Collins 1

Ryan Collins
English 101
September 18, 2015
Mr. Padgett
This is Water

Comment [AP1]: Can$you$come$up$with$a$more$creative$

title?$

Upon reading This is Water David Foster Wallace lets the reader know that our default
setting revolves around the idea of self importance and how this impacts the roles of our daily
lives. Within the story This is Water Wallace expresses that in order to live life to the fullest
we must not live life in a black and white manner. We must look at life through a different
perspective and realize the world we live in does not revolve around our self-centeredness. Our

Comment [AP2]: story$usually$refers$to$a$piece$of$

fiction.$You$could$call$this$either$a$commencement$(which$it$
is)$or$maybe$an$essay.$
Comment [AP3]: What$does$this$mean?$Can$you$be$a$
little$clearer?$

default setting makes us look at life through an egocentric perspective. We must become aware

Comment [AP4]: Is$this$bad?$Sounds$like$a$good$selfC

preservation$tool$to$me.$

of our surroundings and realize we are insignificant compared to the amount of people on this

Comment [AP5]: This$seems$like$harsh$language.$Do$you$

think$this$is$Wallaces$message?$

planet. We must begin to realize the harsh realities of life and not everything is sunshine and

Deleted: to

rainbows like every fairytale tells us. The act of living cannot be revolved around the aspect that
we must always put ourselves first because if so we are never able to truly understand and
appreciate the life we live.
We are lead to believe through our default setting and the rules of society that we must
always put ourselves at the utmost importance. David Foster Wallace in This is Water gives us

Comment [AP6]: Really?$Who$leads$us$to$this$belief?$

an example of how even he is affected by our default setting. Here is just one example of the
total wrongness of something I tend to be automatically sure of: everything in my own
immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe; the
realest, most vivid and important person in existence (Wallace XII). In the literal meaning of
this phrase it makes sense because in our life and in every moment that we have experienced we

Deleted: centre

Collins 2
were at the center of its outcome. The role of the media in todays society only adds to the selfcenteredness caused by our default setting. We can see examples in the big cities such as Boston,
Los Angeles, and New York where the driving is at its worst in the state. If you have ever been

Comment [AP7]: Im$not$sure$what$youre$saying$here.$

stuck in traffic in any of these cities, then you have seen self-centeredness at its worst in our
society today. Within Wallaces message he portrays everyone as having this default setting with
the same egotistical attitude towards the situation. This is the problem I have with his message
being portrayed to the audience because there are instances when our default setting does not
apply to everyone throughout everyday life. Although I do not agree with the aspect that
everyone is bound to the same default setting I do agree with Wallaces argument. If you are able
to adjust your default setting, then you are well adjusted and more open to the way life works.

Comment [AP8]: Okay,$so$what$does$well$adjusted$

mean?$Why$is$this$a$desirable$state?$

People who can adjust their natural default setting this way are often described as being "welladjusted, which I suggest to you is not an accidental term (Wallace XIII). Wallace offers this
advice to the students in my belief because commencement speeches today revolve around the
same message of go out and conquer the world nothing can stop you now. Any logical person
knows this is an empty platitude merely stated to please the crowd. Wallace eludes to the
example of going into the grocery store as well as being stuck in traffic to show there are simple

Comment [AP9]: Okay,$i$really$like$what$youre$getting$

at$here.$But$isnt$there$value$in$those$kinds$of$platitudes?$If$
we$didnt$say$go$get$em!$would$anyone$actually$go$out$
and$get$them?$

everyday tasks that make life miserable sometimes. I agree with his logic to the degree that we
should not be feeding the minds of the youth with the notion you can become whatever you want
without struggle. Everything in this world takes time and effort to obtain and molds people into

Comment [AP10]: Do$those$old$platitudes$imply$that$

there$wont$be$any$struggle?$

who they are today.

Self-constraint, an overarching theme illustrated throughout the speech shows how we are
able to control what and how we think about certain everyday aspects of life. Learning how to
think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think

Comment [AP11]: This$is$a$really$interesting$claim$as$

well.$This$feels$like$new$light$or$understanding$Wallaces$
ideas$in$a$new$way.$$

Collins 3
(Wallace XIII). Wallace follows this thought by stating, being conscious and aware enough to
choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience
(Wallace XIII) which in simpler words states the aspect of learning comes through experience.

Comment [AP12]: Good!$More$interesting$insight$here.$

Take for example learning Algebra in school you do not just simply hear a lecture about algebra
and immediately understand all the concepts, this takes you experience of battling through the
homework in order to fully learn the concept of algebra. Wallace asks and begs the students

Comment [AP13]: I$like$your$war$imager$here$with$the$

word$battle.$Learning$can$be$a$painful$process.$

throughout the speech to think in a more intellectual and challenging way. We are given the
example of being in the grocery store late at night after a long hard day of work and every person
feels entitled to have an easy shopping experience. Ive worked really hard all day and Im
starved and tired and I cant even get home to eat and unwind because of all these stupid goddamn people (Wallace XV). Wallace begs the question that maybe the old lady walking slowly
throughout the aisles just had her husband of forty years die because of cancer. I begin to agree
with this idea of thinking outside the box because it makes us more conscious to the
understanding of life in a deeper meaning beyond the physical level. The world does not revolve
around our tiny and insignificant life. We are apart of something greater, something more

Comment [AP14]: Be$careful$with$apart$and$a$part.$

powerful than anything physical, but we have our default setting constantly dragging us back to

Comment [AP15]: If$we$are$insignificant,$how$are$we$a$

part$of$something$greater?$

the unimportant and egotistical matters of life.

Ryan,
I really like the ideas you are exploring here. I particularly like your discussion on learning and
adjusting. There are moments here were you offer some great insight into the text and larger
ideas that the text hints at. Im a little at a loss of what your specific thesis is here. This is
especially true when you get to talking about insignificance. Your discussion on insignificance

Collins 4
could be a thesis; you could orient an entire paper around that idea alone. So, in revision, try to
bring a greater clarity to your thesis, and make sure each paragraph is supporting that thesis.