In 2005 David Foster Wallace was given the honor to deliver the commencement speech for Kenyon’s graduating class. Veering away from the typical commencement speech, Wallace does not try to inspire the students about the meaning of their degrees and how they will do great things, but rather informs them on the ways of thinking in a society. He gives the audience an insight into the cruel world they are about to enter and does not hold anything back. By the end of his speech we learn that Wallace is a struggling human being just like the rest us. David Foster Wallace grew up in New York with a father who was a philosophy professor and a mother who was an english teacher. Little did he know that their professions would end up influencing his …show more content…
No, we must look a little deeper into Wallace’s life. We have already discussed that Wallace suffered from depression. What some may not know is that he committed suicide three years after his This is Water speech due to it. How does that apply to the speech itself? Throughout the entire speech Wallace continues to state that the mind is a horrible master. If we let our minds take over instead of serve we enter a life of death. We have to continue to fight it and keep it in control. But, if the one who is giving us this wonderful piece advice can not follow it himself can we really trust him? After Wallace’s decision to do what he did he instantly made This is Water an irony. Every person who chose to follow its advice instantly began to question everything they were told. If this man was inevitably going to lose the battle he was telling us to keep fighting then why should we keep trying? I believe Wallace used this speech as a fair warning of what could come if you continue down the path of self. Yes, it is ironic but he lived this life and was knowledgable on how not to live and take the same path he did. While his suicide may have taken away the credibility of This is Water for some, I believe it added even more to it. It gives us an inside look into how the process takes place and I think that is what Wallace wanted us to
“This is Water” is a commencement speech written for students about to graduate with a Liberal Arts Degree from a prestigious school and seems to be geared more directly to those questioning the validity of their degree. David Foster Wallace explains that the education they received allows the audience to handle the monotony and frustrations of the world better by stepping back and realizing that the individual in the audience are not the center of universe. David’s diverse diction gives this work a strong educated but down to earth feel using the words from “didactic” to “bullshitty”.
The film covers the life of William Wallace from the time he is a small boy, when
...old, xenophobic white men don’t want just anyone off the street joining them for intellectual discussions over Sunday tea . This is why Wallace advocates for students in high school and college to learn SWE; if students are able to present themselves in a more erudite and intellectual manner by using SWE, it can provide them with more opportunities to ascend the “social ladder” as they will have a stronger foundation for academic and professional success. Using SWE will not guarantee that a student will become a doctor or a lawyer, however, they will have the opportunity to expand their education and achieve that ranking if they wish.
Martin Luther King Jr’s most compelling point was that every person has the same rights
During a commencement ceremony, David Foster Wallace addresses graduating students with a query of how to think critically, away from their default parameters of thought. The challenge laid by Wallace was to begin learning how to break away from an egocentric method of thought--away from being able to narrowly look at a situation and observe how it may have a personal effect, in preference for a train of thought that looks at “why is this happening and how does it affect everyone involved”? This is supported by multiple analogies that Wallace covers, such as trying to comprehend why someone is driving defensively in an SUV, or why someone is driving recklessly and in a hurry. Wallace goes as far as to reverse the egocentric train of thought
Although the presentation, of information, might have been a bit fast paced for the likes of some, the arguments that Ken Robinson presents in his speech were effectively communicated, as they have both logical and emotional appeals. Ken’s portrayal of an outdated system, that is almost reliant on medication in order to be effective, was logically sound, as it is necessary to raise not only the standard of education, but the means through which our children are educated as well. Ken appealed to me emotionally in numerous areas, but the one that hit hardest, was when he mentioned that a college degree no longer guaranteed a job, it 's a scary thought that even though I have a college degree, there is still a chance that I may still end up working
David Foster Wallace was an Amherst College graduate, who delivered a unique and inspirational commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. In his speech, Wallace talks about his perspective on the value of a liberal arts education. In his speech, Wallace warns his audience that life is filled with daily routines, dead-eyed clerks, empty phrases and annoyance, which he then explains, can either drive a person insane or simply make them become selfish. Wallace stresses how virtually important it is to pay attention to other people’s needs. He also explains how the daily choices we me will constantly impact our lives, whether that be negative or positive.
