The most effective device that Wallace uses is narratives and didactic stories throughout. Wallace uses many stories. At the beginning of the speech, Wallace tells the story about the older fish who swims by the young fish and asks “’Morning, boys. How’s the water?’” and the younger fish end up asking “’What the hell is water?’” (). This story is tied throughout the speech, bringing out the theme and emotions that are important. Besides just this narrative, there are stories about icemen, the grocery store, which is filled with stories within stories, and one about religions. Stories cause people to think about ideas in new ways and in new scenarios. Stories are also placed outside ourselves, which makes it easier for people to have their own
