“This is Water” Annotation

Author/Speaker: David Foster Wallace

Where: Kenyon College

When: 2005

Brief Overview: A speech given in honor of the graduating class of Kenyon College, in which David Foster Wallace directly juxtaposes common themes of U.S. commencement speeches by arguing that the meaning of a liberal arts education is not to give students the capacity to think, but rather give them a choice of what to think about.

Important Vocabulary: Platitude, meaning a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful. Banal, meaning so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring. Didactic, meaning intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.

Questions: Who or what does David Foster Wallace suggest the listener or reader worship?

Noteworthy Quotes: “The point of the fish story is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about.” “Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think.” “There happen to be whole, large parts of adult American life that nobody talks about in commencement speeches. One such part involves boredom, routine and petty frustration.” “There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.” “That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.”

Initial Reactions: This speech serves as an important reminder of several life-changing lessons, including but not limited to the fact that I (and we) as an individual(s) am not the center of the universe, that I should consistently and constantly consider what and who it is that I am worshipping, and that an awareness of the world around me is essential to live on a setting other than default.