
From the day we are born, we are in auto drive of our own thoughts and ideas and believe that they are the only thing that really matters.  David Foster Wallace in his speech “This is Water” challenges this idea.   The 2005 commencement speech for Kenyon University was done by novelist and essayist David Foster Wallace gave an obscure address to the graduating class (X).  The prompt for the speech was to talk about the value of a liberal arts degree, and Wallace believed that there is more human value in receiving a liberal arts degree over anything else.  David Foster Wallace’s speech titled “This is Water” is a warning to young people to stay conscious and mindful of the world around them so their lives do not become boring and meaningless; he explains this by using diction, imagery and by making this speech at a college graduation.

Wallace throughout the speech uses diction that relates to death and not being cognizant as a reality check to students that they need to be aware of how they think.  Graduation speeches are usually uplifting and celebratory of the achievements that graduates have made. Instead of doing this, Wallace takes the opportunity to express how their liberal arts degree they have received can actually help, “Your liberal arts education is supposed to be about: how to keep from going through your comfortable, prosperous, respectable adult life dead, unconscious, a slave to your head an to your natural default setting of being uniquely, completely, imperially alone day in and day out,” (XIII).   The use of diction in this quote shows how mundane life could become if meaningful effort is not put into day to day life.  Wallace believes that most people function in natural setting that is narcissistic and self-absorbed. Living in this routine and natural setting leads people to only care about their own problems, instead of focusing on other issues that surround them.  The words “dead”, “unconscious”, and “slave” all describe being detached from the present, as if you are sleep walking through life.  This type of diction shows how boring life can become, and it is also wake-up call to these graduates to not end up in this this state of mind.

The imagery throughout the story is used as a way to warn students of their possible future, and to also inspire and enlighten them on how they should try and conduct themselves.  Throughout the speech Wallace creates descriptive scenarios of situations that all people can relate too.  One of his first examples is going to a supermarket after a long day a work, “And the store is hideously lit and infused with soul-killing muzak or corporate pop and its pretty much the last place you want to be but you can’t just get in quickly out; you have to wander all over the huge, over lit store’s confusing aisles to find the stuff,”(XIII).  This example is very universal because in one way or another, everyone in the audience, graduates and family alike, can relate to it.  The quote creates an image of a cold, melancholy environment that no one really wants to be in.  The description off the lighting of the store as being, “hideous lit”, and the aisles being “confusing” makes the reader feel the restlessness and unhappiness this type of situation puts one in.  Also the sentence structure helps convey how boring this environment is.  The sentence is extremely long creating a boring and tedious feel.  In order to not feel this way throughout life Wallace says that a liberal arts education has given them the tools necessary to not think in this kind of way, but instead stay conscientious about the world and people around them by being able to sympathize and relate to other individuals.

The tone of the speech is very unorthodox for a college graduation, however is given to these graduates to try and influence the way they think from a young age.   When most people think of a graduation speech it is inspirational and reflective on all the accomplishments graduates have experienced.  Wallace instead takes this opportunity to be truthful about the life ahead of them and what can happen if they do not use the education to think differently, “The capital-T Truth is about life BEFORE death.  It is about the real value of real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness, awareness of what is so real and essential”(XVII).  Wallace struggled with depression throughout his life and ultimately succumbed to it by committing suicide.  He is trying to give the “capital- T-Truth” so he can influence the graduates while they are still young and discovering who they are so they do not end up unhappy and their lives are not boring.  He is making the point that their education has given them the skills to be aware of the world around them and to not coast through life unhappy.  A liberal arts degree has taught them how to think and how to consider opportunities and situations that surround them.  

Living in a constant state of awareness is something that is extremely hard to do all the time, however living more consciously and being more self-aware ultimately makes a better happier person.   As a society we should try and think in the way Wallace wants us to.  It would lead to people being less selfish and more sympathetic to other’s feeling and situations.  It would make society less singular and it would bring people together.  Wallace shares these ideas on how to not become bored in your life by his use of detached diction, descriptive imagery, and sharing this speech with an audience of graduates.  Education gives us the power to be sympathetic and conscious in our day to day lives rather than being mundane and unhappy.
