David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water” is a commencement speech unlike the uplifting speeches we are accustom to.  Most speeches are usually positive, hopeful, and optimistic for the future, however, this speech is the complete opposite.  The tone of, “This is Water” is more negative, realistic, and as far from hopeful as one can reach.  Wallace has multiple examples embedded in his speech that helps support his message.  The audience in this speech is specifically the Kenyon graduating class, however, Wallace is actually speaking to everyone in attendance.  In his speech Wallace addresses the value of a liberal arts education which is to learn and understand how to think and be well adjusted while having control of your mind.  This blends in with the overall message that life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows and that people need to wake up and realize that they can’t just be stuck on their “default setting” and that they actually have to make conscious decisions about day to day tasks (xv).  

A great example from the speech was when Wallace speaks of two young fish swimming together who were completely oblivious as to what exactly it was that they were swimming in.  “The point of the story about the fish is merely that the most obvious realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about” (x).  The water that the fish swim in is meant to signify the world in which so many of us live in today.  We are the fish, and the world is our water.  So many people walk through life without stopping to consider the world around them.  Rather than simply being concerned with our own wellbeing it is essential that we take into consideration our surroundings and the world around us.

Another fantastic example used by Wallace is the story of the two men with contrasting beliefs walk into the same bar.  The point of this story is to “teach people how to think, to be a little less arrogant, and to have just a little critical awareness about themselves and their certainties” (xii).  It’s natural for us to be self-centered because it’s our default setting and ingrained in us since birth.  “The world as you experience it is there in front of you or behind you, to the left or right of you, on your television or your monitor” (xii).  There is no experience that anyone has had that they weren’t the absolute center of because of their default setting and their belief that they are the center of the universe.  Wallace also states that “a huge percentage of the stuff that people tend to be automatically certain of, is totally wrong and deluded” (xii).  Everyone takes something a little different away from the same experience.  People have to realize and acknowledge that when you are interacting with other people they may have differing opinions that must be respected.

Wallace makes one final point when he tells the story of the day-to-day things that every adult has to go through.  Wallace states, “if you’re automatically sure that you know what reality is, and you are operating on your own default setting then you won’t consider possibilities that aren’t annoying and miserable but if you really learn how to pay attention, then you will know there are other options” (xv).  We don’t always know what other people are going through so we have to be open minded about things and not be so quick to judge other people.  It also teaches us that freedom doesn’t come easy.  We have to learn to be well adjusted in order to obtain the freedom of a real education.  We have the opportunity to make a conscious decision about what has meaning in our life and what is worth worshipping.  There are consequences to worshipping meaningless things such as power, intellect, money, body, beauty, and sexual allure.  If we worship power, we will develop weakness and fear.  This weakness and fear causes us to always “feel the need to have more power over others so that we become numb to the fear” that still lingers within us (xvi).  If we worship intellect, we only worry about being seen as smart and will end up feeling stupid and a fraud.  Worshipping money and things leads to feeling that we never have enough.  We will always feel ugly and never discover our inner beauty that really matters if we worship our body, beauty, and sexual allure.  All of these forms of worship occur on our unconscious and default settings.  Real freedom is being educated, understanding how to think, and making conscious decisions about everyday things.  To have this really important kind of freedom you need discipline, attention, awareness, and to truly care and sacrifice for people every day.  

In conclusion, the primary message of this speech was to inform people on the realities of the world in which they live.  At the end of his speech when Wallace states, “I wish you way more than luck”, it’s important to know that it takes more than luck to succeed and to be happy in the world.  Freedom involves discipline, attention, awareness, care, and sacrifice.  We have to constantly be on our toes and disciplined when making conscious decisions about everything around us.  It is important to know and respect that everyone takes something a little different away from the same experience.  We don’t always know what other people are going through so we have to be open minded about things and not be so quick to judge other people.  It is also important to note that the speaker is a knowledgeable and trustworthy source because he himself is observant of the world around him.  While the tone is more negative, depressing, and hopeless he uses several good examples to help the audience relate to his realistic speech in a way in which they can apply it to their own lives. 
