David Foster Wallace This Is Water Analysis

This is Water, was a commencement speech given by David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College in 2005. Ever since this speech has been given it has become well known. Because of the length, it can be hard to read through the speech while trying to understand the whole idea of it. Wallace fills the speech with stories, examples, and vivid ideas while trying to convince these college graduates how to view life in a positive perspective. While this speech is packed full of ideas he manages to give it in a way outside of the norm for commencement speeches. Yet still gets all the information to the graduates and anyone else who listens to it.

The chosen theme for the experimental film is water. This film will follow an associational non-narrative style; linked to the quote “Mind is just like water, when agitated; it is difficult to see what lies beneath, when settled; the answers surface; the purpose of life becomes clear”. This film will be considered an associational non-narrative style due to the juxtaposition of related images to suggest the concept of the quote to the audience.

In addition to adding a sense of insecurity to the story, the water, as Judd is “staring down”, symbolizes him taking a reflective look into both his life, and the idea of life(2). Furthermore, the rushing of water signifies life itself, and how it can be smooth, rocky, and even sometimes unstable. In addition to this new insight Judd gains, he also obtains a sense of adulthood as a result of this newfound knowledge. This understanding that “they would lose me” is an idea that very scarcely seen, in which not many people make at all in their

In David Foster Wallace’s graduation speech, This Is Water, he uses logical and emotional appeals to discuss the importance of critical thinking. Wallace uses the term “conscious” to signal critical thinkers, while those who do not think critically are referred to as “unconscious.” Wallace’s main argument is that a person has the choice to think critically and should do so every day. Wallace’s analysis of consciousness and unconsciousness focusses too heavily on the logical and emotional appeals and ignores the possible ethical arguments that support the development of conscious societies, such as activism. In doing so, Wallace favours the self-interested members of the audience and alienates those who favour altruism, limiting the

The author of “This is Water”, David Foster Wallace, uses the anecdote of the wise old fish and the younger fish to show us the importance of being aware of our surroundings. At the end of the speech when Wallace states “This is water” again it is trying to remind us that life is what you let it to be.

“It’s okay to look back on the past. Just don’t stare.” Benjamin Dover once said. The quote is significant to the true meaning of the poem. Reflecting on the past may be a good thing, but one shouldn’t emerge themselves too deep. Throughout the poem, Lowell writes with explicit detail. The speaker reflects on their past experiences with someone whilst living in a small town in Maine. The duo would sit on a rock and watch the sea flow onto them at times. At first itIn “Water”, written by the poet Robert Lowell, the theme of reflecting on the past is illustrated through Lowell’s use of imagery.

“What the hell is water?” “This is Water” was originally given as a speech to college students before it was published in essay form. David Foster Wallace, in his essay “This is Water”, addresses the importance of awareness and perceptiveness of others. He believes this and proper education can help people become well-adjusted to the world around them. He adopts a humorous, personal, and important tone in order to accomplish his rhetorical purpose.

Despite my familial influences there is one man who has changed my entire college experience and has overall contributed to the man I am today. First and foremost, I want to respectfully introduce the speaker of “This is Water”, Mr. David Foster Wallace. David Foster Wallace was an American short story writer, novelist, essayist, as well as a professor of English and creative writing. After watching his 2005 Kenyon Commencement I have gained a new level of respect for David Foster Wallace and his incredible journey. I consider myself an author and “This is Water” contributed and enforced my love for writing. I mention this because it goes to show that his words have rung in the ears of society and changed many lives; including mine. He left

Does the education system encourage or improve your intelligence?. Base on the two articles “This is water” by David Wallace and “Learning to read” by Malcolm X. What I really Know is that education knowledge help you to see life in different ways, open your mind. May be education accelerate the process. In the next steps I will interpret the different ways to see education base in two papers.

‘This is Water’ was originally a commencement speech,delivered by David Foster Wallace, to the graduates of Kenyon College in 2005, the speech was reprinted in the form of a book following his death in 2009. The title of this speech comes from a cliché anecdote about two young fish who were swimming in the ocean, and they pass an older fish who says to them, “morning boys, how’s the water?”, the two fish look at one another and say, “what the hell is water?”. The meaning behind this anecdote is that, most people live their lives and and don’t see the forest for the tree’s. This is me piling my own cliché anecdote on top of DFW’s

William and his father had to wait to get water because as stated in the passage”A tale of segregation”it says that “we'll get our water another day or we'll come back”.But William's father would not be left alone,so they got to get water as soon as all the white people have gotten there water then they were able to do whatever they wanted to do.”This was an act of real prejudice”was said by william's father because two black men were not able to go into the college as said on the youtube video”The Last word John F.Kennedy's finest moment”.What william's father meant when he said”there is going to come a day when this wont be anymore”is that one day there will be a day where all the black and white people will go to the same school and use

One cannot truly change the world around without first mastering the art of looking beyond oneself and into the outside world. This idea of looking beyond oneself has been the focus of ancient and modern philosophers throughout the world. In “The Is Water”(2005), a commencement address, David Foster Wallace, a modern day philosopher, implies that people generally view the world from a selfish perspective and elaborates on how the world should work to reverse its self-centered ways. Wallace reveals his topic through a series of anecdotes, each highlighting a different way we are focused on ourselves and then providing a way to view each situation from a different perspective. Wallace’s purpose is to point out the faults in thinking only for

Nowadays, it is believed that this generational gap exists because the knowledge that fathers might try to endow upon their children is considered “outdated” since the education methods at school become more advanced after each year. Likewise, in the story “A Secret Lost in The Water” by Roch Carrier, the narrator is more captivated by spelling and reading than his father’s stories, since the father and the narrator received different forms of education. For instance, the narrator’s father “was convinced” that his son “was no longer interested in hearing him tell of his adventures during the long weeks when he was far away from the house” (1), since the narrator indicates that he was more “intoxicated by the new game of spelling” (1). Since

Unlike the first song, Jesus Gave Me Water, this song gradually goes into call and response. The lead singer starts to sing and then the beat starts. After the beat starts is when the rest of the group starts to sing their own verse. When they start singing, it seems like it is in response to what the lead vocalist is singing. They respond with “ooohs” after the lead singer ends a verse. This seems to put more emphasis on what is being sang. The conclusion of the song ends with call and response.

“People always ask the fishes, ‘what does the water feel like to you?’ and the fishes are always happy to oblige”(23).The fish have more wisdom compared to the humans. They are more attendant and aware of their surroundings. They know how ignorant the humans can be and always try to help them out. They explain to the humans how water can feel “like the fur of a chinchilla”(23). Or "like the tongue of a cat”(23). It can feel many different ways depending on the temperature or time of the day. When it's cold out, "the water is like cracked glass. Or honey "(23). When honey gets cold it turns solid, like an ice cube and cracks. Cold honey is similar to cracked glass in the way that they look and that they are sharp. To the fish, that's