
“This is Water”, written by David Foster Wallace, is a speech that hits home with everyday adult life. Wallace conveys a message that each student does not yet understand. He speaks of how life will be after graduation and how to better understand it. As each student goes throughout life, they dream of becoming an adult and being done with school. Not a single academic student understands what life will really be like after they graduate and move on into the “real world.” The idealistic “real world” to a growing student is a place where you wake up every morning, eat breakfast, go to work for a little while at a job that you love, and then go home and have fun with friends. What each inexperienced adult does not understand, is that life does not always work this way. Wallace states that each graduating student will get a job after college, and they will absolutely hate it. The repetitive nature of it, will drive some to the edge.

In the speech delivered by David Foster Wallace, many figurative languages are used to further imprint the point into the listeners’ minds. Wallace uses similes, metaphors, irony, and powerful analogies to clearly pass the images from his mouth to the crowds’ brain. The use of each of these strategies creates an environment that provides a sense of false hope. Wallace uses irony to provide light humor within an otherwise meaningful, and melancholy, speech, in one instance stating,” everything in my own immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe.” The use of irony in this dialogue creates an almost uncertainty as to what point Wallace is trying to portray. He gives the listeners something to think about not only during the graduation, but for years to come. In addition, the combination of similes and metaphors made throughout this speech brings this higher level of thinking down to the maturity level of these graduates. By including stories that would be relatable to the graduating class, Wallace is able to create a relatable picture that will help the students better understand the deeper meaning of the speech.

Wallace crafted this speech in such a way that easily gained every student, peer, faculty member, and passerby’s attention. By beginning the spiel with the introduction of two fish, he is able to reach out and obtain access to each person’s “younger self.” He is able to make them laugh and listen. Due to this, Wallace can pass on the idea that life is not what you think it is going to be. Life will become repetitive, monotonous, and slave like. You will feel like a robot, and there is nothing you can do about it. All of this sounds mortifying and overwhelming, however, due to how he begins his speech, Wallace actually gets the audience to laugh after each piece of evidence. David Foster Wallace does not just reference two fish, however. He references several different situations to target the audience’s minds with imagery. The repetitive use of this strategy creates an almost ironic structure, where he delivers an extremely disheartening and discouraging subject in such a way that the audience is laughing. This way of writing allows for an “easier let down,” and enables the crowd of listeners to not be torn apart by the information given to them.

    Repetition, traditionally, assists with the remembrance and learning of a concept. Usually applied in school, this can also be held to any other instance within one’s life. Academically, this strategy is fitting to be used in a graduation speech as well. Students are likely to remember the unusual repetition of the word “you” and will look back to consider what made this speech truly stand out to them. Upon the realization that the repetition was what helped the speech strike a chord, a student may consider using this strategy within their own lives, whether it be in further schooling or learning a new job’s technicalities.

The repetition of certain meaningful words is used in order to create points within the speech that capture the listener’s attention and get them to focus on the important ideas. For example, “The world as you experience it is there in front of YOU or behind YOU, to the left or the right of YOU, on YOUR tv or YOUR monitor.” The nature of the word “you” creates a personal relationship between the speaker and those listening. Wallace picks this word, instead of any other ordinary word, in order to simultaneously build a personal relationship with his audience. In the creation of such a relationship, Wallace is attempting to better his chances of hitting home with his audience. His focus is to give a speech that will last in the memories of everyone in this graduating class. With the continuous use of “you,” Wallace is able to drive home his point and create a speech that is not only memorable but is relatable for everyone. 

This speech has a sort of dark, demeaning tone to it, unlike most commemorating speeches given at graduation. However, this speech hits home with reality and shows the truth about how the real world really is after graduation. David Foster Wallace speaks of how, in post-graduation, everyone’s lives become extremely repetitive and monotonous, yielding a poor quality of life. By continuously using one word throughout this speech, he is creating a mirror effect within his own words. The continuity and repetition of the word “you” reflects how there is a possibility of one’s everyday life becoming monotonous and feeling repetitive.

Wallace states that “education enables my tendency to over-intellectualize stuff, to get lost in abstract argument inside my head, instead of simply paying attention to what is going on right in front of me, right inside of me.” This quote from his speech represents how education has forced him to unconsciously over-think things instead of looking at the simple picture right in front of him. By saying this, the speaker is attempting to make the graduating class realize that once you’re in the real world, things will get harder and you will have to make sure not to over analyze things. 

David Foster Wallace crafted a speech geared towards Kenyon’s graduating class of 2005 that would make them understand what life really is. He uses several strategies in order to portray his main idea, such as using irony and humor to make them laugh at harsh and intimidating subjects, using analogies to give the student’s an image to help them better understand, and using repetition to make his speech memorable. This speech gives a unique description that will help these young people, and all who read this speech, to know how to approach the gloomy, intimidating life ahead.