ipl-logo

Lack Of Knowledge In David Foster Wallace's This Is Water

153 Words1 Pages
In the speech “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace, he talked about awareness and how humans are wired to think. He started out talking about the fish in the water and when someone asked them how the water was, the fish had no clue what water was. He then went to talking about how liberal arts does not fill you with knowledge but teaches you how to think. It teaches you what to think, it gives you choice. Wallace explains how the world revolves around you. Everything that happens, happens to you, behind you, in front of you or in your monitor. People were wired to think this way since birth, it’s not just self-centeredness. He continues on how people get up and go through the same routine everyday. Wake up, get dressed, eat, work, get home,
Show More
Related
800 Words | 4 Pages

“It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.

Read More
1587 Words | 7 Pages

Swimming in High Tides The two anomalies in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Awakening, Edna Pontellier and Huckleberry Finn, head to the water to find themselves. On their journey, they recognize they do not fit in to the society around them, and water is the only safe place for them. When they reach the water, it opens up new opportunities for both of the characters,finding out who they really are. The water in both books represents a rebirth, that forces the characters to find themselves, ultimately knowing they only belong in the water.

Read More
850 Words | 4 Pages

Education, a life-altering event that involves the development of being more open- minded. When one’s horizons expand they begin to have a shift of perception. The process of becoming knowledgeable through education can differ from the individual or situation. It can also have one acquire gratitude for their change of insight. Two passages, “Learning to Read” by Malcom X and “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato, each contain an individual who goes through the path of gaining wisdom.

Read More
670 Words | 3 Pages

David Foster Wallace was an American Writer and an instructor at Illinois State University of English and creative writing. Wallace became the 2005 commencement speaker at Kenyon College in which he gave one of the best commencement speeches ever given. After his death three years later, the speech was printed in the Wall Street Journal and republished as a book. In his speech, Wallace made a lot of points and after thoroughly reading and thinking about them I can strongly agree with every single one of them. Such opinions were things that I had never thought about nor paid the littlest attention to, but after reading his speech I became fascinated.

Read More
796 Words | 4 Pages

We go through life with important, beautiful things hovering right below our nose in our reach the whole time yet for some reason we never seem to notice them they slip right out from under us like they were never there at all. We’ve been in water but never been able to distinguish it. David Foster Wallace touches on all the aspects of selfishness and belief in his changing speech to Kenyan students called This is Water David Foster Wallace uses vivid imagery, figurative language , and symbolism to enhance the readers/listeners experience well making the piece seem more personal. One literary tool that David Foster Wallace uses to invoke more feeling the reader is vivid imagery.

Read More
710 Words | 3 Pages

The article then begins to turn and talk about self-realization. He says priest, teachers, family, and friends tell us who we are and who we should be. They tell us what is right and wrong, and we just go along on what he has to say. He tells us how much he admires Sigmund Freud and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson has shown him the way of self-realization and learning to trust himself, even if nobody agrees.

Read More
922 Words | 4 Pages

Everyone has different interpretations on learning how to think, But I believe that David Foster Wallace’s is the closest from the commencement speech he delivered called “This is Water” his definition of “Learning how to think” is how learning is being able to exercise some control on what or how you think. Out of the whole speech that part where he speaks about it is what really grabbed my attention. Why? Because it takes me back to my sophomore year in high school and how that was the year I had decided to have a more positive outlook view towards school or in general rather than having negative ones. Further explaining my sophomore year before that I would always give up so easily when I wouldn’t understand the material, so I would just

Read More
1763 Words | 8 Pages

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.

Read More
675 Words | 3 Pages

As Equality discovers new knowledge and expands his wisdom, he continuously progresses in obtaining a knowledge mindset. He persists in the endeavor to acquire this mindset as he escapes and proceeds to learn through reading and studying his surroundings. “May knowledge come to us!” (Rand 93) he exclaims after beginning to study and read. Technology and science lead to self-worth and individualism, for as one discovers things on their own, they become increasingly confident in themselves and their abilities.

Read More
165 Words | 1 Pages

A higher education pushes individuals to think, question and explore new and valuable ideas. An excellent education teaches students how to credibly think and prioritise when learning. David Wallace, who gave the Kenyon commencement speech, quoted, “[Learning how to think] means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience”. In his speech, Wallace is endorsing the idea that a higher education doesn't just throw knowledge at students, but it teaches them how to selectively compose their thoughts and construct a meaning from knowledge. Wallace also makes the point that individuals need to learn to adjust their “natural default setting” to become less self-centered.

Read More
578 Words | 3 Pages

He urges people to live simply and warns against the difference between “essentials” and just extra “stuff.” As he says, “Our life is frittered away by detail. ” We focus so much on the future and all the silly distractions going on around us, that we lose sight of what is really important. He believed we don’t need as much technology, for example. Also, we could live off of one meal a day instead of three or four.

Read More
1664 Words | 7 Pages

Sanders offers a new perspective of angle on the concept of learning. When thinking of learning, most jump to memorization or intelligence, but Sanders argues that is not actually learning. He views learning as improving one’s self-image and comprehension so that they can use those skills in the future. He also offers a new perspective on the questions to ask about a college education. One shouldn’t ask how can I get my degree, but rather how they can get the most out of their degree.

Read More
1300 Words | 6 Pages

He mentions the three different type’s selfishness that we all act on. The first type is that our story is the main and only story in the universe. Subconsciously, we might believe that when we closed our eyes the world stops moving until we wake up. This innate thought has crossed each of our minds, even in the faintest way. Just wondering what another person is doing is hard to comprehend.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

David Foster Wallace is an American writer. He spoke at the Kenyon Commencement Address in 2005, where he gave a speech to the graduating class of the year. David tells the graduates of Kenyon College what the true meaning of a liberal arts degree is, and how they should go about finding it. David Foster Wallace’s appeals to credibility, emotion and logical reasoning in his speech – “This Is Water” – to strengthen the idea that the meaning of education is learning how and what to think, independently.

Read More
908 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

More about Lack Of Knowledge In David Foster Wallace's This Is Water

Related Topics

Open Document