Rhetorical Analysis Of This Is Water

John M. Barry, author of Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America, communicates his fascination with the Mississippi River by using diction, imagery, and syntax. Barry’s word choice conveys the mechanical force of the river; his use of imagery the beauty, and his use of syntax the unpredictability. Barry’s command of rhetorical devices draws the reader in and brings the Mississippi River to life.

In the Commencement Speech, “This is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life,” Wallace claims that people are naturally self- centered. (235) We only tend to see the world as it relates or pertains to us. Wallace’s speech is meant to change the graduate’s perspective on the world. Wallace believes that the graduates should heed his advice because it will eventually provide an important

In his speech, This is Water, Wallace gives us the story of how the two young fish failed to realize that they were in water. A simple, yet meaningful example demonstrates that what is obvious, is often difficult to notice. As people become more worried about themselves, they are unable to capture the value or lesson from experiences which results in distress. Throughout the speech, Wallace reminds the audience that they can avoid this by being aware, but to also accept the fact that the world doesn’t revolve around you. Wallace effectively builds a relationship with the audience when he says, “If anybody feels like perspiring, I’d advise you to go ahead, because I’m sure going to.” Wallace immediately undermines any image of an authoritative demeanor when he says that he “feels like perspiring.” He further supports his connection with the audience when he says, “I am not the wise old fish” (Wallace). Wallace’s down to earth persona relates to the rhetorical appeal of ethos, which validates his trustworthiness. Being a credible speaker will leave a lasting impact among the audience as they can see that Wallace is truly sharing a message that means a great deal to him. By stating that he does not represent the old fish proves that he isn’t here to blindly lecture, but to give solid advice to the graduate students and parents.

In David Foster Wallace’s graduation speech, This Is Water, he uses logical and emotional appeals to discuss the importance of critical thinking. Wallace uses the term “conscious” to signal critical thinkers, while those who do not think critically are referred to as “unconscious.” Wallace’s main argument is that a person has the choice to think critically and should do so every day. Wallace’s analysis of consciousness and unconsciousness focusses too heavily on the logical and emotional appeals and ignores the possible ethical arguments that support the development of conscious societies, such as activism. In doing so, Wallace favours the self-interested members of the audience and alienates those who favour altruism, limiting the

Laura Esquivel uses all of her strategies to make small moments in Like Water for Chocolate have meaning and emotion in relation to her characters. In the book, the month of July is where Tita, the protagonist, is staying with a doctor named John and she refuses to speak. That is until Chencha comes to see her. Esquivel uses repetition and imagery in a few paragraphs to enhance that moment, Chencha’s arrival, and to make it meaningful. With her use of repetition and imagery, Esquivel is able to convey her tone, create a mood and support her purpose in the matter of one page.

The first point that Wallace discussed was the negative effects of having a natural default-setting. He talks about how a natural default-setting can lead to increased frustration in almost any activity or job because everything is probably not always going to go right. Wallace also used many examples to show the audience the negative effects. It is very important for people to be able to visualize examples because it will leave a greater lasting understanding of what is being discussed. Wallace did great at giving examples to help the audience have an easier time to visualize his stories. One of his examples, he discussed was the frustration of driving all the way home through, slow and heavy SUV-intensive rush-hour traffic. (Wallace 5)” Wallace said that the reason people feel like this is because “they feel they are the center of the universe, that they are the most important person in the world (2).” Wallace discussed, that there are many reasons for people to be frustrated in their daily lives, but he felt it was important for people to fight the urge of staying in their natural default-setting.

In “This is Water” Wallace speaks from his own experiences in order to help others; he went through depression before finally hanging himself in 2008. One should not think of this as contradicting his points, though. This act shows that Wallace, too, was human, and capable of mistakes. Furthermore, he wanted people to have better lives than he did, and he believed they can do so by following his advice.

David Foster Wallace wants the reader to realize that the most important and the most obvious realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about. Seeing what’s right in front of you can be the most difficult thing because you are always looking further and not opening your eyes to see the most obvious parts of life. Wallace is additionally trying to get the reader to tap into the real meaning of life as well as trying to move people away from their “default setting”. The opening of this speech starts out with the story of wise fish and the two young fish. After being asked about the water by the older fish, the two younger fish realize that they don’t know what water is. Fish don’t know water exists until beached;

The authors shows a formal argument of the slogan “it’s the real thing”, both Herbert and Seaver argue on the importance as the Coca-Cola company has stolen a slogan from Haskins .In the letter Herbert states that the Grove press should discontinue the use of the slogan¨It´s the real thing¨ as the Coca-Cola company did not want to advertise Jim Haskins novel ¨Diary of a Harlem Schoolteacher¨ as they too used the same phrase as Coca Cola ( Herbert, 23-25). That is to say, Herbert feels, not knowing the consequences of using a slogan to advertise other thing would be wrong. The significance of this idea is to prove Herbert’s agreement is weak compared to Seaver. It show how Seaver would be more convincing by using evidence to base off his ideas.To

“This is Water” is a commencement speech given by David Foster Wallace at the Kenyon 2005 graduation. While the speech is unorthodox in terms of commencement speeches, Wallace’s words challenge the graduates to think about what the education they've just received will help them accomplish in the future, and how that education will empower them to find meaning in their adult lives.

Describe what you think was Wallace's most important lesson to his audience about the meaning of a well-lived life.

Wallace shifts into describing scenarios and the importance of not being self-centered. Wallace continues to explain his reasoning by telling a realistic situation about the boring, stressful average day of an adult life. Wallace describes an average person who has just worked a full day, only to find there is no food in the house. The story shifts to a tense tone when at the grocery store the person encounters numerous, other frustrating situations that delay the person from getting home and relaxing. This scenario makes an emotional connection with the graduates, as this is something they will face. Wallace builds this scenario around the claim that if a person doesn’t make a “conscious decision about how to think and what to pay attention

Wallace asserts that the best approach to the banality of everyday life is to accept that it is not unique an individual and that one should steer away from the “natural default setting” of being self centered. Wallace conveys that “everything...supports my belief that I am the absolute center of the universe”, and strongly imparts his belief that the

The first step in this process ‘identify what is worth having for its own sake,” (Shafer-Landau, p 114). The wife might have asked herself if there was any value in Wallace’s writings. The value is priceless to the

Wallace elaborates by stating that most individuals know these truths on a certain level. These truths have been continuously ingrained in us through old wives tales and cliches. These truths are the "skeletons" of these pieces of literature. The reason for which the ingrained stories seem to not be performed in the real world is due to the fact that the truths behind these codified versions of the truth are not kept at the forefront of our minds. The truths hidden within these stories are what must be kept at he top of our conscious instead of the codified truths.