David Foster Wallace was a witty and blunt author from the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. “This is Water” was a commencement speech at Kenyon College’s 2005 graduation. Throughout the speech, Wallace got his point across to all of the graduates that life is not always a joy by using specific word choice and sentence structure. He sets the tone that life is not as great as it is set out to be. Normal everyday actions can be such a bother that death is thought to be the only escape.

One has to pursue his or her dreams and not get into an everyday routine that is mundane. If someone is having a bad day, someone else might be having a worse day. Sometimes, a view through other people’s eyes can open one’s mind. Throughout the speech, Wallace uses many negative adjectives and repetition referring to death. That is something that is not usually heard in a commencement speech. Shortly after the speech begins, Wallace states, “… this is just a banal platitude, but the fact is that in the day to day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have a life or death importance, or so I wish to suggest to you on this dry and lovely morning.”, is not very promising for an uplifting speech (XI). He is already starting out with an unpleasant voice.

One of the first references to death that comes up in the text is about committing suicide. Wallace states, “It is not the least bit coincidental that adults who commit suicide with firearms almost always shoot themselves in: the head” (XIII). Now, suicide is not a light subject so it’s quite strange that he would bring this up to a whole graduating class going off into the real world. He is attempting to make the point that no one should get into the “natural default setting” because it will just become frustrating and boring. Wallace talks about suicide like it’s a normal thing (comparing it to a ‘day to day’ routine). He puts them back to back in the writing to make them seem similar. In his eyes, committing suicide is not out of the ordinary. It happens and life goes on. 

In the beginning of the speech, he says “…but if you’re worried that I plan to present myself here as the wise, older fish explaining what water is to you younger fish, please don’t be” (X). This quote is just the start of him saying that he’s been through many different experiences and he’s just trying to warn all of the graduates of what they might see. At the same time, he does not want to be the nagging man that acts like he knows it all. Non-intentionally, he brings out the point that life is rough and he has personally experienced this.

Wallace then talks about going to the grocery store. Shopping is usually just something everyone does so they turn a blind eye to the annoying little incidents that happen but Wallace wants to point out every little thing that happens. He states, “… and you get told ‘Have a nice day’ in a voice that is the absolute voice of death” (XIV). This refers back to death again. Such a simple act bothers him so much that he has to relate it to death speaking to him. People telling him to have a nice day or the “soul-killing muzak” grinds his gears to no end (XIII). By using adjectives like “stupid, hideously lit, confusing, creepy”, etc., the connotation of the speech starts to become more depressing than anything (XIII). Wallace talks about how time consuming grocery shopping by listing out every single small detail in a negative way. It takes forever to get to the store. The lights are hideously lit. All of the isles are confusing. It takes forever to check out. This is just one of the awful things that everyone has to go through in life.

Wallace ends his speech the same way he begins it, with religion. Towards the end of his speech, he states, “The capital-T Truth is about life BEFORE death” (XVII). Here he reminds the students to always live in the moment instead of worrying about the ultimate future of heaven or hell. He is saying life is about worrying what is happening now, not what is going to happen after death. Wallace calls the students to embrace the education they have received and to notice small things that are always happening around them. “This is water” is representing that life isn’t great. As stated in the second paragraph, many get into a daily routine that is tiring and lifeless. In other words, Wallace is saying wake up and change everything up. Issues come up, but at some point, they will resolve.

After reading and discussing this passage, I found out that David Foster Wallace committed suicide a couple years after presenting this speech. He referred to death and death-related terms so much throughout the speech because he was describing how he felt on a day-to-day basis. Death was used to describe different actions and every day run-ins someone might have. Not everything is what it appears to be. Repetition in this passage draws out Wallace’s perspective on life. He places a bad connotation on normal everyday activities. Normal everyday actions can be such a bother that death is thought to be the only escape. Many people go through life and get comfortable with an everyday routine that soon becomes dull and repetitive. Life needs to be lived to the fullest. Death revolves around many things in life. The only way to avoid living a tedious and tiresome life is to try new things, get out of an everyday routine, live in the moment.
