home from school. David starts off by stating “Our presence had disrupted the secret life she led while we were at school, and when she could no longer take it, she threw us out. ” (Sedaris 89) Based on this quote from the text the audience can predict that their mother did not like them being home during the week. David uses a lot of details to show the constant battle between his mother and himself, as well as the constant battle between his sisters and their mother. At the beginning of the situation David’s mother kicks him and his sisters out of the house.
The audience is quick to get a grasp of how the mother has complete superiority over her children. David’s mother said “Get the hell out of my house” (Sedaris 89) and what happens after this is what gives the audience this impression. The children then reminded her that “it was our house too. ” (Sedaris 89) The children’s mother then opened the front door and shoved the children onto the carport and said “And stay out! ” (Sedaris 89) This gives the readers a negative impression on the children’s mother and also allows the readers to view the mother as abusive. It makes the readers sympathize for the children.
At this point in the story the audience receives a description of what the mother is doing inside of the house. “I rang the bell, and when no one answered we went to the window and saw our mother in the kitchen, watching television. (Sedaris 89) Then he goes on to say, “Normally she waited until five o’clock to have a drink, but for the past few days she’d been making an exception. ” (Sedaris 89) These statements give the readers an idea that the children’s mother has not been her usual self lately, and she has been rejecting her own children due to her unusual consumption of alcohol during this time.
Eventually the children’s mother leaves the room. At this point, David and his sisters are very annoyed and frustrated with their mother, and they “hate” her. This “hate” for their mother is evident when David’s sister, Lisa, said “That bitch. ” (Sedaris 89) This situation goes on for a little longer when David and his sisters try to find another way into their house and then finally yelling at their mother to let them back in. After these events, the children then try throwing snowballs at their house to gain their mother’s attention, but this as well did not help the children get into their ome.
After this David makes up his own assumption about selfish mothers who abandon their own children, like his mother is. He said “Selfish mothers wanted the house to themselves, and their children were discovered years later, frozen like mastodons in blocks of ice. ” (Sedaris 89) The author purposely puts this in the story to show his mother is a horrible person who deserves nothing for what she has done to her own children. The kids then realize that they are not going to be able to get back into the house, so David comes up with the brilliant idea that one of them should be hit by a car.
Saying “That would teach both of them. ” (Sedaris 90) The children then argue back and forth deciding who should be the one to be hit by a car. His sister, Tiffany, ends up being the odd one out and she gets to lie down in the middle of a road. The author describes the event, “We chose a quiet dip between two hills, a spot where drivers were almost required to skid out of control. ” “She took her place, this six-year-old in a butter-colored coat, and we gathered on the curb to watch. ” (Sedaris 90) This piece from the text shows the audience that he is using imagery to get a reaction from the readers.
He wants the readers to feel sympathetic for his sister who very well might be losing her own life due to a heart-less mother. Luckily, a car does come, but the person just happens to be their neighbor, and he stops just before running over Tiffany. Next, David’s other sister, Lisa, explains to their neighbor that their mother tossed them out of the house, the neighbor understands the whole situation that is going on. Just a bit later the kids see their mother walking towards them while walking around the crest of the hill. The kids assumed that their neighbor told their mother what was going on with her children.
The description of the mother is an interesting one, it gives her children, and the audience a totally different attitude towards the mother. David said “She did not own a pair of pants, and her legs were buried to the calves in snow. We wanted to send her home, to kick her out of nature just as she had kicked us out of the house, but it was hard to stay angry at someone that pitiful- looking. ” (Sedaris 90) This then lets the readers feel sympathy for the mother, and gives the readers the impression that maybe the mother is just going through a rough patch in life and is stressed out having to take her of her children all the time.
Someone can also imply that the reason she has been drinking is so that she can relieve the stress that has come upon her. When the children’s mother finally reaches the kids, Lisa asked her mother “Are you wearing your loafers? ” (Sedaris 90) Their mother responds by lifting her foot that did not have a shoe on it and then saying “I was wearing loafers; I mean really it was there a second ago. ” (Sedaris 90) The author concludes the story by saying, “This was how things went. One moment she was locking us out of our own house and the next we were rooting around in the snow, looking for her left shoe. ‘Oh, forget about t. she said. ‘It’ll turn up in a few days. ” (Sedaris 90)
This concluding statement explains to the readers how David and his sisters could forgive their mother for what she did, and how they still love her. The ending also showed how the mother could change her attitude and feeling towards her children. She cared so much about her children that she went out searching for her children in the cold weather, even with the little clothing that she had. In the end, the audience can have a positive feeling about the mother. Their mother risked her life to save her children, who in the end, she did care about.