David Foster Wallace's Kenyon Commencement Speech

220 Words1 Page

In David Foster Wallace's Kenyon Commencement Speech, he speaks towards the graduating class of 2005 about the benefits in having liberal arts major, but that is not the only topic he talks about. David Foster Wallace also points out reasons as to why routine is extremely difficult, dreary, tiring, boring, time consuming, and frustrating. In Mike Rose's, "Blue-Collar Brilliance," he is conversing to the audience the true definition of intelligence and how to gain it. Mike Rose is fond of the idea of routine and believes that routine has a lot to offer to individuals. Mike Rose is able to extend this idea by relating it to his mother, Rose Meraglio Rose, and his uncle, Joe Meraglio. Even though David Foster Wallace and Mike Rose take two different

Show More
Related

  • An Analysis Of Blue Collar Brilliance, By Mike Rose

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    Is it better to be book smart or street smart? Is it better to be happy and stable or unhappy and ‘rich’? Blue-collar jobs require you to learn skills that college cannot teach you; Rose points this out in his essay, stating: “It was like schooling, where you’re constantly learning” (277). In the essay “Blue Collar Brilliance” written by Mike Rose, he talks about how his mother worked as a waitress and how his uncle Joe dropped out of high school, eventually got a job working on the assembly line for General Motors and was then moved up to supervisor of the paint and body section. Rose suggests that intelligence is not represented by the amount of schooling someone has or the type of job they work. In this essay I will be explaining why Rose

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Lives On The Boundary

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    He himself had gone through difficulties in the American educational system like the students he mentioned in his book. He talks about the struggles that he had gone through as someone who was not American. When Mike Rose was a child, he had problems with math and grammar and was not very fond of it. Then, when he was put into a remedial class because of a mix up, he experienced how the American educational system treated students in remedial classes. After they corrected the mistake, it was too late to go back and learn what he should have been learning. When he got to high school, one of his teachers, Jack MacFarland became a role model for him. MacFarland got him to be interested in reading and writing and later on even helped him get into a university. In the book, Lives on the Boundary, Rose basically writes about his experience with the American educational system. Along with his own experience are stories about the students he had come across at the University he was working at. Rose accomplishes to engage his audience into the reading by telling his own story and going back and forth between him and his students. In this short book, Rose’s writing style is more like an autobiography which reflects the theme “hope” by using his students’ and his own experiences and outcomes to say that there is hope for people who have obstacles in their way.

    Read More

  • This Is Water a speech by David Foster Wallace

    964 Words  | 2 Pages

    In David Foster Wallace’s graduation speech, This Is Water, he uses logical and emotional appeals to discuss the importance of critical thinking. Wallace uses the term “conscious” to signal critical thinkers, while those who do not think critically are referred to as “unconscious.” Wallace’s main argument is that a person has the choice to think critically and should do so every day. Wallace’s analysis of consciousness and unconsciousness focusses too heavily on the logical and emotional appeals and ignores the possible ethical arguments that support the development of conscious societies, such as activism. In doing so, Wallace favours the self-interested members of the audience and alienates those who favour altruism, limiting the scope of his argument.

    Read More

  • David Foster Wallace Use Of Persuasive Speech

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the words attributed to Socrates in Plato’s Apology, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” David Foster Wallace expands on this idea in his “Kenyon College 2005 Commencement Address,” pointing out the importance of awareness and escaping the natural, default-setting of an unconscious, self-centred life. While commencement speeches are typically epideictic—celebratory—in nature, Wallace takes a deliberative rhetorical stance. According to Fahnestock, deliberative discourse is used in order to persuade in “the best possible course of future action” (1998, p. 333). Abizadeh argues that character and emotion are “constitutive features of deliberation,” and that deliberation cannot be “reduced to logical demonstration” (2002, p. 267). In his speech, Wallace uses a blend of Aristotle’s persuasive appeals—logos, pathos, and ethos—in order to effectively persuade his audience.

    Read More

  • Commencement Speech: Nora Ephron's Speech

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    Commencement speeches, which are presented in American graduation ceremonies, aim to inspire and motivate. Successfully, Nora Ephron 's commencement speech addressed to the Wellesley Class of 1996; inspired her audience to "be the heroine of [their '] li[ves], not the victim". Through anecdotes, Ephron explored the differences between her education and the graduates at Wellesley College, to remind the women graduating that whilst society was different in many ways, in particular for women, "there was still a glass ceiling".

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson's Speech

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Citizens of Maycomb, I come to you as a friend. I speak to you all as equals, black and white men alike. We have quite the dilemma in our town right now. To be satisfied with sentencing Tom Robinson with the attack and rape of Mayella Ewell without examining the facts is racist and could possibly get me disbarred for not carrying out my duty to the truth. I am trying my best to find out what really happened that fateful afternoon. So if you open your minds to all of the facts instead of fueling black folk stereotypes, it would help me give you the truth.

