Essay about Wallace Rhetorical Analysis - 1393 Words

A 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 hardest to see and talk about.† (Wallace) Despite the necessity for air, most take its beautiful existence for granted. Wallace believes unawareness leads to unhappiness, and thus wants his audience to actively think about their surroundings. He†¦show more content†¦In â€Å"This is Water† Wallace speaks from his own experiences in order to help others; he went through depression before finally hanging himself in 2008. One should not think of this as contradicting his points, thoug h. This act shows that Wallace, too, was human, and capable of mistakes. Furthermore, he wanted people to have better lives than he did, and he believed they can do so by following his advice. A short parable comprises the opening paragraph of Wallace’s speech. In this, there are two fish swimming along when they pass an older fish, headed in the opposite direction, that asks them how the water is. The two fish continue along for a bit before one asks the other â€Å"what the hell is water?† This serves as an extended metaphor used by Wallace to demonstrate his main argument for awareness in life. Just as the fish do not consider their surroundings, people more often than not fail to considerShow MoreRelatedRhetorical 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 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 anecdotes used. What people don’t realize is these clichà ©sRead MoreBraveheart Figurative Language1522 Words   |  7 Pages Wu 1 Raymond Wu Instructor: Ian Patrick Cresswell English 100 – 03 22 March 2016 MLA Braveheart Speech: In-depth Analysis Regarding Figurative Language Braveheart is a historical drama epic film from 1995. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won five. The film is non-fictional and depicts the events of William Wallace, a Scottish hero who led the Scots during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. However, despite the historical inaccuracies cited by criticsRead MoreSo Much Emotion from the Music of Hip-Hop703 Words   |  3 PagesRhetorical Analysis Hip-hop. How is it that uttering of two almost identical words can generate so much emotion, so much conversation, and so much controversy? People have been using music in a multitude of forms to document and share their experiences; in this respect hip-hop is no different. James McBride offers an intriguing proposal for our consideration: regardless of how we feel about hip-hop, it is here to stay because it has become a part of our global culture and represents a restless generationRead MoreGEICO Insurance Sales Promotion Analysis1435 Words   |  6 Pagesshould have at least one type of insurance. As for auto insurance, the law requires drivers to carry insurance when driving. Because of this need, the constant demand for having insurance drives many firms competing in this saturated market. In this analysis, the focus attempts to show GEICO Insurance promotional strategy in communicating its products and services to the market and identifies the effective ways in growing the br and-awareness. In 1936, a married couple named Leo and Lillian Goodwin establishedRead MoreThe Theories Of Learning And Communication1712 Words   |  7 Pages(1962) Internet. Cognitivism is the theory of inner mental activities, perceiving, recognising, conceiving and reasoning. Information is gained; the information is processed which leads to certain outcomes. Wallace described it as â€Å"the information processing view of human cognition†. Wallace. P18. (2007). Early cognitivists’ wanted education to concentrate on concepts, relationships, creative thinking, problem solving and further thinking skills. Piaget theorized four stages of Cognitive DevelopmentRead MoreThe Lamb and The Tyger by William Blake Essay1758 Words   |  8 Pageslights. â€Å"The Tyger,† written in 1774, and â€Å"The Lamb,† written five years later in 1789, are considered companion poems due to their similar humanistic topic and stark differences of each other. Through the use of specific titillation and use of rhetorical questioning, Blake sets up an ultimatum between the two poems, creating the illusion that each creature in the poems may have different creators. In this way, Blake questions traditional Christian doctrine in such a way that initiates curiosityRead MoreJohn Lewis s Speech On March Washington2261 Words   |  10 Pages John Lewis Rhetorical Analysis In the â€Å"Speech on March Washington† on August 28, 1963, civil rights activist John Lewis spoke at Washington D.C. In a movement for equal rights. Lewis’ purpose is to amplify his voice to show the unfair treatment of people of color during that time of segregation. Throughout the address, he applies pathos in order persuade the crowd of people to protest against the government s ways. Change is the main point in John Lewis’s speech, in where he contradicts theRead MoreThe Constructivist Approach Of International Relations1797 Words   |  8 Pagesamounts of resources into establishing, shifting, and changing social norms. Unlike international state actors, these organizations have far less resources in the countries that they are established, and their capacities are only in the limits of rhetorical statuses, but they utilize these tools in total maximization to shift policies in favor of their mission statements and agendas. The results are these organiz ations taking the initiative in assisting in humanitarian efforts, specifically in thisRead MoreContemporary American Poetry and Its Public Worlds Essay8159 Words   |  33 Pagesforces of therapeutic culture and the fantasies proposed in various kinds of advertising. For poetry to achieve cultural currency, in both senses of that term, it may have to find ways of reconciling the energies of romantic lyricism to overtly rhetorical ambitions and strategies. It will take me a long time to get to those ambitions because I first have to clarify plausible ways of using the concept of poetrys relations to a public world, and then I have to use that discussion in order to dramatize