David Wallace's Essay 'Consider The Lobster'

In David Foster Wallace’s article “Consider the Lobster,” he describes the harsh reality of lobster eating. At the site of the World’s Largest Lobster Cooker at the Maine Lobster Festival, Wallace describes in detail the brutal treatment of lobsters in order for people to seek pleasure in their appetite. Wallace’s argument is that it is not right to “boil a sentient creature alive just for our gustatory pleasure” (700-701). He thoroughly describes the process in which lobsters are boiled alive in order to support his argument that because lobsters have feelings too, we should not boil sentient creatures alive for our pleasure. Wallace’s argument complicates Nijhuis’ view on nature because Nijhuis makes the point that people should essentially

On first thought the sound of eating roadkill is just disturbing, but there are many people who believe roadkill is food being put to waste. Buhler begins to build his credibility with some facts about eating roadkill such as “It is the perfect meat for vegetarians and vegans”, and “Mutual Automobile Insurance Company estimated that 1,232,000 deer were hit by cars in the United States”. Is it possible to ever catch me eating roadkill? Probably not, but some things Buhler state seem to make sense. In the passage “On Eating Roadkill”, Buhler makes effective use of ethos, pathos, and logos to get his argument across.

Imagine a world where firemen start fires instead of putting them out. Fahrenheit 451 is set in a utopian, or dystopian to us, society, where books are burned and people rarely have real social interaction. Although Fahrenheit 451 seems nowhere close to our society, we are both alike and different to their world. The freedom of information is both very different and somewhat alike.

The live lobsters are simply dropped into pots of boiling hot water, which does not allow them the opportunity to fight to live before they are killed. He is quick to point out that this method of killing lobsters is a lot different than the way in which most of us kill animals for food in our grocery stores. Wallace writes, “The lobster, in other words, behaves very much as you or I would behave if we were plunged into boiling water… A blunter way to say this is that the lobster acts as if it’s in terrible pain, causing some cooks to leave the kitchen altogether and to take one of those little lightweight plastic oven timers with them into another room and wait until the whole process is over”(5). The argument he makes in this section of the essay is based on his belief that lobsters do not experience pain and distress in the same way as humans do.

Each day I walk through the streets completely unaware that each and every single person that I walked by has a story of their own. Whether it’s an ideally happy one or a sad one, each person is made uniquely of stories. Only after my introduction to This is Water by David Foster Wallace, did I realize how much I relate to him and what he was saying. One idea Wallace expressed well was all humans have a default, natural way, of thinking. Using his inner thoughts as an example, he confessed that it is “[his] deep belief that [he is] the absolute center of the universe, the realest, most vivid and important person in existence (Paragraph 2).”

Blackfish (2013) is an American documentary film directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite and produced by Manuel V. Oteyza. The documentary primarily concerns the controversy of captured Killer Whales at the theme park Sea World, primarily that of Tilikum, an Orca responsible for the deaths of 2010 SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau and two other individuals. The documentary begins with this incident but goes as far back to the 1970 's show the audience how young Orcas are captured in the wild and taken from their families and natural environments. Since its release at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival Blackfish has achieved both critical acclaim and caused controversy regarding SeaWorld 's treatment of its animals as well as retaliation from SeaWorld as to the legitimacy of the film 's claims.

In the short story “The Truth About Sharks”, author Joan Bauer creates a very strong interpretation of a bold main character named Beth, who is accused of shoplifting at a local store. Although she is faced with a very strong security guard, she stands up to her to get what she wants by telling the truth. Bauer uses character development, symbolism, and conflict, both internal and external, to explain Beth’s journey. Analysis of literary devices made in “The Truth About Sharks” reveal how Bauer makes a subtle connection between the character and the reader which creates a connection with the theme which is one should always stand up for what one believes is the truth, even when the odds are stacked against it. Bauer’s use of character development

In the book, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Pollan claims we should be more knowledgeable about what we consume as omnivores. As omnivores we have a variety of food, we can choose from, however, we don’t regularly make the best decisions for ourselves. Pollan argues this by showing us where our food really comes from and how we can find many unwanted extras. Pollan shows us that we’ve evolved as humans from how we used to eat to how we eat now. Pollan argues this by introducing us to all the food chains we value today, some much more than others.

