Guy Walks into a Bar Car

       In the 2010 edition of The American Best Essays, the writer David Sedaris, wrote Guy Walks into a Bar Car, which was published in The New Yorker. Sedaris is both an American comedian and author who has various essay collections and finds humor through his family experiences. For instance, as the author of this essay, he wrote about a gentleman in around his late 40’s who was attracted to other men and had a boyfriend who had been on and off with him. However, when he tried to get together with that boyfriend, everything went wrong, and he met a man named Johnny in a Bar Car. Then, feelings about Johnny started to stir up, and he began to remember of Bashir, and realizes how he has never had the confidence to be sincere to other guys, since he is gay. Therefore, the purpose for which Sedaris wrote Guy Walks into a Bar Car was to help aware people that if we don’t take advantage of what is in front of us at the moment, then we will never be able to make the right move into what we desire because the same situation will keep on occurring. As a result, the type of audience who David Sedaris is trying to address here are individuals, who are worried or unsure of themselves, and cannot make decisions on their own, without being sure that others with them are thinking the same thing. For example, the way Sedaris accomplished to stress the purpose of his essay was through the structure found in the context of his essay. For instance, he set the scene in a bar car found on a train, accompanied by several men such as the protagonist and Johnny, he set a night in the darkness, and went back and forth on the protagonist’s previous relationships. In addition, his use of rhetorical devices such as imagery and hyperboles also allowed Sedaris to achieve his purpose because by describing each setting such as the one in the darkness, and including certain jokes that were being exaggerated allowed the constant repetition to mix in with the protagonist’s feelings. Therefore, I do believe that David Sedaris successfully accomplished the purpose for which he wrote his essay because throughout the context and rhetorical devices, the story of the gentleman was able to feel truer, especially since the audience can relate to his experience of inner and external feelings of unsureness.  

(Holding Hands, Dreamstime)