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Joseph Calianese

English 1001

Professor Hosten

9 November 2020

Creative Rhetorical Analysis

The piece of rhetoric that will be analyzed in the following essay is David Foster

Wallace’s speech titled “This is Water.” The speech was given by Wallace at Kenyon College’s

graduation ceremony in 2005. For the rhetorical analysis the following aspects of the speech will

be described: medium/design, rhetorical situation, audience, purpose, and context. Studying each

of these aspects can help a reader better understand rhetoric from that point on.

The first part of the analysis is going over the aspect of medium and design. Obviously,

Wallace’s “This is Water” was presented as speech. There are several different elements that

make an effective speech, and Wallace incorporates several of these into his rhetoric. One of

those elements is that “the opening must arrest attention, arouse interest, and suggest the theme

of the speech” (Issacs). David Foster Wallace does exactly this in his opening paragraph. The

parable of two young fish draws the reader in and ending it with the line of “What the hell is

water?” connects the intro with the rest of the theme of “This is Water.” A second element of an

effective speech is a perfected speech delivery. “The very best speech can be ruined by a

monotonous voice” (Issacs). Wallace does not have this problem. Listening to his

commencement speech you can hear that his voice is very easy to listen to. He talks in a faster

pace and conveys interest and meaning in the words he says. Another aspect of delivery that

Wallace incorporates into his speech is that not only does he speak with conviction, he also
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speaks directly to the audience in front of him. This helps keep the audience engaged and

listening to what he is saying.

The second part of the analysis is going over the rhetorical situation of David Foster

Wallace’s speech. The rhetorical situation is that Wallace is speaking during a graduation

ceremony at Kenyon College. It is important to understand this because there are a couple

aspects that make rhetoric situational. First is that “rhetorical discourse comes into existence as a

response to a situation” (Bitzer). Wallace may have never written, or shared, the ideas conveyed

in “This is Water” if he had not been asked to speak to the graduating class. The ceremony itself

is why the speech was presented in the first place. Secondly, “a speech is given rhetorical

significance by the situation” (Bitzer). The fact that “This is Water” is a graduation speech adds

more to the situation of the rhetoric. The speech is performed on a very important day for the

graduates and their friends and family. They will probably remember this speech forever, not

only for the content of the rhetoric but also for the situation in which it was given.

The third part of the analysis is going over the intended audience of the speech.

Obviously “This is Water” is now widespread and a variety of different people have received its

message, but it is important to understand the original audience. The audience in front of

Wallace when presenting the speech consisted of the graduating class of 2005, their friends and

family, and the faculty members at Kenyon College. The most important group out of those in

the audience is the graduates, because the ceremony and speech are directly for them. So,

understanding more about how they are feeling is important to know for the rhetorical analysis.

“Feelings of loss are commonly felt by students as they face a multitude of changes in their

lives” (Montana) and the graduation ceremony is generally the peak of these emotions.

“Graduation represents the culmination of a journey and the attainment of a goal” (Montana) and
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can be a very exciting yet stressful time. Knowing this can help better understand Wallace’s

rhetoric.

The next part of the analysis is going over David Foster Wallace’s purpose and stance.

The purpose of the speech “This is Water” was to provoke thought in the audience. When

presenting the speech Wallace would like the audience to think about stuff that they may not

have even thought of before. The first paragraph of the speech demonstrates this purpose

perfectly. Having the older fish make the two younger fish realize the water around them, that

they never noticed before, is a perfect metaphor. Although Wallace states that he himself is not

the old fish, the information he presents could be taken that way. For stance, one main point the

David Foster Wallace brings up is to “live life before death.” By saying this he means to worry

about your life now, and to focus on making it to thirty or fifty years old. Wallace also brings up

the point to “stay alert and attentive” in our everyday lives. He says it is easy to get “hypnotized

by the constant monologue inside your own head.” Wallace states that even twenty years after

his own graduation he finally understands that cliché’s and the monotonous actions of everyday

life express a great and terrible truth. That people in liberal arts education “keep from going

through (their) comfortable, prosperous, respectable adult life dead, unconscious, a slave to

(their) head and to (their) natural default-setting of being uniquely, completely, imperially alone,

day in and day out.”

