In the commencement speech “This Is Water” by David Foster Wallace, the contrast of life and death by participating in routine, everyday tasks establishes the main theme, and the overall idea of this writing. Life and death are perceived through small, simple individual choices people make. Taking pride in the miniscule details of life greatly increases the chances of a happier everyday mental state. A redundant, boring schedule greatly increases the chances of falling servant to the mind, having the mind take over the body, ultimately causing death internally before actually dying. By looking at David Foster Wallace’s use of the word death in this speech, the word shows how the persistence of taking pride in simple tasks can lead a person to a happier state of mind and a longer life, which proves the underlining message of this writing. People need to have a purpose and excel in everything, no matter how routine the task may be, to truly live a beautiful life and to not fall victim to the mind, which drives everyone in their true direction in life.

The use of the word death in many sentences within this short story can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, however every use of the word points toward the main theme and idea of the passage. The main theme expressed is the two huge extremes that are achieved by participating and enjoying simple tasks throughout everyday life. An example would be something as simple as thanking a person for doing something nice and truly meaning it. By taking pride in easy tasks, life will improve exponentially and soon the focus will not be on the negatives but instead on the positive finites of life that are controlled by an individual. The only outcomes that are controllable in life are personal choices. Controlling anyone else’s thoughts or decisions is just simply impossible.  Mindsets must be on a personal level of winning the day and making the best of what life has to offer. With this mindset a person will make the most of life and enjoy everything, even if that includes a boring day after day routine. David Foster Wallace illustrates the theme through the word death by showing how much it truly means to make it to milestones or ages in your life. Wallace says,” The capital- T Truth is about life before death. It is about making it to 30, or maybe 50, without wanting to shoot yourself in the head.” (Wallace, 7) This quotation illustrates the theme perfectly, the truth about life is to not fall to the fate of the mind, instead to stay sane and continue to make the most of life. Living every aspect of life to the fullest potential no matter what the circumstances may be is how individuals make it to milestones in their life. The only person who is controlling of enjoyment during everyday life is one’s self. Having this open minded, positive mindset in life will also prove to have a huge impact on other people around an enviornment. Wallace’s writing can relate to an even bigger picture than just an individual and can be interpreted as a whole society. 

The phrases in which the word death is present relate directly to the bigger picture that a whole society will benefit from everyone making the most of life through small tasks no matter the circumstances. Making the most of every second that someone is living and taking pride in everything in life causes a great increase in the overall kindliness of everyone. Wallace says, “but the fact is that, in the day-to-day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have life-or-death importance.”(Wallace, 7) This quote directly relates to the theme that having an appreciation for simple tasks in life will have a huge impact on an individual’s happiness. If everyone had this paradigm shift, there would no longer be such a negative connotation with the idea of “adult life”. Imagine a workplace in which everyone is very polite and maintains a good attitude at all times no matter the situation. The participation in small, easy tasks would increase work production exponentially and everyone would be very happy to be at work for a change. In a quote with the word death, David Foster Wallace says, “and then get told to “Have a nice day” in a voice that is the absolute voice of death.”(Wallace, 6) This quote shows how people will respond internally from simple anecdotes that people say to them. However, if everyone takes pride in simple tasks and is truly making the most out of everyday life, that person would respond internally to that much differently and look at the positives instead of automatically assuming everyone is out to get them. The benefits from looking at the positives are essentially making the most out of whatever situation or experience someone is going through within their day to day struggle.  The process by which people take compliments relates directly to the theme of taking pride in all of the small details of life. Participating and excelling in little tasks will promote a better standard of living for human population and more importantly, restrict individuals from falling victim to their own mind’s.

David Foster Wallace’s use of death in quotes throughout the passage makes the theme clearer than ever before. With simple participation in easy, routine tasks people will focus more on the finer aspects of life instead of dwelling on the uncontrollable facets. The persistence of participation in simple tasks will allow a person to not fall victim to the mind and have it take them over. Many individuals will be happy and not think about the negatives as the person goes through their own journey through the world. I believe this passage truly helps to illustrate one of the problems with today’s society, there is too much focus on negative consequences. Focusing on simple tasks is the process that needs to be used to help focus on the positives offered in life. By participating in simple, miniscule tasks everyday people will start to truly enjoy life and not become prisoners to the everyday adult routine, ultimately conquering and excelling in the mundane everyday process.

