In "A Shiner Like a Diamond" David Sedaris satirically portrays the dysfunctional relationship between his father and his sister Amy. Throughout Amy's life her father relentlessly monitors her physical appearance with the "intensity of a pimp" (26); he believes that a woman's physical beauty is her greatest asset. Amy is naturally a strong independent woman and in response to her father's "vigilance and pressure" (26) she decides not to be angry with her father, but simply to …showed first 75 words of 1000 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1000 total…but the sarcastic and ironic tone of the essay removes any bitterness the reader may feel towards the father. The reader sympathizes with the father instead of disliking him for treating Amy in such a seemingly oppressive manner because the reader knows the father's intentions are good. Sedaris satirically portrays this ironic relationship between Amy and her father leaving us to sympathize greatly with the father and feel little sympathy for the dark, manipulative Amy.