
In the short story of “This is Water” Wallace makes a perplexing usage of the word worship within his story, drawing a greater meaning to the word itself and what its representation means in life. Also the connection in why Wallace named this short story “This is Water” draws a substantial meaning to the point in which Wallace was trying to get across. Finally, the overall subject on how to think, Wallace emphasis on what it means and how the graduating college students should go about in their daily lives with that meaning. 

There is a particular sentence which Wallace uses that creates a defining moment in the passage which is fascinating, this sentence setting and serving two purposes within one state. “There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worship” (XV-XVI) The statements creates a pivotal moment in Wallace story by ultimately forcing a choice upon us. “There is no such thing as not worshipping” creates a tension by discrediting that of the atheism belief, stating in the sentence just before it that there is no such thing as atheism. Those readers who do practice atheism would surely feel slight discomfort in seeing an author go against that of a religious which doesn’t believe in worshipping at all. Another thing this sentence does is force the principle of worshipping upon the people, saying that everybody worships in some way or form. This ultimately forces a principle upon reader to examine what in there that they worship, in the sentence after Wallace states that “The only choice we get is what to worship”. (XVI)

The title of “This is Water” is a mystery in and off itself as to why it was named that. Being repeated twice at the very end of it begs the question as to why it was named that. It also begs the questions as to why readers would be so self-conscious about the world around them instead of themselves. Like the fish and the water story in the beginning we do not take into the account of the world around us as we properly should, overlapping even the simplest decisions in life. Wallace says that with “This is Water” readers will end up becoming obsolete to the world around them, failing to stay conscious and alive with the present as they end up just becoming a walking zombie. 

Finally, Wallace addressed the process of thinking in and of itself according to how the reader would usually react. Between both the two guys in the bar (XI) and the average day of a white-collared job person (XIII), Wallace makes a distinct connection between them. The meaning of all things, regardless of what it is, comes from inside from what a person is feeling and thinking. From talking about religion to rethinking about everyday life, Wallace makes us determine what is it that we should think about. More importantly when it comes to him addressing education, taking the value of the degree being received rather than a piece of paper being given stating that the recipient completed college. Tying this with worshipping Wallace shows us that what we worship is based on how we think, the value in which we measure things around us. The freedom to choose what we are and what we do based on our actions, that is the ultimate goal of thinking in which Wallace tries to get his point across with the graduating class of the college he was speaking at. 

In closing, Wallace makes exertive points in ways in which the reader would try to open their eyes to the world around them. Instead of self-consciously being aware of their own being they should attentively and actively looking at the world around them. Instead merely earning a degree they should taking in what is it that they really achieved, what it merely just education or an opportunity in which they could freely express their beliefs and their way of thinking. 