David Foster Wallace explores various themes pertaining to the banal existence of adulthood and the real world after college in his speech “This is Water”. He bluntly expresses to the soon-to-be college graduates to remember that the world does not solely revolve around one person and to be aware of one’s mental perspective and attitude. Wallace uses repetition, key concepts, and striking imagery to portray one of his overarching messages, which is to remain aware and empathetic in a world where it is easy to get lost in self-centered impulses and solipsism. 

As Wallace begins to explain one of his key concepts of a “default setting” to the audience, he first describes how he is victim of the tendency to believe that he is “the absolute center of the universe; the realist, most vivid and important person in existence.” (Wallace XII) He uses repetition of the word “YOU”, specifically in all capital letters to depict one’s urgent and immediate feelings about one’s importance in the world. This is the self-centeredness that he warns the graduates to stray away from, as it can negatively impact the way one views everything else. Repeating the word “you” with such emphasis most likely causes the audience to immediately begin thinking about themselves, which is exactly what Wallace wants them to acknowledge. Wallace states, “The world as you experience it is there in front of YOU or behind YOU, to the left or right of YOU…” (Wallace XII) It is all too easy to get lost in one’s head, over-thinking and over-intellectualizing, instead of paying attention to things happening in the present, real world and Wallace is leading the audience toward this conclusion.  This conclusion leads to the key concept of the “default setting” that Wallace explains to the graduates. 

The “default setting” is supposedly hard wired into our brains, and that tendency to think the world revolves solely around oneself is a big part of why it is not a good mental state to be stuck in. Wallace speaks about the liberal arts cliché about being taught how to think, and how it is actually a deep and serious idea. He says, “It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.” (Wallace XIII) In order to turn off the “default setting”, one must be able to actively make a decision about what to think about. Wallace creates an example of waiting in traffic, or being cut off while in traffic, and how the “default setting” can negatively affect how one chooses to think about the situation at present. If one is stuck in the “default setting”, he/she is more likely to have a more aggressive, self-centered perspective of everything at hand. Everything and everyone else will be in his/her way, or making things incredibly difficult for him/her instead of having that person at the center of the entire universe. Wallace expresses a solution to this situation by telling the graduates that knowing how to control how they pay attention to and think about everyday life and everyday experiences. If one could choose to think about what another person is going through, or how rough his/her day might have been, one might have a different outlook on the things happening in the present. Wallace describes an alternate to the traffic situation by saying, “In this traffic, all these vehicles stopped and idling in my way, it’s not impossible that some of these people in SUV’s have been in horrible auto accidents in the past, and now find driving so terrifying that their therapist has all but ordered them to get a huge, heavy SUV so they can feel safe enough to drive.” (Wallace XV) His point is that if the world could learn how to be more empathic and aware of things other than ourselves, people would be kinder and much healthier mentally. 

Wallace uses incredibly striking imagery to depict a disgustingly annoying supermarket trip after a long day of work to give the audience a vibrant illustration of just one of the many tedious parts of an adult’s life routine. He conjures an image of the grocery store by saying, “And the store is hideously lit and infused with soul-killing muzak or corporate pop and it’s pretty much the last place you want to be…and you have to maneuver your junky car through all these other tired, hurried people with carts…” (Wallace XIII) His long, rambling account creates the feeling of wandering around a confusing and crowded supermarket and his adjectives, like “hideously lit” and “soul-killing”, create dreary mood. Wallace describes the people in the grocery store as “stupid and cow-like and dead-eyed and nonhuman” (Wallace XIV) and although this is an extremely harsh way to categorize people, Wallace is trying to express this extreme so that the audience can acknowledge and avoid it. The “default setting” he is talking about depends on how one experiences everyday chores and routines, particularly while stuck in the belief that one’s needs and feelings are the priorities of the rest of the world. 

Through repetition, key concepts, and striking imagery, David Foster Wallace is able to vividly portray one of the meanings of his 2005 commencement address: to be empathetic and aware of more than just oneself is key to a healthier mental state and overall happier adult existence. Wallace expresses that the brain is a terrible master and to not fall into a dark, tedious adult routine, one must control his/her mind enough to be able to focus on the good in situations and turn off the “default setting”. The default setting renders one completely unable to picture the universe as not revolving around him/herself, and turning it off creates a much broader view of the world and a kinder, less aggressive perspective. In a world that makes it easy to get lost in solipsism and selfish tendencies, Wallace declares that one must remain empathetic and aware. 
