Smart Guy Summary and Analysis

At the age of twenty-five, Sedaris has a job cleaning up construction sites. To make this mindless job worse, Sedaris is often paired with an irritating man named Reggie. Reggie happens to think that he is a genius and brags that he has an IQ of 130. Day in and day out Reggie complains that he should be working at a job that will challenge his intellect. True to form, Sedaris devilishly suggests that Reggie try sweeping the sawdust into a fan if he is looking for a challenge. Reggie takes offense to the comment and insults Sedaris with the implication that he has a low IQ.

Sedaris reflects on this story as he is about to get his IQ tested while living in France. It is something he has always been curious of, and as he flashes back to...