



“This is water,” written by David Foster Wallace, explains the importance of education and how it affects people and how well they view others as well as themselves. An educated society creates a balanced world that is understanding and unselfish. Education is what everyone in society needs according to Wallace which would make people more aware of situations and less worried about themselves.

To begin with, Wallace starts off with a story about two young fish that are swimming, but a wise old fish asks them, “how’s the water,” and the two fish stopped and looked at each other and did not know what water was. Wallace is comparing the two young fish to people that have not really cared to experience anything different. Mainly, because the two young fish have most likely never seen land and that’s why they do not know what water is. Wallace also is inferring that the two young fish are unaware that there is a whole world and not just the water. If the young fish had been aware of the world the lived in and educated on the other they possibly could have had a conversation with the wise old fish. But instead they are unaware of the world they live in and are unaware of society as a whole. Comparing this to society for example, it would be like a person from an urban city like Chicago not knowing anything about a farm or the countryside. Another point is that the young fish are not able to understand the wise old fish when he asks them about the water. If the two young fish were able to understand him and the world they lived in they could be more self-aware. Wallace’s point about education being important and knowing how to think is what people need to know and be aware of others and not just themselves.

Later on, Wallace talks about these two Eskimos in a bar talking about their religious beliefs on God. One is an atheist and the other is religious. The atheist talked about how he tried prayer once because he was stuck in a blizzard. He had asked God for help, but Eskimos came and showed him his way back to camp. The atheist thought it was nothing, but obviously the religious guy would have believed that God would have saved him. This is what was said “And now, in the bar the religious guy looks all puzzled. Well you must believe now; he says now to Wallace’s point about if they were both educated so that they would understand how After all you are alive.” (Wallace XI).Now the views would work. Because the one guy that is an atheist asked for help and God didn’t come Eskimos did which, in the religious guys’ views would have been a sign from God. Another reason why the nonreligious guy was in disbelief from the beginning “The nonreligious guy is so totally certain in his dismissal of the possibility that the passing Eskimos had anything to do with his prayer for help”( Wallace XII). If only the guy had understood how religion and prayer were viewed in the eyes of non-atheists maybe he could see that some people would consider his situation help from God. Wallace is trying to explain that the more education and the more knowledge people have, the more they can help society understand each other. Which results in a community that is not self-centered, and is aware of people’s situations and beliefs.

Next, Wallace tells a story about a man coming home from a normal day of work. But this is not a normal day of work because he has to stop on his way home for groceries, and the man is extremely frustrated with all the lines and traffic and is angered. The guy is so impatient with waiting this seems like a typical day for most citizens. Then Wallace talks about how most people are self-centered and don’t really care to think about how other people’s days are. (Wallace XIV). For example, what if people stuck in traffic though about why there was traffic and it happened to be that someone died in an accident. Most people would feel terrible about that situation. Also the angrier the man gets the less concerned he is about others. An example would be when the man had his downward spiral with having to stop after work. Wallace explains “the point that pretty frustrating crap like this is exactly where the work of choosing is gonna come in. Because the traffic jams and crowded aisles and long checkout lines give me time to think,”(Wallace XIV). Wallace wants us to think about our actions and be aware of what is going on around the world. So that people can realize that the world does not revolve around them and that their actions can result in other consequences. Also the way society interacts can affect a group of people not just one person. Like an accident on the highway, it affects all drivers not just the ones involved.  So Wallace is trying to tell us to be more aware and educated of our surroundings. So that people can understand each other and live in a more unified world. If people are educated about their surroundings people would care about other people’s lives instead of just their own.

In Conclusion, an educated society creates a balanced world that is understanding and unselfish. Wallace wants our world to be educated so that we are not just worried about ourselves and so we care about others. When we are educated we can make better choices and relate to more people.  Education is the what everyone in society needs and it will better the world so we can experience it and be able to think in others points of view.


