This is water…

In 2005, David Foster Wallace delivered a rousing commencement speech to the graduating class of Kenyon College. His humble address captured and put form to the countless lonely thoughts that rattle through the heads of so many in this modern age.

The message of Wallace’s oration was seemingly clichéd, yet profound in its execution, and the reason for this was due to its sincerity. Leveling with his hearers, Wallace calls upon his audience to embrace life ‘ before death,’ to be aware of the world around them, and to make a consciousness decision to choose what they behold and what they focus on.

Using examples from his own life, in addition to a striking allegory of three fishes, Wallace is able to effectively develop his target message, convincing the listener of his arguments, all the while reminding them that he doesn’t have all the answers. This sincerity, and openness on his part causes the listener to believe that he in fact has their best interests at heart, approaching them not from an elitist point of view, but rather as an equal, who has simply put more though into the matter at hand.

Key sections of the talk that stood out to me in particular included Wallace’s description of the seemingly banal platitudes that compose life; activities many label as mundane and irrelevant, but in reality bear life-or-death importance. What’s more his insights on the default human way of thinking, believing ourselves to be the absolute center of the universe, highlighted how self-centered and introspective I myself can be in my own life. Moreover, the analogy of the grocery store, and the polar perspective one might adopt when placed in frustrating situations, further cemented the relevance of viewing the world in an introspective light.

By the same token, Wallace’s candid style of writing was greatly appreciated on my part. Over the year’s countless writers, myself included, have fallen victim to the abstraction of their own arguments, and the tendency to over-complicate a matter, no matter its planeness. Wallace, being the linguistic wiz that he is, finds himself in no such predicament; his incessant drive to steer clear of political dogmatism, keeping him on the straight and narrow.

In regards to the query, how can literature develop empathy and emotional intelligence? I believe Wallace’s response provides an all-encompassing answer. In real life, we as individuals are required to actively adjust our natural default- settings if we hope to empathize those around us. In literature though this is not the case, for we as readers are placed front row and center to the protagonists’ plight and the various experiences they encounter. Therefore, being deliberately placed in a position where we must make use of empathy and emotional intelligence if we hope to relate with the narrative, we steadily improve on and develop these skills, allowing for a more seamless integration of them in our day-to day lives. I believe to a great extent that this is the ultimate purpose of literature as a whole, to open our eyes to the complexities of the world, in order to cultivate a fresher appreciation and awareness of it in our own lives.