Genre
Short Stories, Short Fiction
Setting and Context
North Carolina, New York, Normandy, France.
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator is the author. The stories are told from his own point of view.
Tone and Mood
Upbeat, humorous.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The author is the protagonist, the French language his antagonist.
Major Conflict
There is conflict early on in the stories as David does not want to go to see the school speech therapist for his lisp, but is told that he has to do so.
Climax
David emigrates to Normandy, France, with his partner.
Foreshadowing
The demise of the relationship between David's childhood friend and her girlfriend is foreshadowed by the culture shock that her girlfriend verbalizes on visiting David in New York City.
Understatement
David states that Lou tends to keep foods beyond their use by date, which is a huge understatement as he keeps foods literally for years after their sell by date has passed.
Allusions
David alludes to some of the real life restaurants he frequented in his story "Today's Specials".
Imagery
No specific examples.
Paradox
David and Hugh have experienced wildly different childhoods; David feels that his upbringing was pedestrian whilst Hugh's was exotic.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between David's career and his sister Amy's career as a writer and satirist.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
America is the way in which every individual who lives in the United States is described by the French people David meets.
Personification
The French language is personified in that it seems to be deliberately tripping David up, which a language of course cannot do.