David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech “This is Water” at Kenyon College is often thought of as one of the most influential speeches because it calls the graduates to observe the world around them through a different lens. However, he does not accomplish that by calling the graduates to action, but instead challenges them to use their education. He also appeals to the students’ emotions through his use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Although people mostly only remember the antidotes, it is the message associated with reoccurring emotions and literary devices throughout the speech that moves the reader into action. Wallace is able to captivate his audience and persuade them to view the world without themselves at the center through his tactful use of rhetoric.

In the novel The Omnivore's Dilemma, author Micheal Pollan talks extensively about corn. He discusses the ecological, economical, and biological effects it has on humans and our environments. Most often, he brings up the shocking statistic that twenty-five percent of all supermarket items contain corn. Pollan steers away from taking a stance on this, but the strong voice in his writing shows the reader how he feels about corn's prevalence. He, rather obviously, thinks of it as a problem.

His findings on how a lobster can sense the changes in temperature of water by even just a few degrees clearly refute the prior claims that lobsters have no brain, or feel any pain. Pathos, our appeal to emotion is analogized very well when he describes the lobster clawing to the edge of the pot and compares it to much like a human, hanging onto the edge of a roof for dear life. An exceptional job is done by the writer in humanizing the lobster and getting the reader on his side. There is a great appeal to the morality behind boiling the lobster and Wallace relates to the reader himself by professing how uneasy he is with the idea of animal cruelty and how he and no one else likes to think about it. This is a sentiment most people can very easily associate with, this underlying thought that most of us enjoy consuming meat, but also have a liberal attitude regarding animal cruelty.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma is a non-fiction book that discusses the relationship between the food and our daily life. Michael Pollan, the author of this book, points out the advantages and disadvantages of subsidy on corn. Given the corn is one of the major crops in our daily life, there are lots of corn’s by-products in the supermarket, even the nonfood items. Some people believe corn is a miracle crop because they are impressed by the wide-ranged of corn products; On the other hand, some people think the expansion of corn industry leads to social, environmental, and economic problems. In Pollan’s view, he questions about the outcomes of the subsidy and believes it creates different negative problems to the society.

In my opinion, this book could have been structured better, in more of an organized manner. Overall, I believe multiple improvements could have been made to this book. Moreover, this book begins in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Six men aboard the Andrea Gail embark on a difficult fishing trip in late October.

Essayist, David Foster Wallace, article “Consider the Lobster” discusses the deeper issue at hand found in the Maine Lobster Festival (2003) that attendees often overlook at or do not care; whether it is morally right to subject pain on animals because of gourmet delicacies. With this intention in mind, Wallace must wangle his point across readers of Gourmet magazine, his attended audience, in order for them to understand that the Maine Lobster Festival is not just about "the promise of sun, fun, and fine food" But a deeper issue at hand. Therefore, Wallace use of the rhetorical strategy Pathos throughout his essay creates an emotional impact on his readers; who have probably never consider the lobsters’ point of view. Consequently, allowing

The consumption of animal meat is highly accepted in today’s society, however, the methods, in which the animals are killed are sometimes questioned for their cruelty. David Wallace, in considering the Lobster, takes the readers to the Maine Lobster Festival, where the consumption of lobsters is exploited, and the festival's attendees celebrate these acts. However, the essay goes furthermore than narrating the lobster’s festival, because through sensory details, and different techniques, he makes the readers question society’s morality. By stressing the cruelty it takes boiling lobsters alive, Wallace is capable of creating a sense of awareness in society decisions that demonstrate their corrupted morality, and how it affects directly others (like lobsters)