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.
Wallace, David Foster "This is Water" Kenyon College Commencement Speech 2005 The general argument by David Foster Wallace in his work "This is Water" is that sometimes the most obvious realities are the hardest to comprehend. More specifically, he argues that thinking negatively is not a choice but a natural setting and we need to start thinking cognitively and outside the box. Wallace performs this speech for a group of graduating college students to prepare them for the future life they are about to embark on. He includes the grocery store example so that the reader's can connect to the story because they have gone through that situation themselves; he is trying to connect to the audience.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Consider the Lobster The lobster is a disgustingly beautiful creature, known for its delicate taste, menacing shell and controversy. In his essay, “Consider the Lobster”, David Foster Wallace describes the events and festivities of the Maine Lobster Festival and the history of the lobster to deliver a poignant message about the moral implications of killing and eating animals. Wallace is able to develop his position and vividly capture the audience’s attention through a strong use of humor, deliberate tonal shifts and a unique structure. David Foster Wallace, and “Consider the Lobster” in particular, are known for their footnotes- and for good reason.
Linguistics Being supposedly made up on the spot, Noah S. Sweat did not have time to compose an eloquent speech about a controversial topic. He instead spoke a purely unfactual and highly descriptive banter using doublespeak to voice his opinion of whiskey. Both sides of his argument include impactual adjectives to describe the drink. Or as Mr. Sweat would say on line 6, “the devil’s brew,” or on line 12, “the philosophic wine”. Each side of his argument is entirely one sentence long, implying that he emotionally fuels his speech as he works out his thoughts with the audience as one thought flows to the other.
The complexity of the essay relies on determining if Wallace is only against
Theodore Roosevelt uses logos throughout his speech. He uses it to show that he knows what he is doing and using his intelligence to convey that he is the right person to lead the United States. When he says, “Upon the success of our experiment much depends, not only as regards our own welfare, but as regards the welfare of mankind,” it makes us think and feel that he knows what he is talking about, reassuring why he will be a good president. His logos is also shown when he talks about the Republic of the days with Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Bringing this into the speech shows that he knows his history on the US and knows that they did great things for the country, showing that he will also do great things.
In his commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005, David Foster Wallace was tasked with the responsibility of imparting some wisdom onto the graduating class. Wallace’s message to a room of full soon-to-be college graduates at the precipice of the of their impending true adulthood, he offers them a message that cuts through the mess and concisely delivers a message that many would ironically overlook, which is for the students to realize that at times, imperative life lessons are not only the ones that they cannot conceive or believe, but the ones that are obvious but hard to acknowledge let alone discuss. The lesson in this is that no matter how instinctive that cynicism is, it is imperative that people must try to more honest and open
The Great Society On May 22nd of 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke to the graduating class of the University of Michigan on The Great Society, saying "The Great Society rest on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time”, words that were spoken by President Johnson. The main passage of “The Great Society” by Lyndon Baines Johnson was mainly concentrated on eliminating poverty and racial injustice as revealed through his parallelism and anaphora. With this compelling speech, Lyndon inspired many young Americans to take actions to better their country using persuasive proofs such as ethos, logos, and pathos His persuasive techniques that applied directly to the students’ emotions inspired them to construct a better America just like President Johnson’s plan.
Regardless of age, gender, and race, everyone encounters different problems in his or her daily life. Whether the problems are as simple as getting up in the morning or untangling the headphones, people need to find a solution to solve them. The only thing that matters is what solutions they will seek. In David Foster Wallace’s “Good People,” he narrates a story about two college students, Lane Dean, Jr. and Sheri Fisher, who face a dilemma of choosing between either abortion or keeping their baby. They are torn between these choices because they come from a religious family, in which abortion is unethical and immoral.
Pitts Article Rhetorical Analysis – Final Draft In life people try to comfort others in times of grieving. Leonard Pitts comforts his readers in his article, “We will go forward from this moment ” by trying to make since of the 9/11 attack. Pitts uses emotion and logic to persuade the Americans that the terrorists can do what they want to America, but America is tough enough to handle it.
Theodore Roosevelt, in his compassionate letter to his son “The Proper Place for Sports” (1903), implies that football or sports in general shouldn’t take priority over more urgent responsibilities. Roosevelt supports his opinion by incorporating insightful historical events, acknowledging the potentially reasonable opposing view, and implementing compelling anaphora. His purpose is prevent his son, Ted, from completely being engulfed by his demanding dream of joining his school football team in order to convince him to focus on other vital duties, such as schoolwork. Roosevelt adopts a sympathetic tone (“I am proud of your pluck, and I greatly admire football… But the very things that make it a good game make it a rough game”) aimed to his
Wendell Phillips, a prominent white American abolitionist, gave an empowering and reverent speech regarding his admiration for former slave and Haitian general, Toussaint-Louverture. Phillips uses the power of figurative language and rhetorical devices to reveal an unmistakable abolitionist passion for African American rights, and attempts to ignite this enthusiasm into the hearts and minds of the audience through his zealous attitude. Phillips employs hyperbole, understatement, and metaphor to persuade the audience that the support of African American soldiers will be an influencing aspect in an impending American victory. The speech is rife with parallel structure and reference to historical allusions. This technique allows him to praise Toussaint-Louverture while also influencing and inspiring onlookers.
The ability for people to look at a situation from a different perspective is vital in today’s globalized society. Diversity is the most important, core attribute we each share that gives us the ability to assess new situations through our diverse backgrounds and upbringings. Unlike Patrick J. Buchanan’s argument in his essay titled “Deconstructing America,” diversity is a necessity in America’s culture as opposed to the burden it is described as. Conversely, Fredrickson 's essay titled “Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective,” illustrated a more precise version of American history that disproves Buchanan’s ethnocentric ideologies. Buchanan speaks of diversity on a narrow, one-way street.
The Irony of “Born in the U.S.A.” As the fireworks explode in the night sky to celebrate Independence Day, “Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen plays loudly for the audience to hear. As the men, women, and children bellow out the chorus proudly, they never seem to grasp its intended meaning. By studying the appeals and irony used in Springsteen’s lyrics, it is easy to see how Springsteen’s message of the poor treatment of Vietnam War veterans is misconstrued by millions of listeners into American pride. Springsteen’s intended audience is a group made up of mainly white, blue collar Americans-
In David Foster Wallace’s “ Kenyon Commencement Speech,” he discusses the importance of liberal arts education in “teaching you how to think” (Wallace, 199). He mentions how education is beyond the knowledge we learn, but about simple awareness will impact the choices we make for better or worse. The real value of education cannot be found in a career (you may or may not be fired from), but it can be found in the way you view things through a different perspective and by considering how other factors can contribute to everyday life. This new approach in thinking will allow us to appreciate our lives and overcome our inner “default setting” towards the world (Wallace, 199). I agree with Wallace’s argument because the purpose of higher education should not be about having career-specific skills and obtaining a degree, but about intellectual and personal growth will help us survive in the real world.
