Wallace Stegner

Alfred Russel Wallace shared similar findings with Darwin that he decided to publish his research on his hypothesis of natural selection. In 1855, Wallace published an article that stated that current species may be descendants of other species and that their appearances and variations were caused by environmental factors. Lyell and some others wanted Darwin to publish his work following the article’s release but he did not. It was not until 1858 that upon receiving another paper from Wallace…

The modern world has begun to question where exactly our food comes from and how its treated, and the lobster is no exception. “Consider the Lobster” by David Foster Wallace gives us some history on the lobster, how it is cooked, and, specifically, the yearly lobster festival held in Maine. He begins by going into great detail about the lobster festival and various aspects of it that lead us to believe that lobster may not just be for the 'upper class', such as using various lower class symbols…

identifies hypocrisy (the mortal hamartia) within himself but also recognizes the ease with which free will allows us to accept it and deny our core values. Lane describes this internal conflict as “a taste of the reality of what might be meant by Hell” (Wallace 3). Previously unbeknown to him, Hell did not reside under his feet but in the darkest corners of his mind. “Good People” acts as a guided exploration of Lane’s subconscious, featuring the consistent internal boxing match between the…

It has been argued that “the late nineteenth century was a scientific age. Literature could not simply remain the same after Darwin: the rules had changed” (Link 75) and that is what naturalist did. They started to reveal the origin to people’s actions and beliefs, as well as the cause. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin discusses some of the most relevant actions and new beliefs, such as divorce, adultery or woman and feminity. Although the work was quite controversial when she first wrote it, in…

people do not need to eat certain stuff to survive since they are presented with much choices besides lobsters. People need to realize that if we only eat lobsters for selfish gustatory pleasure and we are totally cruel. In the essay, David Foster Wallace states that “As far as I can tell, my own way of dealing with this conflict has been to avoid thinking about the whole unpleasant thing.” (466) To…

hypocritical to me. He says within the article that he himself eats animals, which in turn means that an animal had to have been harmed in the process which he so easily compares to a “medieval torture-fest.” Within the same page of the article, Wallace calls exactly what he is doing himself “selfishly convenient.” I have a hard time understanding why he went to such great lengths bashing the Maine Lobster Festival and everyone at home who tortures lobsters for the sake of a pleasurable meal…

With everything happening in life, it is easy to focus on just ourselves and our own lives sometimes. However, it is important to not get caught up in the trivial aspects of life and lose sight of the bigger picture, or forget that “this is water.” In David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water” speech, he states that “[Life] is about simple awareness - awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, that we have to keep reminding ourselves, over and over. “This is…

Wallace effectively led both readers on and made them think that he was bias to one side before he stated facts going each what each group believed. He managed to stay in the middle of the debate and made the readers think about why the opposite group believes what they believe. His essay is subversive by putting possible doubt in the readers mind and made them actually listen to other viewpoints. When I say “other viewpoints” I am speaking about the viewpoints of people who think it is…

The essay, “Consider the Lobster”, written by David Foster Wallace is about him visiting the Maine Lobster Festival. He believes that the festival is more than about the food and entertainment. First, he goes into very specific details explaining the lobster. He stated, “Lobsters are both hunters and scavengers”, (page 2). I believe that the main purpose of the article is to tell people to look at reality and consider the lobster on what they have to go through to be cooked and eating. He…

As shown in William Golding 's Lord of the Flies, human beings ' desire to satisfy their physical needs tend to dominate their ability to think rationally. In the novel, Golding uses the way human nature works to show how easily society can fall apart and how that can affect the people in the community. He makes sure that the theme of a twisted and corrupt nature is the underlying drive of the story. He writes characters such as Jack, Roger and Ralph with this is mind. Throughout the novel, he…