




In This is Water David Foster Wallace conveys the self-absorbed values of contemporary society, critiquing humanity for their selfish tendencies through the repetition of the word aware and the analysis of the fish parable. The excerpt conveys the themes through the narrative of two ignorant fish that do not know what water is. Wallace believes everyone is so caught up in their own lives, only worrying how other actions affect them, that people over look the vast important realities. By reiterating the word “aware” and adding short stories, Wallace sends readers the message to slow down our busy, egocentric lifestyles enough to think about others. 

An older wiser fish questions two young naive fish. He asks, “How’s the water?” (Wallace X). The two adolescent fish continue on swimming until one questions what water is. The two fish symbolize the human society and the water represents our default setting. The fish live in water yet do not know what it is. Wallace picks the two fish to be young because in the modern era teenagers have reputations for being self-centered and inconsiderate.  The fish, who was cognizant of the water, was old and more experienced. Similarly to the fish, humans tend to go through life, our version of the water, without acknowledging things going on around us because we are too busy with our own lives. The point of the fish story is that the everyday realities are often the concepts we look over .The young fish conveys one of the over-arching themes, reminding the readers to not just go through the same tedious everyday routine. Wallace says, “ To be just a little less arrogant. To have just a little critical awareness about myself and my certainties” (Wallace XII). Because humanity is so self-absorbed and self-centered, we tend to overlook the simplicities of live, living unaware of our surroundings. This is Water informs readers to be cognizant of others and the everyday realities we take advantage of like the older fish in the story. 

Furthermore, the text conveys that the highest achievement has less to do with knowledge from just books, but more with awareness and worldly experiences. Through the process of going to college and earning a degree, humans experience the world differently than they ever have before. Along with book learning, it is those unique or humbling experiences that educate humans to be more aware. Wallace remarks, “The capital-T Truth is about life BEFORE death. It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over: This is water." (Wallace 8). In this text, aware simply means less self-centered and to have the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes to understand others. This quote relates to the fish narrative in the beginning of the story because Wallace tells readers to not overlook the realities. The fish never questioned what the water that they were swimming in was until a wiser fish asked them. It is a tendency for humans to just think about themselves and get caught up in their own problems. Wallace warns us to think of others and be aware to a cretin point. We must also take time for ourselves, finding a balance between being aware of the world and our own needs.

Similarly, Everyone worships or holds something or someone to a higher standard. This is Water also informs us to be cognizant of other religions or beliefs. The story discusses an atheist and a religious man in a bar together talking. The atheist says he does not believe in God because he was lost in a blizzard and asked God for help. The religious man then questions why the atheist doesn’t believes in God because he alive. The atheist replies that Eskimos just happened to be wandering by and showed him back. The atheist is too caught up in his own life, that he never stops to think that it could be God, who sent the Eskimos. Wallace attempts to persuade the reader to use their education to gain real world knowledge along with book knowledge. Human value and respect for others is just as important as an education because without it a person may appear as unintelligent. The story is a platform to critique the modern society’s obliviousness to the everyday realities and simplicities, showing the humanity our faults. 

Additionally, everyone has a schedule or a similar variation of an organized agenda. It becomes tedious carrying out the same series of events everyday. Wake up early. Go to work. Work all day. Drive home in rush hour traffic. Make dinner. Sleep. Repeat. Wallace gives the example of waiting in a grocery line after a long day of work. The rush hour traffic is bad so it takes way longer than it should to get to the store. When you get to the store everyone else is shopping for dinner as your carts ram into each other. As you are waiting in the line you think of all the things that need to get done and all the time you are wasting waiting for the cashier to ring everyone else’s groceries up. At this point in your routine, you must catch and stop being self-centered and chose to think differently. Chose to be aware. Wallace says, “Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means becoming conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and choose how you construct meaning from experience” (Wallace XIII).  Instead of thinking how slow the cashier is, think how was her day. Why does she look so rundown? She does the same swiping action over and over day-in and day-out. She could have a son at home who is ill or a husband who can’t keep a job. You never know others’ stories. Choose to be more aware of how you think. Consequently, you’ll transform into the wiser fish instead of the naive young fish, who questioned what is water. 

Finally, Wallace warns graduates not to carry out life on a default setting because the world does not revolve around a single person. Everyone’s experiences cross paths with one another but it is the way we react and think that sets us apart. The ultimate education is training ones mind to look at the world with lenses that show empathy and sacrifice for others. The message to the reader is to simply be aware of realities so they don’t have to constantly remind themselves, “This is water” (Wallace XVII).



