IOC Practice

Act 1 Scene 2

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10YynvsXPY8dAqpUAmQ1rGEqacGwdcAuTiYQZyJeFNLo/edit?usp=docslist_api

What the hell is water?

"This is Water" is an essay written by David Foster Wallace. It is work that explores the mindset of the adult human, and their perspective and attitude towards the world. The general idea that is brought across in this essay is the choice that we have of that mindset. How we can either be self-centred and take our surroundings for granted, or we can open our minds to a bigger picture. This idea is simply illustrated in his opening paragraph, where two fish are swimming, before the one asks the other "what the hell is water?" A stupid question to some, but a brilliant example of a world we take for granted, through our default, oblivious behaviour. With more examples, David Foster Wallace is able to continually address the idea of choice between thinking with a closed mind or an open mind about ones surroundings. Another main idea that he is able to bring across is that through choosing against our default oblivious nature, we are able to experience more personal joy through a more open minded perspective.

David Foster Wallace then goes on to paint a mental picture of the everyday adult life. A seemingly eternal routine of waking up, working, eating, and then sleeping, before waking up to repeat an identical process, and he does so as if from the perspective of someone thinking in the default and judgemental mindset he mentions. But the specific example used is a typical trip to the supermarket. Here, there's author continues to speak through the perception of the easily angered and judgmental adult. This is particularly evident when he portrays the thinking process of an adult waiting at the checkout lines after a long day at work. "The glacially slow old people and the spacey people and the ADHD kids who all block the aisle." This line would be surprisingly relatable for the audience, which is exactly what David Foster Wallace is trying to achieve to prove his point. The fact that many can place themselves in the same shoes is evident of the fact that most adults think in the same self-centred, judgmental and oblivious way. "Because my natural default-setting is the certainty that situations like this are really all about me, about my hungriness and my fatigue and my desire to just get home..."

But then he proceeds to flip this mindset on its head. He begins to emphasise on the fact that in a supermarket, or in a traffic jam as mentions additionally, none of the other slow or spacey people with their ADHD kids want to be there either. What David Foster Wallace suggests is that the default mindset is what leads to such misery. Choosing to think differently is a choice, and in doing so, one is able to feel more emotionally satisfied in such situations. 

We could link such a idea to the inquiry question: How can literature develop empathy and emotional intelligence? Through the essay, the audience is able to gain knowledge and intelligence regarding the emotions of an average adult. In this specific piece of literature, a message can be taken away that helps to lighten the emotional aspect of any readers life, and that choosing to think a certain way can allow for such an emotional change to occur within a person, when musing on what lies without.