“Liking is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts.” is a commencement speech given by Jonathan Franzen. This intriguing title pulls the reader in right from the beginning, and the message is just as interesting as the title. The context is essential to realize why he chose to write about the future and the world of liking versus loving. There is a set context that Franzen has in mind when writing this as part of the commencement speech genre, he creates a certain structure, and uses different rhetorical appeals and tone all combined to help the reader understand that loving is more important than being caught up in the technological world. All of these things work in harmony to create an effective commencement speech that is delivered well by Franzen.
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In general, there are specific things that most commencement speeches talk about. For example, the optimism of the speakers when addressing the graduating class. Franzen however is not as optimistic as most, but the one thing he does say that is semi-optimistic is that “when you go out and put yourself in real relation to real people...there’s a very real danger that you might love some of them.” (Franzen 4). Although this may not sound very optimistic, in Franzen’s case it is. This quote is optimistic because throughout the paper he explains how it is a good thing to love. Another common thing in commencement speeches is talking about the future because it is new beginning for the class that is graduating, they are starting their adult lives. Franzen addresses the future in his speech in an unusual way when saying, “we’re [all] alive for a while but will die before long...that [is] the real root cause of all our anger and pain and despair. And you can run from this fact or, by way of love, you can embrace it.” (Franzen 4). The quote talks about future decisions as well as shows a piece of advice, another common aspect of commencement speeches, that Franzen gives because he is suggesting that the graduates should embrace the negative emotions of anger, pain, and despair, and use it in a good way to get more meaning out of life. Specifically Franzen wants the graduates to love without fear, and accept the pain that goes along with it. In comparison to other commencement speeches, Franzen’s is very effective and has many of the same qualities others in the same genre
In general, there are specific things that most commencement speeches talk about. For example, the optimism of the speakers when addressing the graduating class. Franzen however is not as optimistic as most, but the one thing he does say that is semi-optimistic is that “when you go out and put yourself in real relation to real people...there’s a very real danger that you might love some of them.” (Franzen 4). Although this may not sound very optimistic, in Franzen’s case it is. This quote is optimistic because throughout the paper he explains how it is a good thing to love. Another common thing in commencement speeches is talking about the future because it is new beginning for the class that is graduating, they are starting their adult lives. Franzen addresses the future in his speech in an unusual way when saying, “we’re [all] alive for a while but will die before long...that [is] the real root cause of all our anger and pain and despair. And you can run from this fact or, by way of love, you can embrace it.” (Franzen 4). The quote talks about future decisions as well as shows a piece of advice, another common aspect of commencement speeches, that Franzen gives because he is suggesting that the graduates should embrace the negative emotions of anger, pain, and despair, and use it in a good way to get more meaning out of life. Specifically Franzen wants the graduates to love without fear, and accept the pain that goes along with it. In comparison to other commencement speeches, Franzen’s is very effective and has many of the same qualities others in the same genre