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Summary Of Consider The Lobster By David Foster Wallace

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In David Foster Wallace article “Consider the Lobster” (2004), is about his attendance at the 2003 Maine Lobster Festival. Wallace elucidates about the inevitable real question behind capturing, cooking and eating the Homarus Americanus or all the more regularly called, the Maine lobster. Furthermore, he elaborates on whether it is inhumane to boil the lobsters while they are still alive. Before we move on any further, how about we recognize that the inquiries of whether and how various types of creatures feel torment, and of whether and why it may be reasonable to torture on them keeping in mind the end goal to eat them, end up being a significant degree perplexing and troublesome. Since pain is a subjective mental experience, we don't have …show more content…

He employs precise terms and maintaining a strategic distance from equivocal and general words all through the article (Connell & Sole, 2013). Wall utilized this expressive written work arrangement well since he exploits his words to give unique points of interest that painted a vignette for me by, “filling in the visual portrait” (Connell & Sole, 2013). Wallace paints this picture, In case you're tilting it from a container into the steaming pot, the lobster will try and attempt to stick to the container's sides or even to entrap its hooks over the kettle's edge like a man trying to keep from falling over the boundary of a rooftop. Furthermore, more terrible is the point at which the lobster's completely submerged. Regardless of the possibility that you cover the pot and dismiss, you can more often than not hear the cover rattling and thrashing as the lobster tries to push it off. Or, on the other hand, the animal's hooks scratching the sides of the pot as it flails wildly. The lobster, as it were, acts mainly as you or I would act if we were placed into bubbling water (with the noticeable exception of shouting). (2004, p. 5) Even though we as humans feel pain; no one can say to what degree do any other living species can or can not feel pain. But their response to them being injured or being cooked alive gives the viewer a different perspective as to what they do feel, and Mr. Wallace covers that in his

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Summary Of Consider The Lobster

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Foster Wallace’s article “Consider the Lobster” was published in Gourmet magazine, and is about the cruelties involved in eating lobster that many people consider elegant. Wallace starts off in this article by discussing the 56th Annual Maine Lobster Festival where over 25,000 pounds of fresh-caught lobster were eaten, and cooking competition were also available. In this article, Wallace discusses everything from how the lobster is caught, stored, and the cruel method in which these lobsters are cooked and finally consumed and also defined what lobster is by saying it’s a giant sea-insect. Furthermore, Wallace goes on to explain the history behind lobsters.

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In David Foster Wallace’s article “Consider the Lobster,” he describes the harsh reality of lobster eating. At the site of the World’s Largest Lobster Cooker at the Maine Lobster Festival, Wallace describes in detail the brutal treatment of lobsters in order for people to seek pleasure in their appetite. Wallace’s argument is that it is not right to “boil a sentient creature alive just for our gustatory pleasure” (700-701). He thoroughly describes the process in which lobsters are boiled alive in order to support his argument that because lobsters have feelings too, we should not boil sentient creatures alive for our pleasure. Wallace’s argument complicates Nijhuis’ view on nature because Nijhuis makes the point that people should essentially

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Rhetorical Analysis Of Consider The Lobster

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that his principle aim of composing the paper was to address if slaughtering creatures is ethically adequate. He clarifies that Lobsters have nociceptors, invertebrate variants of the prostaglandins and significant neurotransmitters that empower individuals to record torment. Lobsters, in any case, don't have all the earmarks of being ready to assimilate characteristic opioids like endorphins and enkephalins which are what exceptional sensory systems use to manage torment. Wallace analyzes this data about lobsters and perceives that lobster

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1143 Words | 5 Pages

Wallace states that the guilt you feel is because “you do it yourself- or at least it’s done specifically for you, on-site” (5). Also “the intimacy of the whole thing is maximized at home” (5). The thought of an animal dying only for your needs is saddening to a lot of people. Wallace continues and talks about the reaction the lobsters have to being boiled alive such as, “If you’re tilting it from a container into the steaming kettle, the lobster will sometimes try to cling to the container’s sides or even to hook its claws over the kettle’s rim like a person trying to keep from going over the edge of a roof” (5). What’s even more graphic is “when the lobster’s fully immersed.

