Thesis Statement For This Is Water By David Foster

526 Words2 Pages

In the essay This is Water, David Foster suggests that true freedom acquired through education is the ability to be adjusted, conscious and sympathetic. He uses this thesis statement in his essay and helps develop this thesis statement by using everyday examples which one would be able to relate to whilst reading this essay. He uses these examples in an attempt to make what he is trying to say much simpler, due to the fact that the point that he is trying to shed light on might not get across to all people who are reading this essay. He also uses metaphors to make it easier for the reader to relate to. As i have mentioned before, David tries to shed light on his statement by using metaphors and examples which are crucial in the understanding …show more content…

He tries to explain that in order to be happy, one must put himself in other people's shoes, to know that there is another world that you must enter that revolves around another individual. A person must learn that he must look at both sides of the road before crossing the road of judgment. Meaning that a person must think twice before judging someone due to the fact that you are incapable off reading other people's minds thus you cannot make a judgment about how tough their lives are and the daily hardships that they have to put up with. Before you start complaining about how long the line at the store is, realise that you are not the only person waiting in line and that there are other people waiting in line too just like you are. David uses plenty of metaphors and examples in order to further explain to the audience his statement. One example he uses in the beginning of the story is the fish example, where two young fish meet an older fish who asks them "how is the water", the two young fish then go on to reply by saying "what the hell is water?". After reading through the story, one realises that what the author means by 'water' is that in this scene, water is the representation of life. Thus you can think of it as the older fish asking the

Show More
Related

  • A Child Called It By Dave Pelzer

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    At first, David cares that his mother treats him badly. After awhile, he doesn’t care and becomes apathetic.

    Read More

  • A Child Called It By Dave Pelzer

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    1. In the book, the father tries to help the son in the beginning but then throughout the book he stops trying to help and listens to the mother. If I had been in this same situation, I would have helped get the child away from his mother because nobody should have to live like that. The father was tired of having to watch his son get abused so eventually he just left and didn’t do anything. David thought that his father would help him but he did not.

    Read More

  • The Chrysalids - Utopia or Dystopia ?

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    When David described the Sealand woman he described her as the image of perfection. His description of her was so perfect that it described her flaws. She was too perfect, as though artificial. She communicates on a higher level as him so that he can’t understand and does not worry about his troubles.

    Read More

  • Know-Nothings

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    David starts out by telling us about the general attitude of a Know-Nothing, stating that

    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

  • Attentiveness In David Foster Wallace's This Is Water

    244 Words  | 1 Pages

    Attentiveness is characterized with being more observant, thoughtful, and considerate of others. This specific trait will help us understand one another and the world around us much better because it allows us to see and appreciate the little things we often take for granted. Being attentive helps us see the world more clearly because only then are we not blinded by our own thought and feelings that we are unable to see how similar we are to one another; we all share the same thoughts and feelings. In “This is Water,” David Foster Wallace stated everyone is always rushing to get to different places; placing our needs and wants above others and how this lack of awareness of the world around us is only drifting us apart. Wallace uses an example

    Read More

  • David Foster Wallace This Is Water Summary

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    When reading “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace, I noticed that he placed an emphasis on developing skills to perceive what is real. He introduces to us a scenario of two young fishes where one asks the other “What the hell is water?” (Wallace 1). A question that is obvious and easily realized, but, not seen because of their inability to see water which is a real substance. Furthermore, he displays how this inability to view reality is part of our day-to-day life. Developing the ability to be aware of our surroundings and learning how to think is what Wallace encourages every person to do in order to truly be free and care for others.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglas's Concept Of Freedom

