David Foster Wallace s Kenyon Commencement Address

In David Foster Wallace’s Kenyon Commencement Address, he uses this question, â€Å"What is water?† to illustrate to the graduates that some of the most obvious realities are hardest to see. Wallace uses this question to draw attention to his main purposes, how we choose to think about and see the world around us and simple awareness. Wallace argues that the world has become self-centered and tries to show us that an education is about more than just the knowledge gained, but about the awareness and being well-adjusted that helps you find your purpose in life. The way he presents the purpose of his paper in the form of relatable anecdotes instead of lecturing at the graduates, keeps them engaged and familiar with what he is saying. He is effective in making his speech easy to relate to and understand through his use of anecdotes, tone, emotional appeals and word choice. He is able to appeal to ethos by making the graduates think about how they go about living their everyday life. By giving them a personal example of how he used tom or sometimes still does, think, they can see that they are not alone in how they see the world. â€Å"This is not a matter of virtue. It’s a matter of my choosing to do the work of somehow altering or getting free of my natural, hard-wired default setting which is to be deeply and literally self-centered and to see and interpret everything through this lens of self.† He uses the self-centeredness of society to demonstrate that he was able to changeShow MoreRelatedFree Choice Of The Will By David Foster Wallace1899 Words   |  8 Pagesfocus to and choose what we worship. Augustine in the book On Free Choice of the Will, writes about the different types of goods and how are decisions are based on desire of those goods. David Foster Wallace also focuses on our decisions being based on what we worship in t he â€Å"Kenyon College Commencement Address†. A fulfilling and happy life is only achieved by making the right decisions, which is achieve by putting priority on the right desires. Augustine in the book On Free Choice of the Will,Read MoreFree Choice Of The Will By David Foster Wallace1873 Words   |  8 Pagesfocus on and choose what we worship. Augustine in the book On Free Choice of the Will, writes about the different types of goods and how are decisions are based on desire of those goods. David Foster Wallace also focuses on our decisions being based on what we worship in the â€Å"Kenyon College Commencement Address†. A fulfilling and happy life is only achieved by making the right decisions, which is achieved by putting a priority on the right desires. Augustine in the book On Free Choice of the WillRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 Pagestheir wives (Kevin and Dawn, Robert and Sally) and their children (Ryan, Carly, Connor and Lauren). C.F.G. â€Å"We must not cease from exploration and the end of all exploring will be to arrive where we begin and to know the place for the first time.† T. S. Eliot To Ann whose love and support has brought out the best in me. And, to our girls Mary, Rachel, and Tor-Tor for the joy and pride they give me. Finally, to my muse, Neil, for the faith and inspiration he instills. E.W.L Preface Since you