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251 Words | 2 Pages

The essay I chose was “Consider the Lobster” by David Foster Wallace published in August 2004. The purpose of the essay is to point out the consideration and suffering of the lobster and more specifically, he uses the Maine Lobster Festival as an example. His introduction begins with the background and culture of the MLB. He even goes in to detail about the paid attendance of the festival, all the festivities that are held. From carnival rides to a parade and he even stated the amount of fresh caught lobsters (25,000).

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The essay, “Consider the Lobster,” the writer David Foster Wallace, explains how the Lobster industry is celebrated in the state’s midcoast regions and Maine being one of the most popular locations. One descriptive writing pattern being used in the essay is specific language. The author is using specific terms and avoiding vague and general words throughout the article. The author mentions two main regions that host the festival is a place that has 5 star restaurants, B&Bs and Rockland every summer right by Harbor Park with a clear view of the water.

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It said that a lobster’s nervous system is quite simple and it is ill-equipped to feel pain; however, Wallace explains that the claim is “incorrect in about nine different ways”(pg60). He convinces the reader by first of all displaying the information in an easy to read and unbiased way. Wallace then explains the anatomy of a lobster and shows the reader that lobsters have a centralized nervous system. Then, he uses a mixture of logical and pathetic appeal to demonstrate that lobster’s can sense the scorching hot water, by saying “Lobsters have pain receptors sensitive to potentially damaging extremes of temperature,”(pg63). While saying that, he reports the “struggling, thrashing, and lid-clattering” which occurs when the lobsters’ are in a boiling kettle, Wallace asserts that due to the lobsters’ behavior and neurological build-up show that a lobster can perceive pain, by saying that a lobster’s action show a preference to not get boiled alive, and this preference leads to the lobster suffering.

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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.

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He opens this reading by discussing the Maine Lobster Festival where over 25,000 pounds of fresh-caught lobster are consumed each year and continues with Maine’s lobster industry. Wallace advances by defining the word lobster and points out that lobsters are basically giant sea-insects. He also goes on to explain the history of the lobster, describing how up until the early 1800s lobster was a low-class food that was only eaten by the poor and institutionalized and discusses how now a days lobster is seen as a delicacy or even posh. The paper then takes a turn when Wallace begins to question the ethical background of boiling lobsters alive. Wallace brings up many points that are made on both sides of this moral battle, discussing how some say that because a lobster doesn’t have a cerebral cortex it doesn’t feel pain.

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The consumption of animal meat is highly accepted in today’s society, however, the methods, in which the animals are killed are sometimes questioned for their cruelty. David Wallace, in considering the Lobster, takes the readers to the Maine Lobster Festival, where the consumption of lobsters is exploited, and the festival's attendees celebrate these acts. However, the essay goes furthermore than narrating the lobster’s festival, because through sensory details, and different techniques, he makes the readers question society’s morality. By stressing the cruelty it takes boiling lobsters alive, Wallace is capable of creating a sense of awareness in society decisions that demonstrate their corrupted morality, and how it affects directly others (like lobsters)

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On page 60, footnote 8 compares the pegging/banding of lobsters’ claws to the debeaking of broiler chickens, the cropping of swines’ tails, and the dehorning of cattle. Recognizing that the reader will likely fail to see the impact of the banding, Foster Wallace provides the comparison of other similar practices that will likely be more promptly deemed unacceptable. Under footnote 14, Foster Wallace extends the comparison, driving the reader to understand the distinction made between the consumption of mammals and non-mammals that is notable in speech. When describing mammals as food, we use separate words to distinguish them as creatures and dishes, such as “cow” and “beef,” and “pig” and “pork.” However, non-mammals share the same names in the wild and on menus, such as “shrimp,” “salmon,” and “lobster.”

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