After reading David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech “this is water”, I have been thinking a lot about bringing some changes to my life or even life, after I graduate. Wallace’s speech is mainly about demonstrating an adult lifestyle for graduating students, and giving them advice of keeping themselves away from “default settings”. The term “default setting” Wallace is using means a phenomenon that people are always tend to put themselves a center of the universe which could lead to being “arrogant”…
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This is Water Rhetorical Analysis David Foster Wallace argued that banal platitudes, although lacking entirely in originality and rendered among the dullest and most obvious of choices when constructing a speech, continue to serve as the rubric by which most speeches are composed (Foster n.p.). David Wallace earned a doctorate in literature; therefore, his scholarly grasp of the composition of speeches and effectiveness of orations is clearly far more advanced than the skills of many. He chose…
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At the Kenyon Commencement in 2005, David Foster Wallace gave a speech, This is Water, to all who attended the ceremony and gave them words of encouragement and advice for the new life they’ll have after graduation. Wallace told multiple stories during his speech, each of which had to do with understanding other people and how they have their own unique thoughts. Wallace begins his speech with a greeting and then dives straight into the story of fish to introduce his topic to the audience. By starting…
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Summary: In David Foster Wallace’s 2005 commencement speech, This is Water, given at Kenyon College, he communicates with graduates about the value of their education and the struggles of everyday life. He mentions things such as that everything is not always as it appears. He also talks about the everyday boring routine life almost every adult encounters. Wallace’s also mentions that everyone believes things in their own way and has their own convictions how they feel about what happens to them…
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David Foster Wallace’s Commencement Speech “This is Water” was awesome and enjoyable to read. The first thing that drew my attention was how he stated it out with an anecdote” two young fish meet an older fish, who asks them “How’s the water?” The younger fish look at each other and say, “What the hell is water?” (Wallace 309). I think that by using anecdotes and expressive thoughts through first-hand experience, he conveys a personal, informal, yet direct tone in his speech. Although he uses the…
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think? In the commencement speech “This Is Water” by David Foster Wallace, he implies that throughout most of life, people just go day by day thinking impulsively. Life is constantly taken for granted. For a better outlook on life, when thinking in general, all thoughts should be premeditated. One can actually change how life plays out just by changing the way one thinks which would also change his or her reactions for the better, and not everyone knows that. After reading his speech my mind took…
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David Foster Wallace “This Is Water” commencement speech incited some questionable reactions from the audience. During the monologue, laughter erupted when Wallace described his irritated thoughts while embarking on a simple grocery store run. But why exactly was the audience laughing? The reason behind the hysterics is that these self-centered thoughts not only roam in Wallace’s mind, but also in the minds of every adult. And this instinctive feeling that the world solely rotates around us, poisons…
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Paul Farmer gave the next wave of doctors a good guideline with his commencement speech titled “If You Take the Red Pill: Reflections on the Future of Medicine.” This wasn't a normal speech just directed towards the graduates, but it was open toward those who attend the graduation ceremony. Farmer’s speech had importance to it for all around. One importance brought up from Farmer’s speech is motivation. Farmer brings insight that there are diseases that are killing millions worldwide (214). Farmer…
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This Is Water, a commencement speech written by David Foster Wallace, describes how people are programmed to run on their default setting: the idea that people put their own personal needs above the needs of others. “Think about it: there is no experience you have had that you are not the absolute center of it” (Wallace XII). Wallace took a unique approach in saying that every single aspect of our lives is a constant effort to make ourselves look better; however, Wallace fails to address the positive…
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that Held his Breath for 17 Minutes) with 16 million views was an affective discussion in conveying the message “Anything is Possible!” From the commencement of this mind blowing discussion David Blaine put his audience on the edge of their seats when explaining his first major risk taking experience was being buried alive for 24hrs with nothing but water to drink. David Blaine expertly proved to his audience his credibility by showing us examples of him as an escape artist, illusionist and magician…
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