Being a citizen of the United States of America the definition of freedom has been greatly stressed in our culture.  From an early age all Americans are told they have freedoms.  Within his commencement speech Wallace really tries to impress upon these graduating students how they can express their freedom of thought.  He then proceeds by giving examples on how they can live their own lives freely in various ways.  Freedom is defined to Wallace in how we interpret the world around us.  He sees freedom in how the world around him can be interpreted for himself and wants other students to feel this same sense of freedom.   Foster Wallace states that freedom can be found in education, selfishness, and caring for others.

Before his full thoughts on freedom can be expressed Wallace prefaces his argument by getting his audience to think about freedom.  So many choices are already made in the student’s daily life that they can forget the process of making them.  Wallace criticizes, “If your total freedom of choice regarding what to think about seems too obvious I’d ask you to think about the fish and water, and to bracket for just a few minutes your skepticism about the value of the totally obvious (Wallace 6).”  Wallace references a prior anecdote to support that even though freedom is all around us it is important to be constantly aware of how we are using our freedom of thought.  Later in the commencement speech, he goes on to define specific ways of thinking in different situations, but this quote explains and introduces the idea that any person is free to interpret their surroundings however they wish.

Throughout his speech, “This is Water”, Wallace stresses that people need to be mindful of their surrounding environment.  For example, he states, “This, I submit, is the freedom of a real education, of learning how to be well adjusted (Wallace 6).”  By implying that education is a type of freedom it allows Wallace to better connect with his audience.  It is common knowledge that kids on the verge of adulthood want to feel free and by directly comparing freedom to education he can better emphasize its importance to his audience.  In this quote, freedom almost becomes a metaphor for education.  Education is seen as freeing in its own unique way.  By being educated he has felt more fulfilled and wants to pass this information on to his audience before they graduate.  He wants his audience leaving knowing that the more educated and aware they are of their environment the freer they will feel.

Wallace shows many different types of freedom throughout the reading.  In one instance it is described as, “The freedom all to be lords of our tiny skull-sized kingdoms, alone at the center of all creation (Wallace 9).”  This quote defines freedom as a very self-centered mindset.  Wallace is using this form of freedom to show the most common form of thinking.  A mentality in which you are approaching every day with only your aspirations in mind.  This furthers his theme that we are free to think as we choose by providing the alternative to being educated and aware of your surroundings.  In this example, a person is free only by not knowing how they affect others.  It is a very cynical form of freedom but freedom nonetheless. He tries to discourage this form of freedom with reference of both skulls and kingdoms.  This makes the listener envision this form of freedom with them standing as the god of their own world.  No person would want to feel this egotistical and self-centered.  By giving this example it shows the conclusion of this type of freedom.  By the end of someone’s life they will have only cared about themselves.

After expressing his thoughts on how the majority of people find freedom Wallace tries to show his audience what he believes is the greatest form of freedom.  He states, “The really important kind of freedom involves attention awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people (Wallace 9).  The type of freedom expressed here is greatly contrasted with his prior definition of freedom.  Freedom is now seen as a form of selflessness rather than selfishness.  Wallace refers to it as the important kind of freedom because he fears that many of his audience could be so focused on their own issues that they forget about others.  This is what he has seen throughout his day to day life.  People with shopping carts in grocery stores concerned only about themselves.  He wants to stress to these students that in their lives they must actively try to care for others and that is how they can truly feel freedom.

While Wallace emphasizes and justifies how one should approach each day with an active educated mindset he still concludes his speech stating that any person really is free in how they view the world.  He remarks “You are, of course, free to think of it whatever you wish (Wallace 9).”  In this quote, Wallace reiterates that although he recommends being educated and aware of your surroundings is the most ideal method of thinking really how one chooses to think of their life is entirely their own choice.  He has found his own method of thinking that has allowed him to be successful and while he shares that with his audience in this statement he still wants his audience to explore their own freedom of thought.  This is the conclusion of his argument.  Although he has given the reader numerous examples of freedom of thought and how they can affect their day to day life it falls on the reader to implement this freedom. 

In “This is Water”, Wallace uses the word freedom multiple times throughout the text to express his theme that freedom should be found in education.  Wallace gives examples of how different mindsets can be freeing such as how being entirely self-centered could give someone a sense of freedom.  The majority of his speech however focuses on freedom in being aware of everyone around you.  When making choices Wallace believes you should actively be considering how it affects others rather than yourself.  A certain form of education and reminding one’s self to actively think about how they are affecting others is definitely the most stressed form of freedom in this speech, however he still concludes by stating that ultimately how a person finds their sense of freedom in this world is their own choice.  He expresses that the form of freedom that is most difficult to create is that of helping others because it involves constant active thought.  Many people go through their lives in the default setting of self-centered thought, but Wallace stresses to his audience to strive to be greater and think of others.