ipl-logo

David Foster Wallace Consider The Lobster

778 Words4 Pages

Lobster is one of the most delightful feasts that exist. However, do people know the fact about the lobster that people cook also feel the pain like a human? Through this essay "Consider the Lobster" by David Foster Wallace, he verbosely examines this topic using the rhetorical strategies. Wallace uses both ethical and logical illustration of lobsters that are embodied in the passage, he trying to assure the readers who are into foods but handled the animal in a wrong way. Moreover, the 56th Maine Lobster Festival (MLF) that held on July 30 through August 3, 2003, represents the evidence of the way lobsters are treated.

David Foster Wallace Published "Consider the Lobster" for the first time in Gourmet Magazine 2004. The Gourmet magazine itself …show more content…

The reason the author brings this material is that there is so much more to know than most people care about. He uses logos by bringing some facts to support his argument, "Moreover, a crustacean is an aquatic arthropod of the class Crustacea, which comprises crabs shrimp, barnacles, lobster and freshwater crayfish. All this right there in the encyclopedia (Wallace 109)". This is the example where he gives detailed information about the classification of a lobster. He comes up with this argument in his essay for the purpose of persuading the reader to trust him as the writer of this essay by giving this background. Thus, this statement is explaining that he uses logical appeal to justify that his argument is reasonable and …show more content…

Some people say that lobster doesn 't feel pain because it doesn 't even have cerebral cortex(Part of the brain that processes sensory information). However, he proves that the statement is wrong by giving analysis from his observation when a cooker boils a lobster alive, it attempts to escape from the hotness of water. Subsequently, Wallace states "And lobsters do have nociceptors, as well as invertebrate versions of the prostaglandin and major neurotransmitters via which our brains register pain". Thus, he did some research to verify his thought and it turned well as he predicted. He discursively explains every creature that lives on earth has their own system that might differ from each other, and the unknowledge of human make everything that they do is right based on their own thought, without doing any further research. Additionally, the author giving back all of the option and consideration to his readers by stating "I 'm curious whether the reader can identify with any of these reactions and acknowledgments and discomforts"(Wallace 120).

To sum up, Wallace mentions some arguments in his essay, discussing the best way to treat a lobster. Particularly, some of the arguments that he points are how lobster used to become a low-class food and the animal rights(Lobster). Wallace has succeeded deliver the message; cooking lobsters alive is harming them and it is not ethical how people treat the animal

Show More
Related
830 Words | 4 Pages

“The great corporation which employed you lied to you, and lied to the whole country—from top to bottom it was nothing but one gigantic lie” (Upton Sinclair).The revolutionary figure that will be addressed in this essay is the one and only Upton Sinclair. Through most of his life, starting from the age of 14, Sinclair was invested in voicing his opinions through fiction. He did this by taking a real-life issue and integrating it into the plot of his literature while a point of view in that literature is given to a fictional character representing something or someone related to the real-life issue. Although Upton Sinclair didn’t intend to, he improved the meat-packing industry’s cleanliness and ethics by revealing unethical practices and being

Read More
594 Words | 3 Pages

This appeal is the result of reasoning and extrapolating a conclusion from a

Read More
1330 Words | 6 Pages

Relevance between Food and Humans with Rhetorical Analysis In the modern industrial society, being aware of what the food we eat come from is an essential step of preventing the “national eating disorder”. In Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, he identifies the humans as omnivores who eat almost everything, which has been developed into a dominant part of mainstream unhealthiness, gradually causing the severe eating disorder consequences among people. Pollan offers his opinion that throughout the process of the natural history of foods, deciding “what should we have for dinner” can stir the anxiety for people based on considering foods’ quality, taste, price, nutrition, and so on.

Read More
996 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
767 Words | 4 Pages

We are all familiar with the notion of “pleasure.” Simple pleasures are ever-present in our lives but complex, extended pleasures are fulfilling yet fleeting. They bring about intense experiences to gratify our desires, although they are not a necessity, in the same way slaughtering and plating an overhunted species is not absolutely imperative. However, despite my own belief that an endangered species is not to be poached upon, I commend Liz Alderman for completing “Chefs Fight for Songbird” in a way in which she successfully set key points from both sides of the arguments while also discreetly and strategically establishing and backing her own position in the feud. For those completely unfamiliar with the topic, Alderman might be able to

Read More
1521 Words | 7 Pages

By doing this, it makes his final statements all the more effective and thought-provoking since the audience is subconsciously making the connection between how dogs should be treated as food and how other animals are currently being treated as food. Yet, he hides this connection under the guise of a harmless argument for the consumption of dogs, making his final argument a realization, of sorts, for the reader. The sudden shift of focus from