    Read More

  • Wallace Speech Vs Edmundson

    415 Words  | 1 Pages

    Wallace speech and Edmundson’s essay have many things in common as well as differences. Both of them see college as something different than just an education where you learn. According to Wallace and Edmundson, a college where students are thought something and later forgotten is not an education. They both have an interesting view on what college is mainly for. Wallace states that college is to teach students how to think, whereas Edmundson explains that college is to “find yourself”.

    Read More

  • Lin-Manuel Mirand Commencement Speech

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lin-Manuel Miranda is an American Composer who is worldly recognized for his musical named “In The Heights.” Throughout his life, he’s won a variety of awards which leaves him only one Oscar away from achieving EGOT status. EGOT represents that a person has won all four of the major entertainment awards such as an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. (Liebman Entertainment LLC) Due to the fact of his accomplishments, Miranda was chosen to speak at the University of Pennsylvania graduation in the year 2016. Lin-Manuel Miranda states “ Your stories are essential” encouraging the graduates to go on and share their stories with others.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of John F Kennedy's Commencement Address

    1467 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Cold War, a time of great fear in the United States, our 35th president gave a commencement address at the American University in Washington D.C., on June 10th, 1963. President John F. Kennedy used the speech as an opportunity to discuss, in his words, “the most important topic on Earth: Peace.” His speech united the audience behind the idea of “genuine peace,” and he humanized the Soviets as worthwhile partners in genuine peace. He did so using ethos, pathos, and logos as techniques in his speech.

    Read More

  • Graduation Speech: The Lone Star State Of Texas

    162 Words  | 1 Pages

    There’s nothing like Texas, it’s the place you come and enjoy every minute. We relax in beaches, wonder off in ranches, and enjoy good barbecue cooking. Not only are we adventurous, but we hold are grounds and stand by our own just like are nickname, “The Lone Star State.” We do everything with our courage, determination, and hard work like the old days. What can I say? We are a tough state and no one messes with Texas.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Alabama Governor George Wallace's Inaugural Speech

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the 60’s roared its ugly head, children from the World War Two era had thrown all inhibitions to the wind, and embarked on a joyride full of sex, drugs, and the oh so famous rock and roll. As these care free souls were having the times of their lives, the nation was toying with the idea of another Civil war. Battling it out at the fronts lines were two gentlemen ready to state their claims. Alabama Governor George Wallace was ready with his view on segregation as his idea of a good time, and the ever famous Martin Luther King Jr with his poetical views on ending racial segregation and discrimination. This essay will explore two very different men on one sensitive subject.

    Read More

  • Jfk The New Frontier Speech

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    On July 15, 1960 a speech was read by Senator John F. Kennedy at the Democratic National Convention. He titled the acceptance speech, The New Frontier. “The New Frontier” was a slogan used by JFK in the 1960s that explained his goals and policies to gain Americans’ support in the 1960s Presidential Election. JFK spoke about a few different things in his speech but the most significant was on the New Frontier.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Robert F. Kennedy's Indianapolis Speech

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    The notorious Indianapolis speech, delivered by Robert F. Kennedy, breaking the news of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King (informing a mostly black audience) is a perfect example of the humble, humanistic speech style of the former Presidential candidate. Although short, Kennedy’s words in this speech are profound and lasting, a simple approach which was mastered by this great social thinker. Through rhetorical analysis of this somber speech it is clear that Kennedy was a smart, emotionally connected public speaker who used his time to not only commemorate a life, but also build support for his campaign and what it stands for.

    Read More

  • Jfk Speech

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    Radio and Television Report to the American People on Civil Rights by John F. Kennedy is a speech which moves people on the civil rights that belong to people of all colors. In reading his words, one could immediately begin to become angry at the lack of rights that belonged to colored peoples, this is excellent on the authors part for creating such emotion on his topic and influencing conversation. Kennedy wrote this speech to create awareness for black lives and its injustices, he was rather successful after and during his presentation. The appearance of a man should never hold the capability to control his life's opportunities. The central idea of appearance not controlling a man’s life opportunities is further developed through

    Read More

  • A Defining Moment Speech

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    For the most part everyone is born the same. You know big eyes, maybe a little hair, and a brain like everyone else. I was different. They thought I was like everybody else. Innocent in the same way, they will learn otherwise soon enough. From what I know I was about 3 years old. I was experiencing signs of multiple mental illnesses, but my parents were too oblivious to know. I was a machine, I would go through the motions, my toys lined up back to front like a robot constructing another machine I was programed for one task. They say a regular child looks at the forest and they see the forest, but a child with a mental problem see’s every branch, every leaf, and every

    Read More

More about David Foster Wallace's Kenyon Commencement Speech

Open Document