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A full copy of my FIQWS 10108 Summary and Response Essay:

Kennedy Jacquet 

Professor Killebrew and Balun

FIQWS 10108 

September 29, 2021 

Summary and Response Essay 

In David Foster Wallace’s piece entitled ‘This is Water’, he compares human’s natural preference for a mentally perceived self-centered reality to what he calls a “default setting”. The main theme of choosing awareness over our “default setting” describes to readers that despite the self-centered reality our mind attempts to convince us of, we must consciously choose to make ourselves aware of that which is right outside of our own minds, in front of us.  

“This is Water” is a novel originally published in 2005 written by David Foster Wallace in order to convey his message of the importance of awareness. The piece begins with Wallace telling a story of two young fish swimming in water. Their unawareness of the very fact they are swimming in water is soon brought to light when an older fish points out what we deem obvious as humans, that the fish are surrounded by water.  Wallace then segues this idea into how our own default settings blind us of that which is “in plain sight all around us” (Wallace 8) in correlation to how the water is in plain sight of the fish. Though Wallace does take time to illustrate the existence of our default setting, he still manages to explain to his readers that the key to escaping the immediacy of our default is to consciously choose to be aware of events not just pertaining to ourselves, but to the people and possibilities around us.  

In “This is Water”, one of the first times we find Wallace presenting the ideas of his theme of awareness can be found when he states, “Here’s one example of the utter wrongness of something I tend to be automatically sure of: Everything in my own immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe, the realest, most vivid and important person in existence. We rarely talk about the sort of natural, basic self-centeredness, because it’s so socially repulsive, but it’s pretty much the same for all of us deep down. It is our default setting, hard-wired into our boards at birth” (Wallace 2). The significance of this quote can be seen as Wallace offers his own personal experience with lack of awareness as a way of introducing his idea of the “default setting” to readers. Through this quote readers are able to grasp what the author describes as our “default setting” and understand Wallace’s intended negative connotation behind its meaning. This initial negative connotation of the default setting helps readers to understand the gravity the presence of our “default setting” holds over our minds in the long run. 

As we continue through this piece, we find Wallace not only defining the “default setting” but also providing a solution to the immediacy it presents in our minds. Towards the middle of this piece, we find Wallace stating, “‘Learning how to think’ really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. Because if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed” (Wallace 3). This statement not only introduces his theme of the importance of awareness, but also offers an explanation as to how to combat our default setting with consciousness and awareness. This quote also drives home Wallace’s message that this way of thinking is a conscious choice we must make in order to breakout of our natural self-centeredness.  

At the end of this piece, we find Wallace driving home the theme that awareness is the key to escaping our natural default setting by stating, “It 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 Water, this is water.’ It is unimaginably hard to do this, to stay conscious and alive, day in and day out” (Wallace 8). This quote enables readers to understand that although our enrapture with our “default setting” seems appropriate because of its familiarity, if we consciously choose to expand our awareness outside of ourselves, it will lead to a far more positive outcome than the likely negative results of remaining stuck in our “default” way of thinking. We also find Wallace explaining the difficulties that come along with changing our “default” way of thinking as an attempt to warn the reader before they, hopefully, choose to expand their awareness.  

Overall, I believe there is much truth in Wallace’s theme of choosing awareness over our default, and I think the importance of escaping our “default setting” is essential to our overall health and well-being. I found Wallace’s message resonating with me as I read due to my own negative experience with my “default setting.” I found that although there was familiarity in the immediacy of my defaulted, self-centered way of thinking, my mental health was progressively declining contrary to the comfort I felt in that mental space. I found that one of the only ways to escape that decline, was to become truly aware of what existed outside of my universe. I discovered that choosing to become aware of all that existed outside of the mental cage of my default was a major contribution to my mental healing. Although I still find my “default” constantly nagging at the back of my mind, I am able to see the world in a much less depressive light when I find myself choosing awareness instead. 

 In relation to “self and other”, I believe David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water” shows that the liberation from the self-centeredness of our “default setting” through choosing awareness, enables us to find peace outside of the turbulence our minds can present to us. Although the freedom the “other” will bring us is entirely situational, in this instance I believe choosing to focus on the “other”, outside of ourselves, will lead to a far more positive outcome than choosing to remain in our “default”.