In “This is Water”, David Foster Wallace takes a happy event, a college graduation, and turns into something much more somber and serious. His main objective is to address the meaning of a true liberal arts education and he does just that, but in his own unique way. With the combination of relatable real life events, our “hard-wired default setting” (Wallace XII), didactic little stories, and a true sense of what a liberal arts education should be, Wallace is able to give a brilliant meaning to the words “liberal arts education”.

Wallace’s use of real life situations helps to build his character as a person and his belief of what a liberal arts education is about. One of the real life situations he uses is about being stuck in heavy traffic on the freeway with huge SUVs. He believes that the way a person is wired to look at is the SUVs is they are just taking up precious space in the lanes and burning ungodly amounts of fuel. People may become angry with the other drivers on the road and mumble words under their breath. However, the SUV that people are complaining about could have a frantic parent in it whose kid is in the emergency room with a serious injury (XIV-XV). He believes that the liberal arts education should make you think about certain situations in different lights and consider what another person could be going through. His ability to add in the relatable stories help build the main idea of his speech. It pulls emotions in from the audience and makes us as readers really try to understand what it is he is trying to say. Wallace is trying to say that there should be two sides to every story and that is what a liberal arts education should teach you. However, Wallace makes sure to bring in a point about our “hard-wired default setting” (XII).

The default setting present in our brains leads to the root of our problem as a society. Wallace says, “Think about it: there is no experience you have had that you are not the absolute center of” (XII). Every experience you had in your life was personal to you and you make your own experiences. Obviously there have been situations you were involved in that you were the center of attention, but there have been so many more events where you were just looking into the bigger picture. For example, the incident of 9/11. You might be across the country worrying “What if I’m next?” while you have the people of New York City in a lot more danger. Wallace’s use of that quote leads us to think about ourselves. We focus on ourselves in every situation, but is that really the way it should be? The way Wallace brings in the part about our hard-wired default setting tries to make us think about situations in a different light. As humans everyone should look out for each other and really try to look at both sides to a situation instead of focusing on just your side. 

The contrast between Wallace’s relatable events and his discussion about hard-wired default setting cause his audience to really think about his message. He almost brings in the question of which type of person are you going to be; one that actually uses the liberal arts education or one that just goes through the motions of learning? Showing both sides, using and not using the liberal arts education, leads those graduates to decide which type of person they want to be. Wallace’s touch of adding the metaphorical stories helps those graduates in the process of which person they want to be.

In the opening paragraph of Wallace’s speech, he uses a story about three fish. Two of the fish are younger and swimming with themselves while an older fish approaches them and asks them how the water is. The two younger fish are so confused and do not understand what water really is (X). The two young fish are so blinded by the fact that they are surrounded by the water every single day that they do not even think about it anymore. Wallace believes that people are blinded by their everyday lives and says the quote, “The point of the fish story is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about” (X). The situations that we are faced with everyday are often overlooked not because they are not important, but because as humans we get used to it. We do not think the little things in life matter anymore. Wallace also brings in the story of the two guys in the bar that are different religions. One of the men believes in God while the other man does not (XI-XII). Both men think their own personal viewpoints are correct, but they are not looking at the bigger picture. It is respectable to have different religions, but we as a society should look at both sides in the same light. We should not judge a person based on their beliefs. Wallace really hits that part home with his background in the liberal arts.

Since Wallace himself has a liberal arts education and background, it makes it easier to understand where he is coming from as the speaker. The way he talks about the education is so strong through his emotions and attention to topics that it makes it easy to understand his overall purpose. His purpose is to explain the usefulness and true meaning of a liberal arts education in the development of a person. Wallace says, “… a liberal arts education is not so much about filling you up with knowledge as it is about quote teaching you how to think” (XI). Those words have a strong tone, which lead a person to question which side of the education they are leaving their college with. Wallace is challenging those graduates to think deeper and really try to understand what life is all about through a liberal arts education.

In conclusion, Wallace accomplished the overall goal of that speech. His use of relatable real life events makes those graduates participate in using their liberal arts education immediately. The didactic stories make those graduates look at both sides of situations instead of just focusing on themselves, like our brains want us to do. Wallace’s credibility as a well-known liberal arts educator makes it easy to understand what he is saying the meaning of his speech is.  “This is Water” is not just another commencement speech, it is a lifelong lesson.