Read More
1736 Words | 7 Pages

Likewise, he demonstrates his discomfort about society’s acceptance of lobster’s pain and dismissal of their essence. However, in order to understand Wallace’s real intention in the essay, it is necessary to know his perspective towards modern society. By reading the Incarnation of Burned Children, it is possible to relate the society issues displayed, with considering the Lobster issues. The inability of lobsters, or the child, to communicate their pain of our careless acts is what disturbs Wallace. Therefore, he displays different examples to persuade the readers that society’s morality is corrupted and that the whole industry of boiling lobsters alive is accepted under a false premise that some animals are not deserving of protection, or are not ‘highly developed’ to feel pain.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

One such appeal is an appeal in which Foer urges readers, either directly or indirectly, to imagine what it would be like to be an animal. Foer defines this concept as “anthropomorphism” (the urge to project human experience onto the other animals) (46). Foer either directly asks readers to picture themselves in the place of an animal, or he relies on anthropomorphism in a more subtle way. For instance, Foer states that, “Fish build complex nests, form monogamous relationships, hunt cooperatively with other species, and use tools” (65). Foer attempts to show that animals and humans are more alike than conventional wisdom suggests.

Read More
1739 Words | 7 Pages

As diets and health become more and more of a public concern in America. Two authors weigh in on their opinions on how the American public should handle the problem of obesity as well as their solutions to the overwhelming issue. In one article, “Against Meat,” published on the New York Times website in 2009, points out that the solution to obesity should be vegetarianism. Johnathan Foer who is a vegetarian, claims that his diet and way of living is his the way of improving health in the American public. Foer’s article provides a sense of humor as well as personal stories to attempt to persuade his audience for the ethical treatment of animals along with his personal solution for his own health and the health of his family.

Read More
1527 Words | 7 Pages

“Consider the Lobster,” by David Foster Wallace, published in the August 2004 edition of Gourmet Magazine explores the morality of the consumption of lobsters through the analysis of the Maine Lobster Festival. Foster Wallace guides his readers through his exploration of the festival and general circumstances of lobster eating before evoking a sense of obligation to the creature’s well being. His gentle slide into the ‘big picture’ through his causal argument wades readers into the depths of his thoughts through the power of storytelling until they are left with no choice but to engage with their own perception of the act with skepticism. Ultimately, the passage commands readers to reexamine their own consumption of lobsters regardless of

Read More
754 Words | 4 Pages

In 2013, a documentary called Blackfish was released to the public. This film was produced, written, and directed by a lady named Gabriela Cowperthwaite, as a way to show the world how poorly whales are treated and why they do not belong in captivity. Blackfish also shows how little people really know about the beautiful and highly intelligent orca whale itself. Her film was seen by many, and touched the hearts of a lot people, taking the debate of the topic to a higher level. The movie hits on a lot of main issues about captivity, told by reliable people, along with proven statistics to go along with them.

Read More
648 Words | 3 Pages

The creature's views were warped by all of this. Even when he learned to read, write, and speak, he learned to love others, but after all of this, he could not. If society learned to stop judging only appearance, the creature himself would have lived a better life. Not a life consumed by

Read More
672 Words | 3 Pages

This time spent here helped to begin to develop the creature’s mind, proving he was in fact rather intelligent. The monster knew that he was different from these people, often describing them all as beautiful. He knew they would not accept him, and yet his search for belonging and family continue to surge the novel forward. While the creature is lonely and hurting, his actions slowly become malicious.

Read More
1664 Words | 7 Pages

Introduction: Clear, concise, and cohesive: all necessities of an argument. Matthew Sanders, a college professor at the University of Utah, writes in his online bio that he enjoys analyzing the ways of teaching and learning, which is exactly what Sanders does in his book. In Matthew L, Sanders’ book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education he argues that college is meant to develop a person into a greater being not to teach them job skills. To develop Sanders’ claim, learning is more than just retaining facts, he correctly aligns his rhetorical situation and uses elements of generative and persuasive arguments. These techniques can include new angles, appeals, storytelling, and many other strategies to influence its readers

Read More
1205 Words | 5 Pages

The anonymous boy reveals his illiterate, ignorant, and underprivileged attributes as he struggles to realize the definition of oyster. He hollers, “A strange word! I had lived in the world eight years and three months, but had never come across that word.”, to indicate the unfortunate inability to purchase or be educated. ‘Eight years and three months’ describes a long period of time where the boy by now should realize the meaning of oyster already because oyster is a common food that people generally consume it. The boy then curiously asks his father what oysters mean, but his father lethargically answers, “It is an animal . . .

Read More

More about David Foster Wallace Consider The Lobster

Related Topics

Open Document