Miss Samson tricks Sedaris into using the word “sorry” by appealing to his emotions. Instead of treating him with her characteristic strictness, she opens up. In doing so, she makes it seem like they have finally made a personal connection, and though Sedaris doesn’t particularly like Miss Samson, he does appreciate the opportunity to relate to another person. In other words, Miss Samson cruelly plays on Sedaris’s desire for a sense of social acceptance. On another note, it’s worth recognizing that “Go Carolina” culminates in a joke about the fact that Sedaris has never gotten over his lisp. For all intents and purposes, this humorous final line is the most important part of the entire essay, serving as the pay-off. This formula repeats throughout
Me Talk Pretty One Day, a book more interested in making humorous observations than pursuing any kind of argument or philosophical idea. Simply put, many of Sedaris’s essays work toward punchlines that conclude the narrative in a satisfying, zany way, meaning that his musings largely exist for the purpose of making the reader laugh and—in some cases—reflect on life’s many small oddities.