The last part of the rhetorical analysis is understanding the context of David Foster

Wallace’s speech. All of the things that are out the control of anyone. One aspect of context that

could be taken into consideration is whether or not the commencement speech is given inside or

outside. If outside, the weather could also have an effect on the rhetoric. If it is hot or humid

people may be uncomfortable and possibly won’t be as attentive as they could be. By using
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almanac.com, it can be known that the weather that day wasn’t too hot. On May 21, 2005 the

average temperature was 57.4 degrees Fahrenheit with a high of 73.4 degrees (Old). Although

there may be some discomfort at the peak of the temperature, overall, it was a nice day. Another

aspect out of control of Wallace is when he gives the speech. Whether Wallace speaks at the

beginning of the ceremony or at the end may have different effects on the audience or even

Wallace himself. A third aspect of context is comparing David Foster Wallace’s speech to other

graduation speeches. Personally, I can compare his speech to the one I witnessed when I went to

my older sister’s graduation. For her graduating class, she had a bishop address the audience.

After listening to Wallace’s speech, it’s easy to differentiate the two. Wallace spoke faster and

was more engaged with the audience rather than just speaking to them. Knowing how Wallace’s

speech compares to other graduation speeches is an important part of the context. Another aspect

could be how David Foster Wallace and his philosophies are perceived before he speaks at the

graduation ceremony. When given the quote to describe types of knowledge, “The fox knows

many things; the hedgehog knows one big thing” (Kelly, D) Wallace’s ideas are more seen as

hedgehog-like. A last aspect of context is important for better understanding “This is Water”

today. Knowing now that David Foster Wallace committed suicide within a year of presenting

this speech changes how readers and listeners take this information. After the shock and sadness

that occurred following his death, several memorial services, print obituaries and other tributes

were performed everywhere. This led to “a mobilization of readers, fans and critics to revisit his

work, and to begin to consider Wallace’s legacy for U.S. and world literature” (Kelly, A).

Overall, I think that David Foster Wallace’s speech was an effective piece of rhetoric. All

aspects of rhetoric which were analyzed above can be seen clearly in “This is Water.” If I had to

give one suggestion that might improve Wallace’s rhetoric, I would say to possibly decrease the
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length of the speech. Although captivating and well written, some members in the audience may

have trouble taking in all of your points if they are listening to a speech for twenty-two minutes

straight. Although that could be an improvement, there are few aspects of Wallace’s speech that I

could change to make it more effective. This is Water is a perfect example of how to rhetoric in a

form of a speech should be written.

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Works Cited

Bitzer, Lloyd F. “The Rhetorical Situation.” Philosophy & Rhetoric, vol. 25, 1992, pp. 1–14. 

Isaacs, Marx. “Effective Speech Is Effective Communication.” Technical Communication,

vol. 16, no. 2, 1969, pp. 14–15.

KELLY, ADAM. “DAVID FOSTER WALLACE: THE DEATH OF THE AUTHOR AND

THE BIRTH OF A DISCIPLINE.” IJAS Online, no. 2, 2010, pp. 47–59.

KELLY, DANIEL R. “DAVID FOSTER WALLACE AS AMERICAN

HEDGEHOG.” Freedom and the Self: Essays on the Philosophy of David Foster Wallace, edited by

Steven M. Cahn and Maureen Eckert, Columbia University Press, NEW YORK, 2015, pp. 109–132. 

Old Farmer's Almanac. “Weather History for Gambier, OH.” Old Farmer's Almanac,

www.almanac.com/weather/history/OH/Gambier/2005-05-21.

“The Ups and Downs of Graduation.” The Ups and Downs of Graduation - Counseling

& Psychological Services | Montana State University,

www.montana.edu/counseling/selfhelp/grad

uation.html.