"Suburban" Thesis Statement

Portraying a lighthearted exchange between neighbors in "Suburban",  John Ciardi utilizes situational irony, subtle sarcasm, and comedy of manners in order to display the importance of a healthy relationship between neighbors in a suburban environment where everything is so close knit.

Self-Deprecation

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been “the tall girl”.  The one that has to special order extra-long jeans.  The one that has no problem with high shelves.  This is not to say that I am very far out of the ordinary.  At 5’ 10.5” I am hardly the “jolly-green giant” my friends refer to me as.  In all honesty though, I love being taller than all of my friends.  I mean, I’m the only one that can reach the bowls whenever we are baking!  In addition to that, I make a fantastic beacon whenever we have to meet in a crowd!

           This is to say nothing of the inevitable clumsiness that comes with being tall.  As a figure skater, I am supposed to be the embodiment of grace.  This could not be further from the truth.  When I fall, it’s a long way down and of course it’s never when I’m doing anything intricate.  I mean, I got a concussion after falling from doing backwards crossovers!  Something that I could essentially do in my sleep!  I’ve fallen up stairs, down stairs, and you name it, I’ve probably sprained it twice.  The first time I sprained my ankle, I was skipping in my 7th grade gym class!  I’d like to blame this on my disproportionate body, but that would just be me making excuses!            People always say to me, “Oh, you’re so tall!  Do you play basketball?” and the only thing I can think to reply is “No, do you work for Willie Wonka?"  My mom and I actually make bets on things like that!  Once we were going to a family friend’s house that we haven’t seen in a while.  I bet my mom that the first thing she would say to me was something about my height.  Sure enough, as soon as we walked through the door I hear, “Hannah!  You’ve gotten so tall!”  Needless to say, my mom and I started laughing hysterically leaving our friend incredibly confused.  At this point, it’s gotten predictable.