Essay on This Is Water a speech by David Foster Wallace

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 â€Å"conscious† to signal critical thinkers, while those who do not think critically are referred to as â€Å"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†¦show more content†¦Through proving that we are not always correct, and reminding the audience that different people can have different views of reality, Wallace is able to use logical reasoning to show that humans have the ability to change their perspectives. Wallace’s use of negative emotional words and the parable of the college graduate who goes grocery shopping evoke negative emotional responses to unconscious thinking, resulting in a strong, convincing emotional appeal. Throughout the speech, Wallace stresses the tediousness of everyday life, dwelling on negative emotions such as â€Å"tired, hurried,† â€Å"somewhat stressed,† and â€Å"pissed and miserable.† Through these negative words and more, Wallace shows how awful life is for unconscious people. In addition to the negative emotions, Wallace implicitly refers to suicide in phrases such as: â€Å"†¦[living] in the day to day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have a life or death importance.† By this statement, Wallace is arguing that unconscious thinking can lead to death. He also claims that consciousness is a way â€Å"†¦to keep from going through your [†¦] adult life dead, unconscious, a slave to your he ad,† and that â€Å"most of these suicides are actually dead long before they pull the trigger.† This selection reinforces the negativity of unconsciousness (through the words â€Å"dead† and â€Å"slave†) and Wallace’s claim that a person can become aShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Speech This Is Water By David Foster Wallace1298 Words   |  6 PagesStudy Finds Most Students Vulnerable to Fake News† where Kelly McEvers talks to Professor Sam Wineburg about his study on the ability of students to differentiate between fake and real news. In addition, we read the commencement speech â€Å"This is Water† by David Foster Wallace which discusses biases and how attitude and awareness can shape people’s personalities and overall happiness. I chose to write an interview in the format of the NPR text we studied in class because it could present opinions andRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem This Is Water Essay834 Words   |  4 PagesSummary of â€Å"This is Water† Commencement speeches are given to a graduating class of students once they have completed their degrees. They are often a spark of inspiration, hope, and relief for those about to enter the working class and become functional citizens of society. However, there is no set structure for all commencement speeches. David Foster Wallace delivered a harrowing and eye-opening presentation to the graduates of Kenyon college, formally named â€Å"This Is Water†. In this speech, the authorRead MoreEssay about Wallace Rhetorical Analysis1393 Words   |  6 PagesA Rhetorical Analysis of â€Å"This is Water† If one were to try to imagine a world without air, then it would certainly be very different than the world as humans know it. Since air is essential to the livelihood of most life on Earth, it could be considered an â€Å"important reality.† In David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech, â€Å"This is Water† to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College, Wallace states that â€Å"the most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are the hardestRead MoreThis Is Water And Annie Dillard1210 Words   |  5 Pages In both the excerpts from David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech â€Å"This is Water† and Annie Dillard essay â€Å"Seeing†, the plots of both works focus on how we experience the world. The two works present different ways in which the world is experienced. In â€Å"This is Water†, Foster Wallace presents the idea that we are at the center of every experience, and addresses the belief that we are the most important person in our lives. In â€Å"Seeing†, Dillard discusses sight and seeing things is a crucial partRead MoreAnecdotes In The Is Water By David Foster Wallace1036 Words   |  5 Pagesmastering the art of looking beyond oneself and into the outside world. This idea of looking beyond oneself has been the focus of ancient and modern philosophers throughout the world. In â€Å"The Is Water†(2005), a commencement address, David Foster Wallace, a modern day philosopher, implies that people generally view the world from a selfish perspective and elaborates on how the world should work to reverse its self-centered ways. Wallace reveals his topic through a series of anecdotes, each highlightingRead MoreIn the words attributed to Socrates in Plato’s Apology, â€Å"The unexamined life is not worth living.†1000 Words   |  4 PagesIn the words attributed to Socrates in Plato’s Apology, â€Å"The unexamined life is not worth living.† David Foster Wallace expands on this idea in his â€Å"Kenyon College 2005 Commencement Address,† pointing out the importance of awareness and escaping the natural, default-setting of an unconscious, self-centred life. While commencement speeches are typically epideictic—celebratory—in nature, Wallace takes a deliberative rhetorical stance. According to Fahnestock, deliberative discourse is used in orderRead MoreAnalysis Of Commencement Speech By David Foster Wallace1134 Words   |  5 PagesOne of the finest commencement speeches was given by David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College. Wallace’s speech can be viewed as enlightening to those who are often blindly single-minded. It forces the audience to take a look at the way they approach everyday situations, rather than being self-centered, consider others before yourself. However, many overlook Wallace’s impeccable rhetorical maneuvers, focusing on the constant clichà ©s and fictional anecdote s used. What people don’t realize is these clichà ©sRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of `` What The Hell Is Water `` By David Foster Wallace909 Words   |  4 PagesFamed American author David Foster Wallace gave a commencement speech to Kenyon College’s graduating class of 2005. Most commencement speeches focus on graduates’ accomplishments as well as give general life advice. Wallace’s presentation follows this pattern at first, congratulating the students on getting their diplomas. However, most of his speech is dedicated to the idea of thinking beyond ourselves. Throughout the speech, Wallace argues we should live with empathy through his use of humor andRead MoreDavid Foster Wallaces Speech : This Is Water883 Words   |  4 Pages In David Foster Wallace’s speech, â€Å"This is Water,† he informed the audience of the importance for everyone to know they have a natural default setting, which is the automatic way that a person feels they a re the center of the universe and that negative situations are other people’s fault. He also discussed the importance of trying not to act in this natural default setting, and try to think of problems that other people have to go through in their lives. The main purpose of Wallace’s speech wasRead MoreChanging The World One Human At A Time1366 Words   |  6 Pagesa Time David Foster Wallace’s style of writing evokes human emotions that are often repressed or simply over looked. While emailing his editor Wallace once wrote, â€Å"I want to author things that both restructure worlds and make living people feel stuff† (Max qtd. Wallace). His ability to tie readers and characters together creates a relationship with the reader that does just that; Wallace makes his readers â€Å"feel stuff†. In Larry McCaffery’s â€Å"An Interview with David Foster Wallace†, Wallace explains

