David Foster Wallace's This Is Water

Through various differences and changes within medium, David Foster Wallace’s original graduation commencement speech sends a completely message to that of the published book. This notion is due to how the published book “This is water” by the Little, Brown, and Company changed, removed, and added numerous word or sentences that inherently change the original meaning David Foster Wallace initially delivered. In David Foster Wallace’s original speech, he attempts to advice his audience to think about others and different possibilities of the countless things around one-self while not seeing yourself as the center of the universe. This idea is perpetuated throughout Wallace’s speech which is complimented by how he clearly shows that he is open to the idea of most things by using non-specific or non-aggressive …show more content…
However, the published version of Wallace’s speech changes the focus of the speech directly on the reader with them as a focus along with taking a clear, definite stance, on various topics while demeaning the other side. Even the prospect of the book itself simultaneously with how each page only has a sentence or two on them completely go against Wallace’s belief and undermines his anti-consumerism nature. The examples of how David Foster Wallace’s message was utterly changed due to the change in medium to a book by The Little, Brown and Company thereby illustrate that a change of medium does in fact does have an effect on how and what message is received by audiences. The additions made by the Little, Brown and Company within the book version of David Foster Wallace’s speech completely contradict the ideas stated within his original speech. These