- In 300 words or less, summarize the speech and show (with framed quotes and paraphrases from the text) what you believe to be the author’s three main points/arguments. Support with textual evidence and include your own initial response to the material.
In the speech “This is Water ” American author David Foster Wallace argues three points; that we are oblivious to the obvious, we never think to answer the deeper questions and that we choose what we pay attention to. He talks about the liberal arts and brings up that, “the single most pervasive cliche in the commencement speech genre is that a libeal arts education is not so much about filling you up with knowledge as it is about ‘ ‘teaching you how to think ” (Wallace 2). After making this claim, Wallace spends the majority of his speech elaborating on the different ways we can change the way we think once we realize that not everything is personal. I liked his speech a lot and I think that the points he made were very strong. As I was reading/listening to it I found myself agreeing with what he was saying and I like how he circled the conclusion back to the intro by telling readers to remind themselves that ‘this is water”.
- Do you agree with DFW’s main arguments? Why or why not?
I do agree with his arguments and I like the way he spoke about everything. It seemed more like he was just talking to us about what he thinks rather than enforcing his opinions.
- Is DFW talking about, or referring to empathy (though he never uses the word)? Or is he hinting at something else?
As I was reading, empathy never really came to my mind and I definitely think there was a little mix of something else in there (the point of being oblivious to the obvious?). But thinking back I do see where empathy would come into play, like when he was talking about how to think of a negative day, where someone who’s bothering you may actually be having it worse.
- Find one DFW quote that evoked a strong response. Paste the direct quote from his piece, then write a few sentences in which you challenge or support his statement.
“That is the real freedom. That is being educated and understanding how to think.”
This stood out to me because it also goes back to his point that the liberal arts teaches us how to think. Being in GUST we talk about the liberal arts and the way freedom is associated with it so when he says that the real freedom is “attention, awareness, discipline and truly caring about other people” I found that it stuck out in my head.
