Wallace starts his speech with the story about the fish, and concludes his story about the fish at the end of his speech as a way of basically reminding this graduating class that they have to constantly be aware of everything around them, even the things in plain sight. I understand what he was trying to get at, but I think he dragged this speech out more than he had to in order to get this point across. Though it’s in a very harsh manner, he’s saying that life isn't simple; even after you graduate college. There’s still going to be struggles, there is still a lot of hard work that is going to be done. I don’t agree with him completely because he makes it seem like life just sucks as an adult and it never really gets better. I think he had the right ideas about using this speech at a graduation ceremony, but he dragged his points out more than necessary causing a bit confusion in more place than one. Trying to add emphasis on certain points, he ended up contradicting himself. He says that isn’t trying to get you to think THIS way, but it’s better than THAT way. He flat out said the world DOES revolve around you, though I see his point, I don’t completely agree there. Yes his argument is valid, but I believe it’s also necessary to put others before yourself it some situations. He comes off as a bluntly selfish person, and then goes on to say that maybe you should put others before yourself. I believe that the people among the audience that think they’ve got life figured out will feel excluded from what Wallace is trying to say. Not the graduating class of course, but the elder that enjoy their jobs and haven’t fallen victim to a boring day-to-day routine. He assumes that this entire graduating class will go out into the real world and get jobs that they don’t even enjoy just to get by in life, therefore falling ill to the day-to-day routine. I agree with the fact that world is a cruel place, and it’s not going to be easy for these graduates once they’re really out on their own. I disagree however that they will all be unhappy with what they choose to do. Sure some of them will get a job that just pays the bills, however others will find a career that they absolutely love and they will not fall into a dreadful routine.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Response to "Kenyon Commencement Speech"
Wallace starts his speech with the story about the fish, and concludes his story about the fish at the end of his speech as a way of basically reminding this graduating class that they have to constantly be aware of everything around them, even the things in plain sight. I understand what he was trying to get at, but I think he dragged this speech out more than he had to in order to get this point across. Though it’s in a very harsh manner, he’s saying that life isn't simple; even after you graduate college. There’s still going to be struggles, there is still a lot of hard work that is going to be done. I don’t agree with him completely because he makes it seem like life just sucks as an adult and it never really gets better. I think he had the right ideas about using this speech at a graduation ceremony, but he dragged his points out more than necessary causing a bit confusion in more place than one. Trying to add emphasis on certain points, he ended up contradicting himself. He says that isn’t trying to get you to think THIS way, but it’s better than THAT way. He flat out said the world DOES revolve around you, though I see his point, I don’t completely agree there. Yes his argument is valid, but I believe it’s also necessary to put others before yourself it some situations. He comes off as a bluntly selfish person, and then goes on to say that maybe you should put others before yourself. I believe that the people among the audience that think they’ve got life figured out will feel excluded from what Wallace is trying to say. Not the graduating class of course, but the elder that enjoy their jobs and haven’t fallen victim to a boring day-to-day routine. He assumes that this entire graduating class will go out into the real world and get jobs that they don’t even enjoy just to get by in life, therefore falling ill to the day-to-day routine. I agree with the fact that world is a cruel place, and it’s not going to be easy for these graduates once they’re really out on their own. I disagree however that they will all be unhappy with what they choose to do. Sure some of them will get a job that just pays the bills, however others will find a career that they absolutely love and they will not fall into a dreadful routine.
