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Rhetorical Analysis Of This Is Water

Decent Essays

“This is Water”, a commencement speech by David Foster Wallace to the graduating class of 2005 at Kenyon College, talks about how they, the students, haven’t faced real life yet and how their surroundings are what they’ve been in and are used to. Wallace conveys his message very well because of his use of emotional appeal as well as his word choice. He reminds his audience to look beyond yourself and think about how life is not just your story and your world, it’s about others and stepping into their shoes for a minute and seeing other perspectives. Most importantly, he is able to speak from personal stories and relatable scenarios which makes him credible and his speech becomes applicable to the audience at the graduation.
Wallace uses of …show more content…

For example, Wallace says, “But then you remember there's no food at home — you haven't had time to shop this week, because of your challenging job — and so now after work you have to get in your car and drive to the supermarket.” (Wallace). The purpose of using this storyline is because it allows the audience to be able to relate to what the author talks about. This imaginary scenario is one that not only the graduates can relate to, it’s also something that the parents and/or other older attenders can speak from. Using examples such as these is significant to the authors use of pathos also because it can help the author to develop an emotional connection with their audience. Another example would be when he touches on the subject of suicide. “And the truth is that most of these suicides are actually dead long before they pull the trigger” (Wallace). Suicide is clearly an emotional and depressing subject and having this in his speech helps readers to understand the unhappiness that people go through before actually committing it. The example of suicide is noteworthy because even if people in that audience may have not had to experience it or dealt with it, it’s still an important matter and to the American society, it continues to be something that more than a majority take to

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