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    Douglas starts begins defining freedom with his recounting of his mistress stopping his lessons. “Education and slavery were incompatible with each other” (Douglas, 25). This simple statement highlights the necessity of ignorance in maintaining slavery. Slaves, so long as they remain oblivious of their lacking freedom, will remain slaves. Much akin to Davis Wallace’s “This Is Water” speech, fish are ignorant of the existence of water, likewise slaves are ignorant of their status as possessions. How can someone possible comprehend that their existence lacks freedom and basic rights, if one doesn’t even know of these rights to begin with? It follows then, that as Douglas begins his self-education, he would learn of his disposition in the world. As Douglas so eloquently puts it, “in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell” (Douglas, 25). This statement presents the idea that the mere realization of one’s position allows one to begin the journey to liberate oneself from their enslavement. Douglas begins his own journey then, taking into his own hands his education, he befriends the local white boys and continues to learn to read. As his knowledge continues to improve, Douglas begins to make plans to escape and make for himself a new life. Thus, it can be drawn from Douglas’s argument that freedom is directly related to one’s awareness of one’s own existence. Through education we free ourselves from being trapped in a loop of inequality and gain the tools necessary to free ourselves from our bindings. The truest mark of this link between freedom and knowledge is demonstrated in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit

    Read More

  • Muddy Water Crisis Essay

    494 Words  | 1 Pages

    Politicians can learn a lot from the Information Security Research arena, if they took the time to close the loop with regards to confirmation bias, and understood data, without judgement. One of the biggest problems with information disclosure in the security realm, is the matter of trust. When information is disclosed in the information security world, researchers that I have spoken to, first look at the source of the information, followed by the content of information being disclosed: “Who is making this statement, and what is its purpose.”

    Read More

  • Play: Educating Rita, by Willy Russell

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    Education provides unique experiences to everyone. These experiences are not depended on the individual’s personal backgrounds or social statuses. According to Jane Thompson, a scholar in education, the process of education can either be a restriction on creativity or a “practice of freedom.” In Willy Russell’s Educating Rita, the protagonist’s experience through the Open University is a practice of freedom as she is provided with the opportunities to express her thoughts and discover her own limits. There is an internal struggle within Rita as the new environment threatens to erase her past life. Rita is able to maintain her practice of freedom through the help of Frank, whom provides her with a welcoming and encouraging learning environment.

    Read More

  • Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

    1521 Words  | 4 Pages

    Plato, Thoreau, and Sartre suggested that human life should be free. They had different points of view about freedom, but combining Plato's freedom in mind, Thoreau's freedom in nature, and Sartre's freedom in subjectivity of individual gives people the clear and perfect image of freedom. Understanding freedom is the first step to find freedom in the real life. So in relevant, college students have freedom to think critically. Students' freedom is able to study whatever they want, and find out their own roads to the bright future. However, how to use correctly freedom is the hard question to students in this real life.

    Read More

  • Sociological Issues In Freedom Writers, By Erin Gruwell

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    Erin Gruwell began her teaching career at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California where the school is integrated but it’s not working. Mrs. Gruwell is teaching a class fill with at-risk teenagers that are not interested in learning. But she makes not give up, instead she inspires her students to take an interest in their education and planning for their future as she assigned materials that can relate to their lives. This film has observed many social issues and connected to one of the sociological perspective, conflict theory. Freedom Writers have been constructed in a way that it promotes an idea of how the community where the student lives, represented as a racially acceptable society. The film upholds strong stereotypes of

    Read More

  • David's Changing View in The Chrysalids

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    is a fight just to survive for the next day . As a child David is taught a very harsh way of

    Read More

  • Analysis of Freedom Writers

    1461 Words  | 3 Pages

    To conclude: Through these characters, conflicts and film techniques, Richard La Gravenese has clearly portrayed that education, is vital to unlock opportunities, break stereotypical perceptions, overcome certain obstacles and find fulfillment. He plainly underlines that a person’s ethnic background, financial situation and personal or familial obligations should not determine the level of education received or the resources given for educational usage. In many ways the film and story of The Freedom Writers recognises, analyses and conveys how various concerns frequently supersede the strong need for an acquirement of education.

    Read More

  • Water And Soft Water Essay

    1425 Words  | 3 Pages

    Soft water and hard water are common terms used in households .Most of Earth's water (97%) is in the ocean. Seawater has unique properties: it is saline, its freezing point is

    Read More

More about Thesis Statement For This Is Water By David Foster

Open Document