Mr. Water: A Fictional Narrative

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.

You, a single individual, are not the center of the world; contrary to the belief many people are fed as children. This Is Water by David Foster Wallace continues well into detail about such. It is a natural human instinct to care more about your personal situation than that of others. We choose to place ourselves first because of the fear of vulnerability. When fellow human beings become obstacles in our lives we label them as any condescending adjective under the sun; often the terms stupid, annoying, infuriating, pig-like, and slow make their appearances. This is only because the individuals have become hindrances to your daily life however most pose no threat. It is difficult to break the mold but it is indeed possible. Every human has

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.

Grunting over the long and hectic traffic at 8:00 AM, arguing about birth control with the Republican co-worker near the water-cooler machine at 12:00 PM, thinking about heading home and eating supper in the busy office room at 4:30 PM—the college graduate, now a white collar worker, lives in his “default setting,” a term David Foster Wallace, an American author and an English professor, coins in his commencement address, “This is Water” (Wallace, 2005). Embedding itself into the graduate’s mind as “hard-wired” and “natural” (Wallace, 3), the default setting programs the college graduate to only see the world through the lens of himself. Therefore, the graduate becomes angry when the world challenges his self-centeredness. So Wallace suggests

How should you be thinking? The author The topics and arguments This is Water brings up to contrast your beliefs and ideologies.

The doctor struggled for a minute but was able to get a beat on him again. As Luke reached the water, he stopped and began writing down something on the pad of paper he took with him, he held it up in the air, then began reading aloud what was on the pad of paper, "The air is fine. I'm going to check the water now." From his viewpoint, the doctor watched in horror as the wild dogs began to zero in on Luke. Unbeknownst to Luke, he dipped not one but three Ph strips in the water. As he pulled them out the doctor could see, to his bewilderment, the strips were all light green.

One cannot truly change the world 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 different perspectives. Wallace’s purpose is to point out the faults in thinking only for oneself in order to emphasize as well as open up to a different ideology of thought but remaining to maintain a defensive approach without imposing his views on his audience. Although the address was created for college graduates, his speech is able to apply to a broader audience of readers and listeners today.

“This is Water” by David Foster Wallace focuses on finding the silver lining in challenging situations. However, Wallace does not try to create the false illusion that life is always happy-go-lucky. By way of using a bleak diction and cynical tone, Wallace creates a very realistic view on the adult life for his audience, a class of graduating seniors. Wallace reminds the future alumni life can become a ‘day-in and day-out routine’, therefore they must remain optimistic in testing situations and try to find the silver lining when it’s hardest to do so.

In his commencement speech “This is Water” at Kenyon College, David Foster Wallace deeply explored the concept of education and its fundamental purpose. Wallace challenged the conventional view of education simply as a means of acquiring knowledge and expertise in a specific field. Against this, he argued about the true purpose of education, illustrating how it can transform consciousness and shift the mindset from a self-centered to a more open-minded and empathetic, through embracing a more thoughtful approach to living. Thus, by sharing these arguments, Wallace supports the concept that liberal education does indeed affect personal growth and perception of different viewpoints. However, the impact of such education largely depends on individuals' personal autonomy, along with their engagement

This is Water is the most read piece by David Foster Wallace. This is Water was written in the twenty-first century and used as a commencement speech. David Wallace delivered the speech at Kenyon College in two thousand five, for a graduating class. Throughout the essay, Wallace gives references to the generations today. Also, Wallace does such by his illustrations of how many are unconscious in life if its from traffic, worship, or their default settings.

"This is Water" a speech written by David Foster Wallace, was first heard by the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon college has become one of the wisest commencement speeches of all time. While many people in the audience were expecting a congratulation or for the speaker to tell them how they should cherish these moments and send them off. Wallaces, on the other hand, conveys many deep truths about the reality of a mundane life. His speech is one that will never be forgotten. By using rhetorical strategies pathos, ethos and logos, David Foster Wallace does a great job of highlighting the dull moments of adult life and persuading the audience to be conscious about every situation rather than just feeling negative towards it, or living life on the "default setting".

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

In Washington in 1982 there was a plane crash on the pentatonic river. A man repeatedly saved other lives in the place of his own. Rosenblatt states “The odd thing is that we do not even really believe that the man in the water lost his fight.” This man had so much courage and faith to put others lives before his. This saying, he had a plan in mind, he followed through with it, and achieved it so he did not lose the fight, he really won, and also shared his victory with others. He gave up everything he had to give hope to others. Rosenblatt gave another point being, “When the helicopter took off with what was to be the last survivor, he watched everything in the world move away from him, and he deliberately let it happen.” One could think he was content with what he had done. He sacrificed himself for the life of another life. This being said, the anonymous man in the water not only saved 5 lives with a humble heart but gave hope to

When I got back, my tub water was almost all over the place. I turn my water off and took off all my school clothes and put them on the counter. Then I put my phone right next to my bath even though it might not be smart. I put my bath salts in the water, then I grab the bath bomb and put my foot in there to check the temperature. Its a tad bit too hot. Both of my feet went in the water and eventually my whole body did. I drop my bath bomb and watch it dissolve which made my bath water turn to a pale pink color. As soon as I lean back, my phone rings. It's my Aunt Jane.

Who is she? That girl with the long carrot orange hair standing by the brilliant ocean. She seems loud and confident like the leader of a lion's pack, yet gentle in her words like the angel who visits you when you need her. She made everyone surrounding me, lying on this rich sand, seem like they did not exist anymore. She is tall like a king who sits on his golden throne that sparkles like a small meaningful sun no matter if it is day or night. Like most people, she had two feet, but one was somehow longer than the other. She had big blue story telling eyes. I felt like I knew her the moment I saw those dramatic eyes. Her bathing suit was dark green with one big white dot. She stands there by the water debating if she should gracefully dive