“This is Water” is a commencement address given by David Foster Wallace to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College. Wallace uses several anecdotal stories in order to convene a specific message to anyone who might come across the speech. Wallace wanted to warn people about the monotony of everyday life but also tell them that not everyone has to live like that. He wants people to live their lives to the fullest and enjoy their time on this earth. 

The first example showing the theme is in the first paragraph in the parable about the fish. In the story the elder fish asks the two younger fish, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” (Wallace X). One of the younger fish then asks his companion, “What the hell is water?”, (Wallace X). This amusing story is used to show how someone may not be able to see what is obviously happening simply due to their own ignorance. If the younger fish wonder what this strange medium they spend their days in is, perhaps they would ask someone with more experience then themselves. They would learn about the very world they reside in.

Another example is Wallace’s story in the supermarket. The story shows how to monotony of everyday can skew our perception of what is happening. Wallace suggests us to “choose to look differently at this fat, dead-eyed, over-made-up lady who just screamed at her kid in the checkout line. Maybe she’s not usually like this” (Wallace XV). Perhaps some horrible circumstances have been making this women’s life hell and she really deserves our sympathy, or perhaps this woman is actually a terrible human being. The point is that we do not know so we should reverse judgment. If one uses this practice in their lives, they will show more empathy and enrich their own lives by not disliking the people around them due to an out-of-character act.

The final example is perhaps the clearest example of Wallace wanting us to live our lives to the fullest. He says that the, “capital T Truth is about life BEFORE death. It is about the real value of a real education, which had almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness” (Wallace XVII). Wallace wanted us to be aware of everyone around is, including ourselves. He wanted us to be aware that we are not immortal beings and we are not perfect, but most of us try to be as good as we can. However sometimes that is hard, it is incredibly difficult to be kind and compassionate when not everyone shows you the same kindness. Wallace’s message in “This is Water” is to tell these graduating people, who are starting their lives, to remember to live and enjoy life while they have it. 

In conclusion, although he suffered from depression and tragically ended his own life, Wallace wanted everyone to consider others while we are living our lives and to live our lives to the absolute fullest. We don’t have a lot of time to do everything we want to do in life, only an average of around 80 years, and most people spend the last 20 years wishing they did more when they could do more. 