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I agree with your response to the commencement speech given by David Foster Wallace. In his speech, Wallace tries to open the eyes of the graduates by using various cliches and parables such as the one about the two fishes to really demonstrate to the graduates the importance of not undervaluing and overlooking what we find to be obvious. Later through the progress of the speech, his attempts to give the graduates crucial advice become short-sighted through the other examples he includes. From these other examples, Wallace makes one generalization that adult life these graduates are entering into is boring and routine-based so that after a while their life falls very short of what they expected. From his example of an “average adult day” Wallace tries to make everyone identify with these common daily interactions and reflections, however everyone is different with their insights to situations and one cannot just assume that this is the average adult day everyone will be experiencing so I believe this was overlooked by Wallace. Lastly, you also stated that is necessary to put others before yourself in situations which I also agree with. Wallace however, made a generalization that we are self-centered and self-seeking people. We believe the world just revolves around us. However in reality this is not always true. Some individuals put others first in their lives and have given up so much of themselves to help others have a better kind of living and even some dedicate their lives to this. So I think Wallace’s point on changing how we think is greatly beneficial, but how he utilized his examples could have been better.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and disagree. I think what Wallace ultimately is trying to do is not to tell the graduates how to view life, as he repeatedly states, but to offer an alternative. He is honest, and quite straightforward, about how we as humans tend to believe that the world is our universe and everything that happens, happens in OUR world. I believe this to be entirely true. We have a perspective that, more often than not, goes hand in hand with how it will affect us personally. He is saying that it is, in fact, better to put other's perspectives before your own to be a relatively happier person. I think Wallace clearly voices this idea, and wants to make his graduate students aware of this so that they will not make the same mistakes as other said adults have. He is not saying that it is inevitable to end up living the kind of life he uses as an example. Ultimately, we get to choose what to think, what to believe, and this is what the point of the story, is I think. We get to choose what to put our conscious focus on and if we focus it on the wrong things, we would end up like the fish in the beginning; questioning the big things in life and being so oblivious to, as Wallace so gracefully said, "the obvious, important realities." I do agree, however, with your statement about how he created some confusion with his examples and sort of dragged it on. He could have been more clear. He definitely had some great examples, but like Jessica said, could have utilized them a lot better.
ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree with some of the points made in this response. Although I do feel like maybe Wallace did drag certain topics on that could be confusing to some, I think what he was trying to get across as his main point is very true. I don’t believe he is trying to say that we honestly think the world revolves around us, but that we are so stuck in our own heads that when we look at everything, it always has to do with us. He even acknowledges that while giving his speech some graduates might be “…getting hypnotized by the constant monologue inside (their) own head.” Which I find very true. How many times have we, as college students, sat inside a huge lecture hall and then completely went into our own head. Thinking, “Wonder what everyone is doing this weekend?” or “Dang I have a lot of errands to run and homework to do tonight”. Wallace talks about how we go into our “default setting” and sometimes miss out on what is really going on right in front of us. Not everyone has the ability to look at situations from different perspectives, but by giving this speech he lays that problem on the table. I wouldn’t say he is trying to tell them how to think, but rather give them the realization of this problem and give them a choice. Everyone has a choice everyday. We have the “choice of what to think about”. And although it is hard at times to go outside our default setting and have awareness, that is where we find our real freedom and understanding how to think.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, I also thought that it was really clever to use the fish story and the beginning and closing the speech with it. He also did drag the speech a lot, i did notice it as well, he could' go to the point way faster.
ReplyDeleteI did not think he was harsh on the way he said life is going to be hard because it is true and there is no other way to say it. life will kick our ass. As harsh as it sounds.
I also agree with you by disagreeing that they will not be happy with what they decide to do. Great job!
I very much agree with your response to David Wallace’s Kenyon Commencement speech. I feel Wallace was not speaking to the general audience when giving this speech though. I don’t feel he took into consideration that life isn’t a constant cycle for everyone. I felt his heart was in the right place, but the words he spoke came out in a harsh manner (as you stated). His speech was very insightful and obviously different from normal commencement speeches, but if I were graduating from Kenyon and sitting listening to his speech I would be terrified for my future. I feel the other side of becoming an adult was not touched on in his speech. The other side meaning enjoying the things you do on a day-to-day basis. I realize that if he were to talk about loving life as an adult then he would be going back to the “commencement speech cliché”, but he could have at least weaved a little bit of joy and optimism in his speech. Just imagine being one to sit and listen to his speech first hand, how would you feel about becoming an adult or even being one? Wallace definitely opened my eyes to a different side of adulthood and that was greatly appreciated. After reading his speech I felt motivated to think more about my surroundings whenever I happen to be in an uncomfortable or unfortunate situation. I thought of the world as being only me and my thoughts, as Wallace said, but now I realize there’s a lot more to life than my opinions, thoughts, emotions, and feelings.
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