This is Water

In his essay 'This is water' David Foster Wallace develops his thesis through further developing the

concept of the term ' freedom'. Wallace uses certain subjects such as education, empathy and the general concept of the adult life to drive home the meaning of freedom.

To spark our interest, Wallace uses the example of an elder fish (as an introduction ) briefly passing by two young innocent and inexperienced fish and asking them “how's the water?”. It is evident that the two youngsters have not yet ventured out into life as they question his question by raising another one “What the hell is water?”, this displays that they have not yet experienced all of 'waters' wonders. With regard to this essay the term 'water' symbolizes life. As we progress and grow throughout life, we are faced with or put into situations which forces us to stop and think “Why me?!”. It is through this essay that Wallace urges the

general public to come to terms with and be aware of the fact that nobody is perfect and that there is no such thing as a “perfect life”. We have to experience and get through the choppy waters to enable us to see the bigger picture. He further enforces this message through the subjects he mentions.

Education is not something that everyone has the privilege of experiencing. Education is a gift that opens up or minds to the possibilities of the future, through learning this, we are far more cautious in ensuring that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. Wallace had came to understand that when teachers said they aimed to teach us “how to think” what they really meant was “learning how to think”. There is a fine line between being conscious and unconscious. When one is conscious, they will tend to look at a situation and try to find the silver lining within every cloud if you will. Whereas if someone is unconscious, they will tend to do the opposite and look at every single thing through a negative and ungrateful lens. When one begins thinking in an unconscious manner they tend to push everything aside, and believe that they are the centre of attention. The individuals will begin to think that their “needs and feelings are what should determine the world's priorities”. In terms of consciously thinking we get to decide how we want to perceive things, we are the ones who get to look at certain things and get to choose “what has meaning and what doesn't”. Ultimately anything we decide whether it is conscious or unconscious or even both, is all in our own hands. How we view the world as a whole, people, the environment and our lives is all in our hands! We make our own decisions regardless of being either negative or positive, we are free.

Empathy is a strong feeling, that enables us to experience what another person is feeling through their frame of reference. Wallace embeds empathy throughout his essay, he uses the example of being stood in a cashier line with various different types of people waiting to get there items checked out. You never know what other people are going through in their lives, so cutting them some slack as they get themselves sorted out at the checkout line could be very helpful. Everyone goes through “frustrating crap” in their lives and by thinking to yourself that “the likelihood that everyone else in the supermarket's checkout line is just as bored and frustrated as I am, and that some of these people probably have much harder, more tedious or painful lives than I do, overall” makes it easier for not only you but for everyone else in the world to be able to empathize with those around us.

Being an adult is not easy, you are solely in charge of feeding yourself, cleaning up after yourself, paying your bills and taxes, oh and making sure your goldfish gets fed everyday rather than once a week. You consider running away now more than ever, you just want to stop “adulting” and go back to living with your parents, and have your mom make you her famous grilled cheese sandwich. Unfortunately there is no turning back when you join adulthood, personally Wallace's essay further expanded my knowledge and opened my eyes to exactly what it is like to be an adult. He explains in further detail what “an average adult day” consists of day in and day out, whilst not forgetting the hardships that adults must go through on a daily basis, it's certainly thought provoking.

Subsequently, Wallace's theory relates to our inquiry question, 'How can literature develop empathy and emotional intelligence?' as through his essay he was able to get across to the world what its like to live in another human beings shoes. Through the use of his extensive language and with the help of relatable situations and experiences as readers, learners and thinkers our knowledge is immensely broadened. We as human beings are able to take these situations and experiences and break them down so that we can be able to sympathize and empathize with others.