This is Freedom David Wallace, in This is Water, makes noteworthy claims that all human beings are truly self-centered in nature and how being aware of our surroundings, allows us to be in control of how and what we think. He makes these claims to have the reader realize that when they become aware of their surroundings, they get a sense of real, conscious life and free thinking versus the reality that is perceived in our minds when we are in a negative default setting. Wallace’s approach to free thinking is enlightening and very insightful. After reading the speech, it is clear that truly being a free thinker means choosing what reality is and being able to decide what to give meaning to. Wallace notes that actively deciding to think this way is tough, it takes a lot of effort, and some days it will not be possible, however, it is important to try because then people are able to think for themselves and pay attention to the …show more content…
Wallace defines the freedom needed to be a free thinker as, “... attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.” This essentially summarizes, his main argument of this speech, which is to be observant of the background, in order to be a free thinker and to be able to see the reality in the world and in other people. Even though Wallace makes vaillant claims, one pitfall to his speech is that he overwhelmingly decided to focus on negative situations where being a free thinker is necessary. Obviously, in negative situations it is the hardest time to stop the default setting and start putting in effort to perceive the situation in a different way, but being free thinking should be utilized every
In “This is Water,” the author, David Foster Wallace, argues that the interpretation of life is a conscious and intentional decision, only learning by being aware of exercising and taking control of how one thinks. In his 2005 Commencement Address, Wallace begins by introducing the topic of life and how each person perceives it, especially regarding a liberal arts education. Wallace later explains the concept of different realities, meaning that two different people can perceive the same experience with two different meanings. Wallace uses the example of both a Christian and an atheist, and how the atheist was caught in a blizzard and cried out to God for help, and moments later a group of Eskimos wandered by and took him back to camp. The Christian saw this as a miracle from God, while the Atheist saw a group of
Wallace, David. "Water" Kenyon College Commenament Speech 2005. Water's new and different point of view instantly draws the readers attention and makes them whant to continuereading. Walter explain's how people instantly only think about their own needs and do not think about what the person next to them might be going through. Walter makes the reader think about their actions and their own life making them realize that they could be happy by only making the correct decion.
Wallace shows his literary intellect in his use of the rhetorical device. He describes the nod to the opposition when he details the way we are not supposed to think by calling it our “default setting”. He starts off by saying that he would have tendencies to feel like he was the center of the world, but excuses that behavior by saying “It is our default setting, hard-wired into our boards at birth” (. The author explains the consequences of not controlling your default setting by continuing his story about the trip to the grocery store. Wallace declares “ Because the traffic jams and crowded aisles and long checkout lines give me time to think, and if I don 't make a conscious decision about how to think and what to pay attention to, I 'm
He makes reference to his opposition by stating the appeals to misconceptions about the liberal arts he is trying to disprove. Different from Wallace, he sometimes uses statistics to help support his argument. For example, in his second misconception he talks about how college students are struggling to find jobs and having a liberal arts degree doesn’t make it easier. He plainly strikes down this notion by telling us that it’s difficult for all majors to find a job once you graduate and goes on further to state “Association of American Colleges and Universities actually found that more than three-quarters of our nation's employers recommend that college bound students pursue a "liberal
Richaunti Williams AP English 3 4th period PART I: The Color of Water by James McBride Memoir Published in 1995 James McBride is our protagonist of this story. A biracial man just trying to figure out where he comes from, and by that I mean, where his mother comes from.
Throughout his essay, Wallace considers
After reading Krakauer’s Into the Wild and Henry David Thoreau’s exerts from Walden, we can see a deep connection between Christopher McCandless and Thoreau’s transcendental beliefs. Both Chris McCandless and Thoreau show transcendentalism in their actions of self-wisdom, differences, and liberation. Chris McCandless life choices in Into the wild reflect the transcendental beliefs of Thoreau’s Walden. The first transcendental belief of McCandless is that he marches to the beat of a different drummer.
Chua sates “But most of me feels tremendous gratitude for freedom and creative opportunity that America had given me” (Chua 22). Knowing that she did not fined freedom through Wallace’s definition of freedom, she also saying that she found freedom thought the opportunity’s that America has given her, that she wouldn’t be able to accomplish on her own if her family hadn’t moved here. As Wallace would think finding freedom would mean finding it through education and learning as Wallace’s states “This, I submit, is the freedom of a real education, of learning how to be well adjusted” (Wallace 207). Here Wallace is describing yet another type of freedom that he describes in his speech that learning is process to re-adjusting the way you think.
It’s hard to conceive as to why nothing can work out in my favor at this period of time, but pon my improved perception, brought upon by Wallace’s speech, I was able to apprehend my self-oriented personality and pessimistic stance on life and my decisions, which ultimately displayed the unnecessary negativity and caused me to have a more positive outlook on life, that I should start being more considerate and empathetic towards others, more caring for others, and more aware of what others are going through as well. To draw a close, Wallace offers an ideal explanation that if people don’t begin to exercise the flexibility they have when it comes to choosing how to think or add meaning to their routine experiences, they have nothing to gain and life loses its beauty. “This is Water” not only sends the message that humans are naturally self-centered, but also suggests that humans are slaves to their own brains, and the only method to escape that madness is to change their perspective on their
David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech “This is Water” at Kenyon College is often thought of as one of the most influential speeches because it calls the graduates to observe the world around them through a different lens. However, he does not accomplish that by calling the graduates to action, but instead challenges them to use their education. He also appeals to the students’ emotions through his use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Although people mostly only remember the antidotes, it is the message associated with reoccurring emotions and literary devices throughout the speech that moves the reader into action. Wallace is able to captivate his audience and persuade them to view the world without themselves at the center through his tactful use of rhetoric.
Wallace, David Foster "This is Water" Kenyon College Commencement Speech 2005 In the speech "This is Water" David Foster Wallace attempts to explain how the general populace is self-centered and what a person can do to change the "default setting" within our mind. Wallace's main point is to get his audience to understand and realize that they have a daily choice to make between being inconsiderate and acknowledging those around them. They can either remain conceited and unsympathetic towards others, or they can change and attempt to see and understand the situations of those around them as they go through their daily trials. Wallace uses various examples to explain and expand his argument.
What constitutes true freedom is speaking your mind, free to be whoever, in the novel The Wave by Todd Strasser, Mr.Ross a history teacher tries an experiment with his students relating to the Nazis. Strasser illustrates how Mr.Ross does an experiment that minimizes his students’ freedom. Freedom is when civilians have power to act, speak,or think without resistance. During this experiment the students learn how to come together as one, but Laurie notices the wave isn’t giving students as much freedom to do their own things. Laurie's mother emphasises that Laurie was raised to be an individual ,but that the experiment sounds to militaristic.
The complexity of the essay relies on determining if Wallace is only against
He told the students that if everyone would be honest with themselves and others they would admit to being self-centered egotistical jerks. He said we were born thinking that way but the good news is we can reprogram ourselves by changing our perspective on others and being empathetic to other people’s situations and feelings. Wallace also
Freedom is an idea that can be identified and interpreted in a variety of ways. It can be thought of as equality or the simple ability to roam freely. In the grand scheme of things, however, freedom is the idea that anyone can live without doubt that no force is holding them back in any way, shape, or form. In some cases, the idea that people are free can be manipulated, as their perception of freedom may change to suit the likes of others with the ability of manipulation. In the novel, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley explores the concept of freedom and how people can be misled into believing they are free using certain tactics.