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Rhetorical Devices In David Foster Wallace's In His Own Words

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I. Introduction Paragraph A. David Foster Wallace gave a commencement speech that taught lessons about having the ability to choose how to think in situations and to be flexible in their opinions. David Foster Wallace persuades the audience to be open-minded and selfless through rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos. Wallace wants the audience to realize that it is best to deviate from one’s own thoughts and think of others; if one cannot exercise this, then adult life will be difficult. The graduates are about to enter routine in adulthood, therefore, positive thoughts can alter a situation. B. Thesis: In “David Foster Wallace, In His Own Words,” David Wallace’s motive is to influence college graduates to be open-minded and
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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.

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