Analysis Of David Foster Wallace's This Is Water

Ask any parent, they will tell you that teenagers think they know everything even though they are usually wrong. So why do we let these mostly incorrect know-it-alls choose their paths in life? American novelist and essayist David Foster Wallace, in his 2005 commencement address “This is Water,” states that adult life is completely different than what graduating seniors imagine it to be. The author provides personal anecdotes and uses imagery to convey the unmentioned, annoying, and boring aspects of adult life. Wallace’s purpose is to explain that many of these students will feel unsatisfied with their adult lives but they must power through the “day in, day out” frustrations in order to be successful. But what makes his speech so relatable;

and prodding academic success by comparing their accomplishments with those of children of family and friends.” This quote from the article explains that parents use many techniques to try and influence their child’s career choice. This can lead to the child switching majors, wasting time and money studying something they do not wish to pursue, and it will cause the child to be unsatisfied with their career. If the student were allowed to decide at a later age, maybe pressure from parents would have less of an influence on these children’s career choices and it would save them from getting into any of these

It is very unreasonable to force them to make such a big life decision when most students are facing unhealthy stress levels. At a later age, these young adults are more collected and capable of making important decisions with a clear mind since they will have more experience dealing with stress. In the well-known American classic Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, he writes about a young adult who is lost in life, unsure of what he should be doing, where he should be going, how he should be living. The main character, Holden Caulfield’s constant switching of boarding schools made him more uncertain of his future and, this made him more stressed and confused about what he wanted to be when he was older. In the novel Holden mentions “Lawyers are all right, I guess- but it doesn’t appeal to me… Even if you did go around saving guys’ lives and all, how would you know if you did it because you really wanted to… or because… what you really wanted to do was to be a terrific lawyer…” (Salinger 172). Many seniors can relate to this character because usually they are also lost in life and unsure of themselves, they understand that they are capable of doing certain jobs but do not know if they will really enjoy them. But after a few years of maturity students often have a better grasp on