
In David Foster Wallace’s, “This is Water,” he continually uses repetition to emphasize the points he is trying to make. Wallace's use of repetition is displayed in various formats, such as throughout the same sentence, the whole speech, or through similar ideas. His fixation with repetition is definitely a strategy to effectively communicate his message to those listening. 

In paragraph seven, Wallace repeats the word “you” or “your” (Wallace XII) in all capital letters five times in one sentence. He is doing this to drive the point that everyone is always just thinking of themselves, while showing us how everyone needs to escape this “default setting” that causes us see the world only through our self-absorbed eyes. He is metaphorically getting in the minds of those listening, and telling them exactly what runs through their minds on a daily basis. People see the world as if they are the “center of the universe,” but they’re not. Despite the fact that everyone has an unreasonable, self-centered view of the world, no one is more important than the other. He does this early on in his speech to get the audience thinking about their everyday personal thoughts, before he digs deeper into how and why we need to change our thinking throughout the remainder of his speech.        

Wallace focuses on this theme of humans consistently seeing the world solely through our own eyes because once we are able to acknowledge our tendency to think this way, we will be able to make a conscious effort to change our thinking. Wallace is trying to make us understand that the real education we need is not traditional knowledge; it is awareness. He understands how hard it is, as an adult, to constantly stay conscious and alive, in terms of being consciously aware, but he also knows it is what we need to do. Wallace persistently uses the word “death” to get his message across to his audience. 

In the second paragraph of David Foster Wallace’s, “This is Water,” he uses the word “death” to describe the importance of “banal platitudes.” He is suggesting that banal platitudes have a life or death importance to adults. Ultimately he is saying they would not be able to make it through their daily lives without these cliché encouragements. For instance, if something you wish would happen does not, you may cling to the saying that “good things come to those who wait,” to give yourself some hope. This idea that the banal platitudes mean so much to grown-ups is an ironic suggestion because, by definition, banal platitudes aren’t supposed to have any significance. So how could these saying have such a great impact on our lives? 

 He is using the word death, in the second paragraph, to further his argument by adding a dramatic emphasis on adults’ needing somewhere to place hope. Wallace is showing how we need to learn to become more aware of our thoughts, and suggesting that if we do that we may not need simplistic banal platitudes to keep us going. He is able to use “death” in such a way that causes listeners to think seriously as to what he is trying to convey, yet he is also able to use “death” to describe a characteristic of a person. 

In paragraph fourteen, Wallace uses the word “death” to describe the checkout lady’s voice. He has given the women’s voice a negative connotation, while creating a picture in the minds of the people listening. When he describes her voice as sounding like death, one pictures her voice sounding tired, deep, and slow. This furthers his argument by giving the listeners an example of an adult living their life unaware. Wallace is suggesting that the checkout lady is stuck in the rut of life’s daily tasks and not in the now. Someone who has a voice that sounds like death is surely living their life by simply going through the motions. Wallace uses this example early on in his speech because he knows this is a relatable example that everyone can easily picture in their minds. Wallace hooks his audience time and time again through the word “death.”  

In paragraph twenty-six, Wallace is using the word “death” figuratively. Wallace says "Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you" (Wallace XVI). He is trying to explain how if you value those aspects in life, which will not last forever, will eventually kill you inside. Although you are technically still alive, you will not be consciously, since you are constantly focusing on something that will never be able to completely satisfy you. He is tying this into how difficult life as an adult, is going to be for these students, just as it is for adults today that are not controlling the way they think. It takes conscious effort and practice to steer your thoughts away from yourself. However, unless you learn to shift your thoughts away from your “default setting” you will never learn the truth that comes with being aware.  

In paragraph thirty-one he uses the literal meaning of the word death. He is explaining how the truth is found in the events that happen before death, in real education which is awareness. He explains how hard it is to “stay conscious and alive in the adult world day in and day out” (Wallace XVII). David Foster Wallace wants to enhance his audiences’ awareness on the simplicity of life. He does this by focusing on the simple awareness towards the outlook on life, rather than essential knowledge in life as a whole. Death is the point when you no longer need to work to stay aware of your thoughts, therefore it is imperative to pull your attention away from yourself, while you are still alive.  

David Foster Wallace uses the word “death” in many different ways throughout his speech to convey his message that we need to work to become aware of our own thoughts. This shows that the word death can be used in different connotations. He uses the word death with a negative connotation in paragraph twenty-six, while in paragraph thirty-one it is used as the point of relief. His different uses of the word death show that he can see death in both a negative and positive light.  David Foster Wallace would agree that although most people would say they fear dying, they spend their lives going through their endless, mundane routines, not truly living, nor constantly aware.  

Finally, in the second to last paragraph, he refers to a cliché, which could easily be considered a banal platitude that he was speaking on earlier. He says, “yet another grand cliché turns out to be true: your education really IS the job of a lifetime” (Wallace XVII). This in turn is categorizing himself as one of the hopeless adults clinging to over used sayings he spoke about in the beginning of the text. He then practically leaves the audience with that, showing that he thinks this cliché will leave them satisfied because according to him, “banal platitudes can have a life or death importance” (Wallace XI).       

 