Me Talk Pretty One Day

by

David Sedaris

Carol Character Analysis

Carol is an American woman Sedaris encounters on the metro in Paris. Carol listens intently as Martin—her travel partner—speaks loudly and disparagingly about Sedaris, operating under the assumption that Sedaris is French. When Martin says that Sedaris is a pickpocket who wants to steal her wallet, Carol is deeply troubled, fully believing him. It never occurs to Carol or Martin that Sedaris might not be a pickpocket or, for that matter, that he might not be French. Accordingly, Sedaris frames them as perfect representations of American arrogance and ignorance.

Carol Quotes in Me Talk Pretty One Day

The Me Talk Pretty One Day quotes below are all either spoken by Carol or refer to Carol. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity and Insecurity Theme Icon
).
Picka Pocketoni Quotes

People are often frightened of Parisians, but an American in Paris will find no harsher critic than another American. France isn’t even my country, but there I was, deciding that these people needed to be sent back home, preferably in chains. In disliking them, I was forced to recognize my own pretension, and that made me hate them even more.

Related Characters: David Sedaris (speaker), Martin, Carol
Page Number: 223
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Me Talk Pretty One Day LitChart as a printable PDF.
Me Talk Pretty One Day PDF

Carol Quotes in Me Talk Pretty One Day

The Me Talk Pretty One Day quotes below are all either spoken by Carol or refer to Carol. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity and Insecurity Theme Icon
).
Picka Pocketoni Quotes

People are often frightened of Parisians, but an American in Paris will find no harsher critic than another American. France isn’t even my country, but there I was, deciding that these people needed to be sent back home, preferably in chains. In disliking them, I was forced to recognize my own pretension, and that made me hate them even more.

Related Characters: David Sedaris (speaker), Martin, Carol
Page Number: 223
Explanation and Analysis: