Wallace Vs. Hurston
David Foster Wallace's speech, This is Water, was a brilliant commencement speech he had written for the class of 2005 of Kenyon College. The speech ended up being his most famous piece, having addressed a reality that no one concentrates on. The speech focuses on the theory of self-centeredness. Wallace believes that there is a reality of self-centeredness so real, that no one ever considers it. He starts off his speech with a short story of how an old fish, swimming by two younger fish says, "Morning, boys, how's the water?". The water is an analogy for the self-centeredness, and the young fish, for the people. People are in a rush every single day of their lives, they do not realize that although they are the center of their own universe, they are not the center of anyone else's. Without saying it, Wallace wants readers and listeners to focus on living in the moment and being aware of the present and your surroundings.
Another great author who focuses on living in the moment and finding your own journey to self-discovery is Zora Neale Hurston. In her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the protagonist, Janie, goes on a life-long journey of self-discovery. Janie travelled all over Florida with three different men before she finally knew what living was about. At the end of the novel, after Janie has finished telling her story, she tells Pheoby that she is content with living in Eatonville because she has been "tuh de horizon and back". With that quote, Hurston is telling the audience that to be able to know what love is and to be able to know what happiness is, you have to go and experience it for yourself.
Another great author who focuses on living in the moment and finding your own journey to self-discovery is Zora Neale Hurston. In her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the protagonist, Janie, goes on a life-long journey of self-discovery. Janie travelled all over Florida with three different men before she finally knew what living was about. At the end of the novel, after Janie has finished telling her story, she tells Pheoby that she is content with living in Eatonville because she has been "tuh de horizon and back". With that quote, Hurston is telling the audience that to be able to know what love is and to be able to know what happiness is, you have to go and experience it for yourself.
This is where Hurston ties in with Wallace. Both authors believe that one must go out and experience life for yourself, you cannot feed off of what other people tell you about life. Hurston and Wallace both make themselves clear in regards to making yourself present in the moment. Janie dreamt about the future a lot, but, when she was with TeaCake she had felt as though her life had just started. She started to notice small things and this is the same concept that Wallace is trying to make to his audience. Stop, breathe, think and pay attention to what's going on in front of you. This concept can definitely be applied to the real world as a lot of people do not pay much attention to what is going on around them 90% of the time. How is one supposed to experience your own journey, if you can't make a conscious effort to be present?
I agree with what you said that Wallace's theory focus on self-centeredness and its advantages and disadvantages. The part where you said that Janie finally felt as though her life had started again really links with Wallace's idea that you should focus on your surroundings and notice what's happening. I agree that people should stop to regain focus and be mindful of their environment, because I personally tend to focus on myself, so I think that's a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI also like how you included quotes from both texts and analyzed them. The idea where Janie starts her life again after meeting Teacake, can be similar to how Wallace's audience felt at their graduation. They both have a new start at life.
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