David Sedaris' essay, "Laugh, Kookaburra," is an essay that reveals the inner feelings of the author himself, through the actions of an Australian bird, the kookaburra. A trip to the "Land Down Under" exposes Sedaris to the bird, in a semi-natural habitat. Sedaris looks into the actions of the bird into great depth through the memories he has of his father, and through the great imagery given through the words of the entire essay. A brief plot summary, the overall theme as I see it, and my personal opinion of this essay will reveal a role that the essay can play in the lives of many ordinary people.
"Laugh, Kookaburra" is a short reflection that Sedaris has of his past, both of his trip to Australia, and his childhood with his father. The essay begins with the reader being put in the middle of an arguement between Sedaris and his father. Sedaris's father exclaims that in order to really be in Australia, one must see the countryside, not just the cities. This gets under the skin of Sedaris, as he knows he saw the wilderness, he just cannot give proof. The only thing Sedaris can think to do is get his friend, Hugh, on the phone, which would not happen during a dinner.Sedaris goes on to tell of his trip to Australia, including a woman named Pat, who he had met a couple years earlier in Paris. Had it not been for this lady, the heart and theme of the essay would not be existant. Pat offers herself as a tour guide and takes Sedaris through the country, and then moves along to "the bush," which turns out to be a forest. Whie going through the forest, Pat brings up an interesting point. She asked Sedaris and his traveling partner, to invision a four-burner stove. Each burner represented one important factor in one's life: family, friends, health, and work. Pat added that in order to be really successful, you had to cut two off. Sedaris goes through the entire essay trying to find the second burner he turned off, but cannot quite seem to solve it.
Later, on a stop during the trip, the group goes to a lunch in a small town building. While waiting on their first course, Sedaris spots a kookaburra staring at him through the window. He asks questions to the employees, then goes to feed the bird. The bird flings its food several times before eating it, reminding Sedaris of a song he learned, and how singing the song ended up with him being beat by his father. The visions the kookaburra gave him made him realize that he had turned off the "family" burner already, but had yet to turn off a second. He ends the essay by imaging the laughing of the kookaburra in the wilderness, just like the song he learned in the fifth grade went.
The theme, as I see it, was given to the reader, by Pat. When she brought up the four-burner stove image. The theme of turning off two burners in order to be really successful is a good way to look at how to be a success. But, even though it is good, it can also be bad. I think that you have to do this to be really successful, but is that the most important thing? I want to be good with all four of these aspects, which were listed earlier. I want to be close to my family, be close with my friends, have good health, and be good at the work that I do. This is a good outlook on how to be successful, but I do not think it would be the right thing to do, as an empty space would be left in the heart of everyone who attempted to do something like this.
My opinion on this essay is that is has a good message. Having parents that stick up for you, and try to keep you from a world that rejects people like David are good people. Even though their actions might lead our minds to think they are mean and abusive, their actions are in love, and are for the good of the child. In the case of this essay, David gets beaten by his father, who is trying to paddle the girly signs out of him. David would not listen to his father's warnings, and had the punishment coming to him. There have been many times where I have been spanked in my childhood years at home. I realize all of this happened for a reason, and it has ultimately helped turn me into a respectable young man, who can be respected, as well as treat people with the same respect. I can relate to David in these ways, but I can honestly say, I did not end up in the same boat as Sedaris in later years.
