David Foster Wallace Commencement Speech Analysis

Bono, the lead singer of the band U2, is in love with America1. He is in love with america because it is an idea. An idea is a plan of action, and america has the idea of anything is possible2. The first leader of this country was George Washington, and after 8 years of presidency he addressed the nation for the last time as president. During his Farewell Address Washington talked on 5 main ideas which are party, power, religion and morality, debt, and foreign policy. Although we have listened in the past to Washington we aren't listing today to Washington warnings about the emphasis on religion in our morality, about the abuse of power, and the accumulation of debt.

In the 2005 commencement address at Kenyon College, David Foster Wallace delivered an unusual message to the graduates. He uses a unique approach to the typical conventions of a commencement speech in order to catch the attention of the graduates and to reinforce the honesty of his message. By defying their expectations, he urges them to consider their own obliviousness and to look past their own natural biases in order to see what’s truly right in front of them.

In David Foster Wallace’s Commencement Speech, he opens with a short parable about how a fish greets two other fishes and ask them how’s the water today, this parable introduces us to his message which is changing that default setting which is hard-wired into our brains to have a life worth living. I agree with his statement because this is’nt just the first time this formula has been brought to our attention. Many success people have said this statement in some form or fashion, we can even look at David Sedaris’s commencement speech.

One of the finest commencement speeches was given by David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College. Wallace’s speech can be viewed as enlightening to those who are often blindly single-minded. It forces the audience to take a look at the way they approach everyday situations, rather than being self-centered, consider others before yourself. However, many overlook Wallace’s impeccable rhetorical maneuvers, focusing on the constant clichés and fictional anecdotes used. What people don’t realize is these clichés and fictional anecdotes are what make Wallace’s speech effective and reinforce the basic principles we were taught as a child, to share and think of others before ourselves. Overlooking Wallace’s flawless technique is doing a disservice to

Problems are hard to solve sometimes, some problems may go on forever and we might keep thinking to ourselves that we solved it but really we're taking a five minute break. If only people knew how hard it was. Most every day people see life as an never ending stressful day until you have no more days and realized how much you had to begin with. But then you have the people that are clinged to the past and don't move on. That's really most of our problem the good ole days we say how good they were at the same time admiring those days so much that we miss out on what good we've been given today.

Being in a crowded area, and someone giving a speech and all we can think is what is the point of this speech? Or who is this speech for? Many Kenyon graduates, of the year 2005, can relate when they were listening to David Foster Wallace in their commencement speech. Many people can agree that the last thing these graduates want to do is to be in this really long ceremony before they can go on and start their lives with whatever career they decided to study. Wallace does not only make a really good speech to capture his audience attention, but he does it in a really unique professional way. When it comes to speech pathos, logos, and ethos is very important and each one of those things need to be in the speech in order

In David Foster Wallace’s Kenyon Commencement Address, he tells the graduate students that in order to fully receive an education, they first must learn to think. Through his use of dry humor, Wallace gives the college graduates a realistic view on life after college, and how it will be physically, mentally, and emotionally draining and lead to boredom and frustration. However, he provides them with tools to combat these negative emotions in hopes to lessen the stress they will encounter in their daily lives.

Speeches, for the most part, posses various arguments the speaker attempts to make evident throughout the text; occasionally, these do not become simple to detect and require much deeper interiorizing. David Foster Wallace delivers a commencement speech to Kenyon College Class of 2005. Wallace touches on a myriad of points including important realities, religion, different views, arrogance, and the real value of education revealing how an individual can submerge themselves in the hostile way of thinking about the day to day life becoming arrogant and unaware of the essential things hidden in plain sight.

Washington’s first term as president was supposed to end in 1792, but his colleagues were reluctant to lose him as their leader of numerous qualities and sound judgment, and therefore, urged him to stay on for another term. On February 13, 1793, Washington was again unanimously elected president. During his second term, he pushed for the United States to establish neutrality in international conflicts, and also establish its own identity rather than rely on other nations. Washington also saw the emergence of two opposing political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans, an idea of which he was opposed. As he neared the end of his second term, Washington grew tired, thus, attacks by political opponents and other burdens of the presidency

A president’s inaugural address is perhaps one of the most defining aspects of their entire career due to the inclusion of carefully woven emotional appeals and blandishments that encourage the citizens to become more politically active. The enticing nature of these empty promises infiltrates virtually every American’s mind, signifying a beginning to a promising era that results in feelings of patriotic optimism. The charismatic and youthful president John F. Kennedy successfully assuaged the nation’s anxiety and utilized his powerful platform to promote worldwide cooperation and unity that could uplift America. Through the use of his firm yet optimistic tone, Kennedy conveys the importance of compromise in a world where malignance remains prevalent and utter obliteration is potentially seconds away.

Author David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech to the class of 2005 at Kenyon College centered on an atypical commencement topic; the correlation of a person’s thought process and their overall happiness. Wallace contends that the natural way in which people think, the “default-setting,” is easy and unconscious yet detrimental. An alternative way of thinking, a “well-adjusted” approach that Wallace advocates, is hard work and takes practice yet is much more constructive. Throughout the speech, Wallace juxtaposes these two ways of thinking by associating the default-setting with the idea of death, while the “well-adjusted” approach is associated with life. This highlights the monumental importance of the often overlooked notion of making a conscious decision about what and how to think.

Franklin D. Roosevelt speech was one of the most empowering and encouraging speeches of all time. He gave americans a reason see the amazing new ways of freedom we will eventually be able live by fighting and winning this war. “We are fighting today for security, for progress, and for peace, not only for ourselves but for all men, not only for one generation but for all generations”. He makes sure everyone understands that we need to be willing to risk it all and we must strive to be ten stronger than any other army. This speech has changed many people's perceptions on this war we are about enter. He wants to explain the importance of the upcoming war. Everyone needs to know they things may become tough but note that only the strong will survive, which is us the United States. We will show why United States is the the strongest army. Freedom will be the next step for our country and our families.

In early 1961, the United States of America was enduring racial tensions and inequalities on the home-front, as well as waging war against Communism and the Cold War internationally. Chaos and fear had penetrated the minds of the American people because the Cold War was near its pinnacle; the American people longed for a strong, reassuring leader. John F. Kennedy provided that reassurance in his Inaugural Address. Taking the current national and international turmoil into account, Kennedy sought to persuade the Nation’s people to join in his efforts and unify together in order to achieve peace. The inaugural address is saturated with rhetorical strategies seeking to flatter the American People and utilizes words of encouragement to evoke

The speech by Debra Hawhee describes a scenario, called the Unending Conversation, in which a continuous conversation is occuring in the world. She argues that these types of conversations occur everywhere and will continue throughout the student’s four years of college and into the future. Throughout her speech she describes that through the college experience and education, these students will learn how to engage in the conversation and respond. She encourages the idea not to stray away from disagreement because it allows for people to listen to other people which leads to critical thinking, more thoughtful response and an overall better conversation. David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech describes the importance of the way people think

across. By leading his marches in a peaceful manner, he showed that he respects his followers and that he wants to lead them in a good way. After all of the speeches and protest, Martin went on to write a book on why he leads on peaceful marches. “Stride Toward’s Freedom: The Montgomery Story” was the book he wrote and this tells a reader all about why he led his followers down a peaceful pathway. By have individualized consideration, King shows his followers that they can get more people’s attention for equality.