Rhetorical Analysis Of `` What The Hell Is Water `` By David Foster Wallace

In the Commencement Speech, “This is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life,” Wallace claims that people are naturally self- centered. (235) We only tend to see the world as it relates or pertains to us. Wallace’s speech is meant to change the graduate’s perspective on the world. Wallace believes that the graduates should heed his advice because it will eventually provide an important

In his essay Consider the Lobster, it’s apparent what David Foster Wallace is trying to tell his audience: we should really think about the lobster’s point of view before cooking and eating it. Wallace uses multiple rhetorical strategies to get his point across, including pathos and ethos. His essay is very good in how it gets its point across, and how it forces even the largest lobster consumers to truly contemplate how the lobster might react being boiled alive. It brings up many controversial topics of animal rights that many people tend to avoid, especially people who are major carnivores. Wallace’s use of rhetorical strategies really gets the reader thinking, and thoroughly captures the argument of many vegetarians against the consumption of animals. Wallace captures the use of pathos in his essay and uses it in a way that is incredibly convincing to the reader. For example, he compares the Maine Lobster Festival to how a Nebraska Beef Festival could be, stating, “at which part of the festivities is watching trucks pull up and the live cattle get driven down the ramp and slaughtered right there…” (Wallace 700). Playing off of people’s natural tendency to feel bad for the cattle, he shows that the killing of lobster is, in reality, no different than the killing of cattle, but we treat it much differently. We tend to think that lobsters are different because they are less human than cows are, and, maybe to make us feel better about our senseless killing of an animal,

Everyone has an opinion when it comes to animals being killed and eaten. If a person agrees or not is completely their own opinion and will not be the focus of the essay. David Wallace’s essay “ Consider the Lobster,” is used to address perspectives of varying opinions while trying to persuade the reader. The author accomplishes this throughout the essay through the excellent use of multiple rhetorical techniques. Rhetorical devices such as ethos, lothos and pathos are all used in the essay to convey the author's opinion and try to convince the reader to choose a side.

For almost two centuries, the system of public education has honored the best and the brightest high school graduates with the honorable titles of valedictorian and salutatorian.Though these titles have been a valued part of graduation for what seem like the entire history of American public schooling, they are under heavy scrutiny as impassioned and angry parents, as well as their hardworking students, attack the idea of only recognizing one or two of the class’s most talented seniors. In “Best in Class”, reporter Margaret Talbot challenges the traditional system of choosing a single valedictorian by by exposing the emotional opposition to the system’s change or preservation; her use of emotional dialogue as well as far less emotional, far more objective writing style allows Talbot to emphasize specific ideas and opinions with syntax to avoid confrontation, while simultaneously establishing that it is time for the traditional system of valedictory to change.

Martha Nussbaum’s argument in her article “Education for Profit, Education for Freedom” carries the message that each person is equal, no matter where they are or where they came from (Nussbaum 8, 13). Within her argument she embraces the fact that compassion is not a limited characteristic. If a person were to fully take the persona of compassion, then it would not be restrained to one type of person, and whether that is gender, race, or ethnicity, people need to experience this interaction of a world different than their own (13). Yet, how do people come to learn of these other nationalities that aren’t their own if they are not placed in the middle of it? Tim Gillespie, even goes on to support the idea of knowing more than just what is around a person, in his article, “Why Literature Matters,” when he states that “literature offers students diversity that their neighborhood may not” (Gillespie 2). Only through literature can this compassion be extended to all regions, a unified concern for not just one, but for the whole world (Nussbaum

Within Wallace’s speech, he suggested to the audience to “Choose to look differently at this… lady who just screamed at her little child in the checkout line maybe she's not usually like this maybe she's been up 3 straight nights holding the hand of her husband who is dying of bone cancer…”. Wallace suggested a more empathetic perception of other people's lives and struggles that they go through. By giving this sensitive example of a husband going through cancer, impacts the reader on an emotional level and gives off the feeling of empathy. Similar to this, Quindlen tells a story of the time she saw one of her best teachers sitting outside on the boardwalk in the winter; he was homeless. As she went on and told her heart-touching story, She then asked him, “why didn't he check himself into the hospital for detox? And he just stared out at the ocean and said, ‘Look at the view, young lady. Look at the view.’” She then continues and told her audience how she would “try to look at the view”. By telling this story, Quindlen showed the audience how to look at the view of their life and enjoy it. This also gave the audience the feeling of empathy towards this homeless man and others lives. This gave the audience something to reflect on in their lives, by considering this less fortunate man staying positive and giving

In 2010, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill was the commencement speaker for California State University, Stanislaus. This speech was addressed to the graduating class of 2010, their friends and family who were attending the ceremony, the California State University, Stanislaus faculty and staff, and people who may have not been able to attend the ceremony, but were able to watch it on a DVD recording. This speech was intended to congratulate the graduates and offer them advice as they enter into the “real world” post-graduation. However, the speech also had to address the family and friends of the graduates and the university’s faculty and staff, since they presumably made a difference in the lives of the graduates.

