David Foster Wallace preaches the
practice of utilizing perspective in “This is Water.” He believes in actively
placing oneself in others' shoes to perhaps achieve a better, more positive
outlook on a situation. His goal is to both teach and remind the reader that in
all bad there is good if one chooses to see it. All of these techniques and
ideals are ways to go about avoiding a default setting of selfishness Wallace
speaks of, but I personally could not disagree with his methods more.
The world I see around me reeks of
suppression, segregation, and violence. While there will always be that one
person who brightens your day with their selflessness and those few people who
represent the good in the world, it’s only a matter of time until you encounter
a show of selfishness to dim the lights right back down.
I remain cynical and cautious of
most things I do and most people I meet. While Wallace, had he not committed suicide
three years after ‘This is Water’, may view my stance as counterproductive or
even unhealthy, I see it as dependable. If I put myself first, I will be taken
care of first. I myself have enough problems and mental thorns. Time spent
attending to the needs and wounds of others is time for my needs to go on
unfulfilled; for my untreated wounds to grow infected.
Wallace would say that practicing
this outlook on life limits me greatly in bettering myself, gaining knowledge,
and exploring the plains of consciousness.
I believe, however, that it will keep me safe during the completion of
these actions. Through cynicism and caution I will be able to find the path of
least resistance and explore at my own pace in my own comfort zone. I will find
my positive outlook by making myself happy, not everyone I meet.
I agree with this to an extent— I too, disagree with Wallace’s methods. Personally, I think that Wallace’s feelings of self-pity (when he described sitting in a line at a grocery sore or sitting in a traffic jam) should not exist in the first place. Having those kinds of feelings during such trivial tasks seems somewhat concerning and unhealthy to me, so that’s why I don’t really even consider his method of placing himself in others’ shoes to be helpful. Where I do not agree with you is when you say you find it healthy to put yourself first. This can be ok to an extent, but I have found that finding a balance of putting yourself before others and putting others before yourself generally will lead to healthier relationships with people. With that being said though, I’ve noticed especially in our consumer-friendly society in the U.S. that kids are being taught to put themselves before others at a very early age, and I know I’ve caught myself doing that many times when I probably should not have, so I can definitely relate to those feelings of cynicism and caution too.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do understand the point you are trying to make-- by never putting yourself first, you will always come up last-- I believe that you are overlooking the idea that David F. Wallace was trying to express. I don't believe that Wallace was trying to show people that there is, as you put it, "good if one chooses to see it." Wallace was doing the exact opposite. He was showing us that even though our life can be dreadful, somebody else's life is probably going worse. He isn't saying to become selfless and attend to the needs of others; he's saying to become aware that you are not the only one with needs.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading many comments, I can see why many people agree with Wallace. Maybe people really are self-centered deep down. I've seen people envy and hate others for not having something they want such as a mother or a father. The actual act of wanting a mother or father cannot be in any way selfish can it? Although, chances are the person won't ever think, "I hope all the other children have a mother or father." Let's say they actually do think that quite often. Now I see that it wouldn't be a "default setting", but more of a way to think learned through the experience of not having a parent the person himself/herself. Even in a situation like this a person can be self-centered in wanting something for him/her own benefit or need. When we learn to think from experience that is when we start to pull away from out default setting and get more in touch to whatever we decide has meaning now.
ReplyDeleteI do somewhat agree with you. I do believe that this world we live in has awful people and places.And yes there is only a few people that can brighten up your day and what not but also. You have to kinda understand that some of the ones that are bad inside and out is because they are going through a hard time some point of time in their life that why i agree with Wallace statement that he was trying to come out with.
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