On August 28, 1963, the legendary Martin Luther King Jr. gave his empowering speech, demanding equality among the African American and white race, and the injustices that have proved the conditions unequal between the two races. In his speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses many rhetorical devices to convey the idea that whites have brutally mistreated blacks for hundreds of years, even though, as a group, they have paved the nation, laying the foreground of the United States.
In David Foster Wallace's Kenyon Commencement Speech, he speaks towards the graduating class of 2005 about the benefits in having liberal arts major, but that is not the only topic he talks about. David Foster Wallace also points out reasons as to why routine is extremely difficult, dreary, tiring, boring, time consuming, and frustrating. In Mike Rose's, "Blue-Collar Brilliance," he is conversing to the audience the true definition of intelligence and how to gain it. Mike Rose is fond of the idea of routine and believes that routine has a lot to offer to individuals. Mike Rose is able to extend this idea by relating it to his mother, Rose Meraglio Rose, and his uncle, Joe Meraglio. Even though David Foster Wallace and Mike Rose take two different
George Wallace and Dr. Martin Luther King jr. both spoke about the segregation in their speeches, and both had different views but also shared a few similarities. George Wallace delivered his speech on January 14, 1963 in front of the entrance of a prestigious educational institution known as Alabama State University. Thousands of people showed up to hear the governor’s speech about his regulations on to keep segregating people of color and people who were white. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made history and gave his famous speech on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. The speech turned out to have a huge turnout as over two hundred thousand citizens came to listen what the minster had to say. The minister’s ultimate goal
Stemming from World War II, a period full of death and uncertainty, post-modernist literature sought to deviate from the past and create something new. David Foster Wallace exemplified these ideas through his unique style. His writing contained jumbled ideas with copious footnotes and acronyms that he invented. The use of dark irony in his work parallels his psychological troubles, which are also echoed in this image. A dark eerie background surrounds Wallace with his only company being the singular light source to his left. Looking away from the viewer, he appears in a solitary state and disconnected from the rest of the world. By creating this mysterious façade, Wallace personifies his writing style, being unusual and different. His audience
...ty.” Wallace might agree when bringing up the importance in how we view people—and in that, maybe how we perceive their intelligence. So is a post-secondary education meant to further the ideology of intellectual knowledge? While a formal educational experience differs greatly from its informal, on-the-job counterpart, both have the potential to emit great knowledge.
The same consistent, expressive voice introduces Ms. Angelou's effective strategy of comparison and contrast. By comparing what the black schools don't have, such as 'lawn, nor hedges, nor tennis courts, nor climbing ivy,' reveals not only a clear illustration of what luxuries the white schools in the forties had but also how unjust the system was. The adults at the graduation focus on the differences that were previously left unspoken. The black principal's voice fades as he describes "the friendship of kindly people to those less fortunate then themselves" and the white commencement speaker implies that" the white kids would have a chance to become Galileo's.... and our boys would try to be Jesse Owenes..." The author's emotions vary from the first proclamation that "I was the person of the moment" to the agonizing thoughts that it "was awful to be a Negro and have no control over my life" to the moment of epiphany: "we are on top again."
Nearly everyone who has succeeded in some venture of life has at one point encountered harsh criticism. The nonfictional biographic film “Rudy” is a paragon of accomplishing goals despite the negative people who do not acknowledge the person to their desired success. Rudy, the protagonist, holds aspirations of enrolling in Notre Dame but is continually discouraged until his recurring persistence and devotion to overcome his obstacles and he achieve his dreams, proving his opposing views wrong in interpreting his life. Despite the hindrances, Rudy achieves success and his story remains an inspiration motivating others in their dreams regardless of its possible appearance of ludicrous obscurity. When Rudy is accepted as a transfer student to
This story also gave me a lasting impression because it showed the process of becoming a well rounded person. The story started off with Wallace feeling down about a fight he had lost and lost contact of is coach for a few weeks. Because the readers saw Wallace’s low points in his life, we can understand the difficulty there is just to transition into living the examined life. Just one apology may not seem very important but I appreciate Wallace’s