"This is water" Analysis

Essentially, this text is an essay called  "This is Water" written by David Forster Wallace. Throughout the text, the author develops the idea that self perception of life, and perception of our surroundings is a crucial fact in our day to day life, that can affect our personality, and attitude. The main point of David Foster's essay, is the empathy towards the people surrounding us. As we grow up, we get involved in never ending routines that make us feel like everyday is the exact same day, in which nothing new, or surprising happens to us. Besides of this, as David Foster explains, when we  submerge in these routines, the mentality that we all have is that we are the center of the universe, forgetting that we live in a world in which there are people around who have the same, if not even worse problems than we have, therefore people's feelings, and thoughts are not being communicated to us when we are submerged in this routine.

Besides of this, the author shows a focus in explaining how important the knowledge or intellect is when it comes to adjusting our default-settings. Through the knowledge obtained, and though learning to have a mentality tat seeks to learn how to think, we are "conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience"as David explains.

One of the example used by David to show how this daily perspective of life, or lack of empathy works in our day to day life is the example of a man that has to go to the grocery shop at the very last moment of the day after working, having to queue for a long time, complaining about the people that are in the same situation as him. Once the situation is being described the author shows that in the next moment the person starts to realize that maybe the people that are queuing just like him, may have the same problems as him, or may have to face daily situations that are harder than his routine, therefore showing the importance of empathizing with the people around us, who sometimes we do not care about.

This essay makes us reflect about our day to day lives , therefore transmitting us moral values, such as the empathy that in some cases we lack, not considering the individuals around us, only being aware of our situation, and problems. Trough the use of characters, and life experiences of others, values can be expressed and messages can be transmitted to the audience, therefore making use of literature, to teach or to transmit a lesson, that applies to a wide range of individuals.