“This is Water” is a commencement speech given by David Foster Wallace at the Kenyon 2005 graduation. While the speech is unorthodox in terms of commencement speeches, Wallace’s words challenge the graduates to think about what the education they've just received will help them accomplish in the future, and how that education will empower them to find meaning in their adult lives.

With “Consider the Lobster”, Wallace carries an educative story, which helps readers understand the experiencing process of the lobsters and appreciate the issues that he raises regarding the immoral acts done on the lobsters before are finally consumed. Wallace shows his compassion for lobsters’ pain when they are caught and boiled in the water. He writes, “ the truth is that if you, the festival attendee, permit yourself to think that lobsters can suffer and would rather not, the MLF begins to take on the aspect of something like a Roman circus or medieval torture-fest” (Wallace 553). He compares Maine Lobster Festival as well as serving lobster to the types of ancient games where the competitors had to suffer pain and sorrows to entertain the crowd. Nowadays, in order to satisfy

Many high school students have grown jaded with the modern education system, sitting for hours in a classroom almost every day having seemingly useless information crammed into their brains. At some point, the curiosity died and left behind the average student of today. Most people will agree that a change must occur within the way the youth receives an education; however, fewer people have touched on the concept that the students must change their mindsets as well. They must all look beyond the surface level education that teachers tend to focus on and understand what more they can gain. Throughout David Foster Wallace’s speech “This is Water,” Wallace primarily employs “didactic little parable-ish stories” along with hyperbolic examples to enforce the idea that the true benefits of education come from learning simple awareness rather than knowledge.

The primary purpose of Faulkner’s graduation address is to motivate the students as they trudge on in the long road of life. His speech also reflects the turbulent political climate of his time. Faulkner’s speech establishes a common enemy – the politicians of the world trying to conquer Man’s individuality – and proceeds viciously attack the enemy, hoping to bring the students together in a common cause. The students must maintain their integrity, their individuality, their voice, in the fight against the liberal politics and politicians that he alludes to.

Wallace uses a tremendous use of examples in his speech to provide to his audience a better understanding of his main point. In my opinion Wallace’s main purpose of his speech is that so much knowledge, facts, and information are giving to us that’s it’s interesting to see what we do with it. He states in his speech “learning how to think means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.” From this he’s conveying the point that we have the power to decide what matters and what doesn’t. When hearing his

In contrast, Marsh focuses on his personal experiences as a professor, specifically in the “Odyssey Program,” in his effort to evoke sympathy from his readers. In this program, people living at or below 150% of the poverty level and between the ages 18 and 45 could attend night classes for college credit that could be transferred to other colleges in the future. Marsh focuses a little on the individual human aspect of the situation, recalling, “Our valedictorian, a brilliant young African-American woman who had been chosen by her fellow students to represent the class, gave a moving speech, thanking each of the professors individually for their time and describing … what she had learned from each”

To the County High School Class of 2012: As you sit in front of me, I know what most of you are thinking at the moment. There are those who are already pondering about what life without high school will be like; those who are debating whether or not to tell your crush tonight about your whispers of adoration you’ve secretly held for four years; some simply want to get out of that ungodly chair, get that thing that isn’t really a diploma but only tells you when to pick up the thing, and then be the first one on the green bus to the grad party — you know who you are. And the rest, well, the rest aren’t even paying attention, you’re thinking, “Great, here comes one of the valedictorian speakers. Next up: a boring speech straight out of the

A commencement speech is a speech given to graduating students to congratulate them on earning their degree and used to give them a few words of advice before they go. However, commencement speeches do not always have the same message. The speeches will vary between speakers and I will analyze two commencement speeches and show how different they can be from one another. These speeches are: Jim Carrey’s speech hosted at Maharishi University of Management and Bill Gates speech hosted at the University of Harvard. The differences analyzed between the speeches will be the general topic, how the topic is delivered, how the text appeals to values and emotions, how the topics are made credible, and the evidence behind the claims.