Rhetorical Analysis Of Consider The Lobster

The state of Maine is a huge tourist spot known for it’s rocky coastline and seafood cuisine, especially lobster. Annually, the state holds the “Maine Lobster Festival” every summer, and is a popular lucrative attraction including carnival rides and food booths. The center of attention for this festival is, unsurprisingly, lobster. The author of the article “Consider the Lobster”, David Foster Wallace, mainly uses logos and pathos, and explores the idea of being put into the lobsters perspective by describing how the cooking process is done and informing us on the animal’s neurological system in a very comprehensible way. He effectively uses these persuasive devices to paint a picture for the audience and pave way for the reader to conjure

up an opinion of their own.
“David Foster Wallace was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist, as well as a professor of English and creative writing. Los Angeles Times book editor David Ulin has called Wallace "one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last 20 years."” (Wikipedia contributors. "David Foster Wallace"). In his article “Consider the Lobster”, he mentions different points of views regarding those like PETA and animal rights protesters, natives who take pride in the festival, and his own perspective on the consumption of animals. He describes the information he receives from these different points of views and compares and contrasts, but still keeping a neutral stance. As a reader, it is apparent that he is trying to stay as unbiased as possible, and fulfilling his purpose to inform the reader objectively. From this, we can gather that he is using the persuasive strategy Ethos. Since he considers all perspectives of the argument, he gives himself a better opportunity to build his character as an impartial persuader. And with some background knowledge on the author himself, we can also safely conclude that he has the credibility to inform the audience in a well articulated approach.
Wallace introduces an inevitable moral question that lays out the topic to the audience: “Is it alright to boil a sentient creature alive just for our gustatory pleasure?” This question gets the audience ready for what the author has to present to us for the rest of the article.

Wallace uses Pathos as an persuasive device in his article as he describes the catching and cooking process of the lobster. Using his words, he gives the audience the idea that the lobster is not just an item for consumption, but also a live creature. “They come up alive in the traps, are placed in containers of seawater, and can, so long as the water’s aerated and the animals’ claws are pegged or banded to keep them from tearing one another up under the stresses of captivity, survive right up until they’re boiled (Wallace, 60). He mentions that the lobster is in fact boiled alive to maintain it’s freshness and describes the boiling process. “[The lobster] comes alarmingly to life when placed in boiling water. The lobster will sometimes try to cling to the container’s sides or even hook its claws over the kettle’s rim like a person trying to keep from going over the edge of a roof” (Wallace 62). He compares the lobster during the cooking process to a human in terror of falling to their death. This gives the audience something to relate to on an emotional level based on the simile he presents to us. Based on this evidence and the words the author chooses to present to the reader, it is suggested that

Wallace is against the consumption of animals. Although, further into the article, he mentions “I believe animals are less morally important than human beings; and when it comes to defending such a belief, even to myself, I have to acknowledge that (a) I have an obvious selfish interest in this belief, since I like to eat certain kinds of animals and want to be able to keep doing it , and (b) I have not succeeded in working out any sort of personal ethical system in which the belief is truly defensible instead of just selfishly convenient” (Wallace, 64). This evidence reveals the author’s use of his own personal beliefs and the faults that are in them as a counterargument for the suggestions he offers to the reader.
Additionally, Wallace brings the lobster to life by introducing the reader with the animal’s scientific classification.

“Taxonomically speaking, a lobster is a marine crustacean of the family Homaridae, characterized by five pairs of jointed legs, the first pair terminating in large pincerish claws used for subduing prey…. Moreover, a crustacean is an aquatic arthropod of the class Crustacea, which comprises of crabs, shrimp, barnacles, lobsters, and freshwater crayfish” (Wallace, 55). This is an example of Logos since the author uses scientific facts to convey the message he wants to communicate in an objective way. Wallace also uses logos as a persuasive device by presenting facts on the science of the lobster’s neurological system and its ability to feel pain. The Maine Lobster Promotion Council states “The nervous system of a lobster is very simple, and is in fact most similar to the nervous system of a grasshopper. It is decentralized with no brain. There is no cerebral cortex, which in humans is the area of the brain that gives the experience of pain”. Wallace counter-argues this statement by mentioning the fact that since lobsters have a simpler nervous system compared to humans, they are unable to produce their own natural opiates. “One can conclude that lobsters are maybe even more vulnerable to pain, since they lack mammalian nervous systems’ built-in analgesia, or, instead, that the absence of natural opioids implies an absence of the really intense

pain-sensations that natural opioids are designed to mitigate” (Wallace 63). He also mentions and reminds the reader that pain is merely a subjective experience and “ we do not have direct access to anyone or anything’s pain but our own” ( Wallace, 62). This emphasizes the fact that we will never really be able to understand the experience the lobster goes through, especially since they are unable to communicate.
David Foster Wallace effectively and efficiently uses ethos, pathos and logos to deliver the topic he chose to the audience in a well organized approach. His writing in the article thoroughly does in fact consider the lobster and does so in such a way that takes the reader on a journey through the events the animal has to experience as seen from a human perspective. The author quotes authorities, uses examples and analogies, and makes logical assumptions to show a full understanding of the argument that he presents to the reader. From the author's background, we know he has the credibility to present this information to us in an intellectual way, establishing ethos. He uses pathos as he describes the lobster’s behavior during the stressful process of catching, bounding and boiling, and the words he chooses to do so adds extra emotional appeal to his persuasion abilities. And finally, he uses logos as he demonstrates knowledge behind the lobsters psychological functions and compares and contrasts them to humans. He also brings up the animals scientific classification to remind the reader that the lobster is more than just cuisine for our consumption, but a living, breathing creature who is related to other creatures on Earth. Using these persuasive devices in unison, David Foster Wallace ideally forms a clear argument in his article “Consider the Lobster”.