Introduction
When the author “David Sedaris” moved to Normandy, France, he wrote a number of essays among which “Jesus Shaves” is one in his compilation Me Talk Pretty One Day. From the essay “Jesus Shaves”, it can be easily gathered that the knowledge of all characters is based upon their personal beliefs, cultures and their experiences. However, due to the obvious language barrier, the students within the classroom are unable to transfer their knowledge to others. It gets hard for them to explain their exact thoughts and what comes out in speech seems far too ambiguous for the rest of the classroom. It cannot be denied that the language barrier was one of the reasons why the Moroccan woman could not understand the significance of Easter. However, what Sedaris fails to understand in “Jesus Shaves” is that the different cultural beliefs and religious views and the lack of their complete knowledge were also contributing factors to the entire story.
Assumptions of David in “Jesus Shaves”
When the topic of Easter was touched in the classroom, a Muslim Moroccan woman had no idea about what Easter really was. David assumed in “Jesus Shaves” that “Despite her having grown up in a Muslim country, it seemed she might have heard it mentioned once or twice”, but she really had no idea about what this occasion really was (Sedaris). This is when “The rest of the class jumped in, offering bits of information that would have given the pope an aneurysm” (Sedaris). The language barrier was indeed a barrier. The students tried to explain what this day really was based on their own cultural knowledge such as according to the Poles, “”It is a party for the little boy of God who call his-self Jesus” while the other one added “He call his self-Jesus, and then he be die one day on two morsels of lumber” (Sedaris). The other students then continued to deliver their knowledge based on the culture they were brought up in but the Moroccan Muslims woman was still very confused and did not really understand the true meaning and the significance of Easter in Christianity. When everyone was unable to explain the actual importance of Easter and why it is celebrated, the class did “what any self-respecting group of people might do. We talked about food instead” (Sedaris). The discussion in “Jesus Shaves” then led to the dinner parties and the celebration of Easter rather than focusing on the exact impact or importance of this day in Christianity.
Discussion of Easter in “Jesus Shaves”
While this discussion was going on, the Italian woman claimed that “Easter is a party for to eat of the lamb. One, too, may eat of the chocolate” (Sedaris). This is where the argument between the teacher and Sedaris started off. The teacher asked the class where does that chocolate come from and to which Sedaris responded “The Rabbit of Easter. He bring of the chocolate” (Sedaris). However, David’s response was welcomed with shock and astonishment by not only the teacher but the entire classroom. Even though majority of the classroom belonged to Christianity, their cultural beliefs and knowledge was the major barrier to their understanding and not the fact that they all did not speak the same language. Even the teacher was not open to the idea of accepting knowledge of different cultures and countries and that can be seen when she asked David about the rabbit: “”A rabbit?” The teacher, assuming I’d used the wrong word, positioned her index fingers on top of her head, wiggling them as though they were ears. “You mean one of these? A rabbit rabbit?”” (Sedaris). The teacher was clearly disappointed with what David had tried to deliver in the class and claimed that in France it is actually the Easter Bell that brings the chocolate. Instead of respecting the different cultural beliefs, the essay portrays how every individual believed that their culture was perfect and what their country follows is the perfect ritual. A simple question asked by a woman who did not even belong to the same religion made it very obvious how people cannot communicate their knowledge only because of their difference in cultural beliefs and rituals. The factor of language barrier also played some role, but the arrogance of not accepting each other’s culture was the major obstacle in delivering the knowledge to the Muslim woman.
Ideas in “Jesus Shaves”
Another aspect in “Jesus Shaves” that was clear was that even though the students and the teachers had different ideas, concepts and beliefs about Easter, not a single person had the clear and exact knowledge of what their culture really was. It might be that they were unable to explain the exact matters due to the language barrier but the fact that their own knowledge was not clear is also very evident from the essay. The teacher only explained that the chocolates are brought by the Easter Bell in France but she did not give any information regarding the entire history of the Easter Bell or how exactly was it that people started believing in this? David and the teacher were both pretty confident that their culture is the right one and the Muslim woman should know about their culture rather than the other one. It is very evident because when the teacher said that how can a rabbit know where one lives, to that David writes in his essay that “but at least a rabbit has eyes. That’s a start. Rabbits move from place to place, while most bells can only go back and forth–and they can’t even do that on their own power. On top of that, the Easter Bunny has character; he’s someone you’d like to meet and shake hands with. A bell has all the personality of a cast-iron skillet. It’s like saying that come Christmas; a magic dustpan flies in from the North Pole, led by eight flying cinder blocks” (Sedaris). From these lines of “Jesus Shaves”, it is pretty evident that David could not even think that his culture was wrong and the teacher believed that the culture and beliefs followed in France or what was taught to her was right. However, none of them were able to explain their point precisely, not because of the language barrier but because of their lack of knowledge with regard to the Easter Bunny and the Easter Bell.
Language Barrier in “Jesus Shaves”
What started off as a mundane and usual class of learning about the French culture and the language in “Jesus Shaves”, it turned to be rather unusual that day; when people were asked to explain about Easter, they were unable to do so because of the language barrier and their lack of knowledge as well? Every individual in the classroom believed that their culture and knowledge was the correct one. However, the Muslim woman was still very ambiguous about the Easter day and the author believes that it is due to the language barrier and his classmates and he were unable to deliver their knowledge to their class fellow. However, the major problem behind this entire scene was that nobody had complete and solid knowledge about the Easter Rabbit or the Easter Bell and hence they were unable to explain this concept to the Muslim woman.
Works Cited
Relevant Questions about “Jesus Shaves” by David Sedaris: Analysis
- How does David Sedaris use humor in “Jesus Shaves” to highlight the challenges of language and cultural differences? What specific comedic techniques or anecdotes contribute to the essay’s humor?
- What does the essay reveal about the complexities and misunderstandings that can arise when individuals from different cultural backgrounds attempt to communicate? Are there any moments in the essay where cultural stereotypes or assumptions play a role in these misunderstandings?
- In “Jesus Shaves,” Sedaris and his classmates are attempting to explain the concept of Easter to their French teacher. What does this exchange reveal about the cultural significance of holidays and rituals, and how does it illustrate the difficulties in translating such concepts across languages and culture