Native American Gangs During European Colonization

Bernadette Stafford Rough Draft April 29, 2015 Native American Gangs Prior to European colonization, North America was home to up to ten million indigenous people with distinct cultures and hundreds of languages. Within 500 years the population was halved through disease and genocide. Today, Native American’s make up 5.2 million or 2% of the US population. This population has suffered the trauma of genocide, dislocation, poverty and oppression mostly through policies and confrontations with the federal government. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 started the systematic relocation of tribes away from coveted land rich in resources and began the process of forced assimilation of Native American people. Today, reservations are populated by the poorest 1% of US citizens. Inadequate education, a political system of custodianship where the US government acts as a guardian to tribes, soaring unemployment, disproportionate substance abuse rates, and profound poverty have created a climate where native youth have turned to organized crime. Gangs like the Native Mob and Native Disciples, which can be found on the notorious Pine Ridge and Rose Bud reservations have been on the FBI’s watch-list of crime syndicates since the early 1990’s. The Native Disciples and Native Mob have been heavily influenced by the Black and Latino Street gangs the Latin Kings and the Black Disciples utilizing similar recruitment methods of initiating youth as foot soldiers and engaging in drug trafficking,Show MoreRelatedNative American Gangs During European Colonization2674 Words   |  11 Pages Bernadette Stafford Final Draft May 20, 2015 Native American Gangs Prior to European colonization, North America was home to up to ten million indigenous people with distinct cultures and hundreds of languages. Within 500 years the population was halved through disease and genocide. Today, Native American’s make up 5.2 million or 2% of the US population (US Census 2013). This population has suffered the trauma of genocide, dislocation, poverty and oppression mostly through policies and confrontationsRead MoreHip Hop, By Maya Angelou Essay1432 Words   |  6 Pageswomen(Africa) more, referencing the White and Blue niles and the mountain ranges all over Africa. She writes, â€Å"Black through the years.†, which could refer to the Scramble for Africa during European colonization of the continent, no knew what the physical boundaries of Africa were, Africa before European colonization was a mostly unexplored continent. It could also refer to Africa’s problems they have faced throughout the centuries. For example, the atrocities don e by King Leopold II of Belgium, whereRead More The Colonization of Hawaii and Tourism Essay4434 Words   |  18 PagesThe Colonization of Hawaii and Tourism Since 1840 the Hawaiian Islands have been an escape to a tropical paradise for millions of tourists. People all over the world encounter alluring, romanticized pictures of Hawaiis lush, tropical vegetation, exotic animals, beautiful beaches, crystal clear water, and fantastical women. This is the Hawaii tourists know. This is the Hawai’i they visit. However, this Hawaii is a state of mind, a corporate-produced image existing on the surface. More preciselyRead MoreCaribbean Crucible: History, Culture, and Globalization4302 Words   |  18 PagesCaribbean Crucible: History, Culture, and Globalization Kevin A. Yelvington In the present age of globalization, it is often forgotten that these world-encompassing processes were initiated with European expansion into the Caribbean beginning more than five hundred years ago. We now see the proliferation of overseas factories enabling owners, producers, and consumers of products to be in widely distant locales. 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It can always be reflected on the buildings and houses that Spanish Colonization really made a mark in the Philippines. Typical Filipino houses evolved for the better because of their colonization. Our towns, streets, and governance were merely patterned on theirs. The formation of our streets, houses, and groupings of each citizen were simply adopted from the Spaniards. ReligionRead MoreBrazil and Mexico Comparative Analysis Essay6071 Words   |  25 Pagesgaining independence in 1822, before a peaceful return to democracy in 1985. Its major cities include Sà £o Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Salvador. Since reforming as a federal republic, it has emerged as an economic and political powerhouse in the Latin American region. Brazil’s role on the international stage is flourishing, as evident by their hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Political Analysis The current head of the Brazilian state, President Dilma Rousseff, is the

