

Freedom is a concept humans have craved and desired since the beginning of time.  It is an idea many have even died for.  What does one think of when they think of freedom? As a society we are taught that freedom is doing whatever we want, whenever we want. Essentially, being able to enjoy ourselves into an oblivion. But is that really true freedom? David Foster Wallace argues that real freedom is having discipline and sacrificing for others. In This Is Water, written by David Foster Wallace, he discusses what true freedom really means through his tone, word choice, and structure of the commencement speech he gives.

One of the main elements David Foster Wallace uses in his speech is tone. His tone can be perceived as very calm and casual but in reality, he is very mindful of himself. Wallace was a person who suffered from extreme anxiety, which caused him to be very aware of how people perceived him. Wallace is very determined to not appear as though he is speaking at the students by saying “but if you’re worried that I plan to present myself here as the wise, older fish explaining what water is you younger fish, please don’t be.” He didn’t want to be just another person to pontificate at them and he was very conscious not to do this, by using words such as “bullshitty”. This element of tone ties into the theme of the passage because although he appears very laidback and “free” he is actually very strict with himself. He is gaining this sort of written ‘freedom’ by being very conscious of what he is saying. In the commencement speech, David Wallace uses the words “you” and “your” a very frequent amount. This is because he is trying to make his speech more casual and really connect with Kenyon’s Graduating Class of 2005. He wants to appeal to them more as a peer who is trying explain the human value of their liberal arts education rather than a professor or authority figure. When reading or listening to David Foster Wallace’s speech it comes across very easy going although he had thought it out very meticulously. In the same way, his idea of true freedom is through hard work and discipline. Every word Wallace uses is meticulously planned out and structured. However from the way David Foster Wallace talks it doesn’t seem to be that way.

Another literary element David Foster Wallace uses is the structure. The structuring of his essay helps to further the theme of his speech. He starts out the commencement speech with a short and brief paragraph. He wants to capture the attention of his audience quickly. He is being “disciplined” with himself so that his message can come across. In being structured, like Wallace is with his speech, one can truly reach freedom. Wallace also discusses the idea that having discipline is real freedom because one is not just a ‘mice on a wheel’ , forced to subject to his or her every whim. This correlates to his writing style. He is able to reach true literary freedom by having structured his speech in this way. David Foster Wallace is able to say all that he needs to say because he is aware of how the speech must be structured. He is not just aimlessly putting words to a paper, like a mouse on a wheel, he is adding meaning to them by structuring them in a particular way. 

Word choice is another literary element used by Foster Wallace to convey his theme. He is trying to emphasize that we are not alone in this world. That we must sacrifice for others and that we are not the center of the universe. Because we aren’t the center of the universe, we must sacrifice for others in order to move forward as a society. The reason one can understand this is because of his use of words. He uses you and your a lot to try and really embed the idea that we are hard-wired to believe that we are the center of the universe. And that, that is not our faults because the pronouns you and your are automatically associated with one’s own reality. David Foster Wallace uses these pronouns to his advantage, because in speeches or essays those pronouns are informal. By using these David Foster Wallace hopes to relate to the students, which encompasses the idea that we are not alone in this world. Wallace uses a lot of words that would appear rather informal in most other graduation speeches. However these word choices come to his advantage, because he is trying to appear casual and once again “free”. 

In This Is Water, David Foster Wallace is really trying to emphasize the idea that true freedom comes from sacrifice and structure, because we are not the center of the universe. These themes are all displayed throughout his speech, not only in what he talks about, but how he talks about it.  He has a way of making the students  feel connected to him by all the different dynamics he uses in his speech. His total and complete awareness of how people perceived him becomes extremely useful when he gives this speech. When one reads this speech it looks so evidently, free as though it was barely thought out. However, behind it was a very disciplined and scrupulous writer. This Is Water is a brilliant work that encompasses the idea that true and real freedom is not just doing whatever one pleases, but it is truly sacrificing for others and coming to the realization that no one is alone in this world.