Summary Of David Foster Wallace's Graduation Reality Check

Perhaps the most significant event that occurred on October 7, 2015 was the exclusive screen of Finding the Gold Within in the W.V.M. Fines Arts Center. This film touched my soul because it revealed the concerns of young, black males at predominately white institutions. Although the students encountered similar problems as students at historically black colleges, their struggles differed due to the fact that racism was one of the greatest obstacles during their college experience. In addition to the discrimination and the racial undertones in the academic institution in which the males attended, the youths had to learn how to balance their internal conflicts as well. One of the greatest conflicts that continue to affect the African American

Leaving last week’s class, my mind was darting in all sorts of directions. While the “Eyes on the Prize” excerpt gave me a concrete understanding of the historic events of the desegregation of Little Rock High School, “Little Rock Central High: 50 Years Later” brought up all sorts of observations and questions on race in America that I hadn’t necessarily thought to address before. I think these two films were particularly interesting to view back to back because of their difference in style, content, and execution.

High school isn’t necessarily the best four years of everyone’s life. In a short time the audience was shown the complicated endeavors many teenagers either overcome or become wrapped up in. Although Brian is extremely successful in his academics he struggles deep beneath his skin with extensive pressure and societal acceptance. Brian Johnson is one example of someone who was almost defeated by the difficult

The historical identity of the African American military experience is deeply rooted in the life and legacy of author Wallace Terry. His legacy has been immortalized in the scores of periodicals and columns he authored throughout his career. Well-read and well-traveled, he brought a balanced context to the field of journalism. To date, he is one of Black America’s greatest contributors to African American journalism. The climax of his career subsisted in the midst of national turmoil. During this time, African Americans were trying to define their Blackness and their humanity in a land where they were treated second class. Author Wallace Terry put in words the thoughts that spun through the minds of the African American community,

David Foster Wallace’s essay “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again” draws on an disillusionment to the American Dream. The essay is truly captivated by Wallace’s sarcastic humor,the themes of death and despair, and the reflection of individual comparison. All in which ties into the idea of the disappointment of the American Dream.

The article “Liberal Arts and The Bottom Line” by Lane Wallace suggests that business executives that are being taught more liberal art based courses will be taught how to be a well-rounded human being. Instead of being all about what Wallace refers to as the bottom line, which can do great harm to the economy and the company’s employees, it is presented that business executives that took liberal arts courses are less concerned about the business bottom line and more about the well-being of the people around them. Wallace’s argument that liberal arts shapes a person into a more well-rounded human being is not effectively supported in the article.

In Chapter Seven: Lessons From My Year as a Freshman, Rebekah Nathan summarizes and answers questions on the knowledge she gained from becoming a freshman. The author begins the chapter with a cross-cultural conversation between professors and students. She discusses how professors are not aware of the students living conditions or the effort that goes into achieving a high GPA. Likewise, the students do not understand professor rank and advancement. Nathan also reflects on the time she spent as a student and gains a new perspective during course preparations. The writer continues the chapter with an analysis of student culture and conformity that she experienced during her field work. In the last section of the chapter, Nathan looks back

David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech “This is Water” at Kenyon College is often thought of as one of the most influential speeches because it calls the graduates to observe the world around them through a different lens. However, he does not accomplish that by calling the graduates to action, but instead challenges them to use their education. He also appeals to the students’ emotions through his use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Although people mostly only remember the antidotes, it is the message associated with reoccurring emotions and literary devices throughout the speech that moves the reader into action. Wallace is able to captivate his audience and persuade them to view the world without themselves at the center through his tactful use of rhetoric. He encourages them to first find who they are and what they stand for, to then effectively determine

This speech was made for the class of 2014. By that year, Ed Helms was well known for his work on The Daily Show, The Office and The Hangover (trilogy) films. His major success it was The Hangover but in his speech he used a lot of examples of one of his character in The Office because it was someone related to Cornell University. He also was awareness that it was a graduation with a lot of young people and because he is a comedian he did a lot of jokes to try to engaged the audience with the ideas that he wanted to share with them. And finally, in his speech, he also applied pathos which is the emotional quality of the speech or text that makes it persuasive to the audience. Because he used the context, he appealed to the emotional by talking about the feeling that most of the students feels when they finally finish college, which is insecurity about what is going to be their life out of the campus. So, Ed Helms said: “Many times in life, college graduation for example, we don’t have a clear goal were overwhelmed by all the options or were scared. We don’t know enough to succeed at the thing we want, doesn’t matter be a fool and work hard at whatever is right in front of you”. He could connect with the students by talking about the feelings that everyone had in a graduation

Jobs begins his speech by dethroning himself as the well-known self made billionaire to create a connection to the graduates. He starts by putting the audience on a higher plateau with “I am honored to be with you”(1) and “ this is the closest I have been to a college graduation”(2) and when speaking of himself and his speech, he states it is “No big deal”. These strong pathos appeals and honorific terms in return build his credibility to his audience. This use of pathos to build ethos is quite effective in opening the ears of everyone in the audience.

During a funeral for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, a Charleston shooting victim, President Obama delivered an influential eulogy. This eulogy turned out to be so powerful that it traveled throughout the internet and became known as one of Obama’s best speeches from the duration of his presidency. The speech resonated so well with many citizens because of its relatable content and connections to passionate issues in today’s society. The delivery of the eulogy played a gigantic part in its effectiveness to Americans as well.

The general argument by David Foster Wallace in his work "This is Water" is that sometimes the most obvious realities are the hardest to comprehend. More specifically, he argues that thinking negatively is not a choice but a natural setting and we need to start thinking cognitively and outside the box. Wallace performs this speech for a group of graduating college students to prepare them for the future life they are about to embark on. He includes the grocery store example so that the reader's can connect to the story because they have gone through that situation themselves; he is trying to connect to the audience. In my opinion, this source is different from all

George Saunders, a renowned American writer is a graduate of Syracuse University. So it is no surprise when the University asked him to give the convocation speech to the graduating class of 2013. George delivered an eye-opening and touching speech. The speech is speaking to the graduates, but also to everyone in attendance. It is not your average speech on how to be successful in the real world, but instead, it is how to live a happier life. Saunders reminds us that kindness to others goes a long way. He sheds light on life’s biggest regret, no swimming in a river full of monkey feces, but a missed opportunity. The speech is definitely worth an ear.

A day I will never forget was the day that I graduated high school. All the emotions were overwhelming and hard to handle sometimes. It was hard to accept that one of the biggest chapters in my life was about to be over and I was about to start an even bigger one. Just the thought of not knowing what I was supposed to do with the rest of my life made the last little bit of my senior year, very stressful. I then found out that not knowing and being undecided was perfectly okay and I was ready to begin my freshman year at Saint Petersburg College.

“ ‘If you want her to come, you have to raise the money to get her here.’ Nice try, but that didn’t stop them. The next day, a student brought in an extra Sparkletts water jug and set it in the middle of the classroom… A couple of days later the bottom of the jug was filled with coins and a few loose dollar bills”(82). This backs up the idea of students making progress and showing how far they have come since freshman year. Finally, in the end of the novel, students share their feelings about graduation through their journal entries. One student tells his story of being the first to graduate high school and continue onto college, proving that dreams can be achieved, and new paths can be created. He says, “Historians say history repeats itself, but in my case I have managed to break the cycle because I 'm going to graduate from high school and go to college, an opportunity my parents never had”(205). This really emphasizes the theme of the entire book, which is that change is possible, and the sky 's the limit. Once a hoodlum, this young man has matured into a true student, being the first in his family to even graduate, plus he will go on to college