Critical Reflection of Design Process Free Essays

The Critical Reflection of the design process iphone Application This document describes the critical reflection of designing the mobile application and describing the software interface in terms of learnability, memorability, effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction CTS Griffith University 11/6/2012 The Critical Reflection of the design process iphone Application This document describes the critical reflection of designing the mobile application and describing the software interface in terms of learnability, memorability, effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction CTS Griffith University 11/6/2012 Critical Reflection of the design process Issues I have had issues with the development process were I had coding errors that needed to be resolved and spent some time fixing coding errors. Getting my program up and running in the iOS simulator was very difficult. Sometimes the emulator wouldn’t load properly and other times Titanium wouldn’t recognise that the emulator had successfully launched, I had to stop the emulator and start again and ends up taking time to launch. We will write a custom essay sample on Critical Reflection of Design Process or any similar topic only for you Order Now The program has taken a great deal of time to load. Outcome I was very satisfied with the outcome the project, the project went very well, finally had the program loaded on the emulator and had it successfully launched. Titanium is great for rapid prototyping. One thing I would differently though that would be an improvement is to add more functionality so that mathematical calculations that are not included in the current application can be performed. I will in the future build for Android and eventually the blackberry. I have acquired many skills and knowledge doing this project. I have Learnt how to develop inside of appcelerator titanium to build cross platform mobile applications, how to load the program on the emulator and have the capability and skills that from the knowledge I gained using the Titanium appcelerator to do future projects with it. I have learnt how to code the program, JavaScript is a language many developers know and enables myself as a qualified web developer to get into mobile app development. I have also learnt how to develop design ideas for the application to be suitable to be used outside, easy to use, address usability issues and make it look attractive. Software interface – learnability, memorability, effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction The iPhone calculator is a simple calculator with minimal functions. The iPhone / iPad calculator has been designed for simplicity, easy to use, to be user friendly and usability. Designed for a wide range of users, the iPhone / iPad calculator is primarily designed for students as it is the student’s major tool for performing calculations; this calculator is designed to improve the speed and accuracy of the student’s computational skills and be used. The iPhones calculator works like a pocket calculator. The iPhone’s calculator feature on the Home screen, by clicking the calculator icon. The calculator function is used to perform a variety of different mathematical operations. The iPhone calculator works by adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. Numbers and symbols are large and easy to see and has large separated keys for increased accuracy It is also designed so that you have an efficient finger placement approach when selecting the keys so that you can perform calculations in a minimum amount of time. The iPhone calculator also has large colourful buttons and high contrast color schemes that will allow you to see the screen well outside. As most people nowadays owns a phone, the calculator function would come very handy to use when needed to perform calculations. It can be used anywhere at home, shop, work or travelling The calculator is very effective that allows the user to do a simple calculation with ease, enter in a number, then an operation, then another number, and then the = button. The c button will clear the current operation. The calculator will perform operations in standard mathematical order. So 5+2? 2 will return 9. This is because multiplication and division are have higher precedence than addition and subtraction. . How to cite Critical Reflection of Design Process, Essays