Blog post #28 - Alice Munro and David Foster Wallace

In what ways could Wallace’s theory about education be applicable to the writing of Alice Munro? Justify your conclusion.

In David Foster Wallace’s speech “This is Water,” he talks about how true freedom is found through education and the ability to be adjust yourself consciously and sympathetically throughout the majority of his literary piece this is water. "Control over how and what you think.” This is reached through a play on the different perspectives that are found around the world that we ignore because of the way our brains are set up, and each individuals default mode. Through “This is Water” Wallace was able to express to the reader that it is possible to control what we are thinking about and block out any other thoughts that cross our mind. We can see how Wallace’s theory of education is put into practice in Alice Munro’s short stories. When you read Munro’s texts, you are taken into a virtual world which is being experienced by the main character.

Between the two authors, we are shown a variety of experience where empathy is shown towards the main character, and we are shown how to consciously recognize our own emotions. While giving the speech, Wallace portrays life of an average American adult, emphasizing how important it is to show empathy as well as being open-minded. With this trait being in both authors work, it is easier for the reader to gain empathy towards the character in the story as it shows that the person in the story is real and many readers will be able to relate to the situation. In addition, the way Munro presents most of her stories is in the first person which allows her the opportunity to further emphasize the effect to the reader, allowing the reader to be able to directly relate to that character.

There is clearly a link between Wallace’s theory regarding education and Alice Munro’s writing. If Wallace’s speech did what it was intended to do, it would encourage us to develop the readers empathy and emotional intelligence, while Munro’s short stories will help us escape our “natural-default,” allowing us to build an adjusted, sympathetic and conscience person.

Comments

  1. D17 September 2017 at 09:32

    Well written! It is significant that you mentioned Munro's use of first person narration, as this allows for the readers to get a panoramic view of the protagonist's emotions, thoughts, and point of view, as well as explicit characterization of the other characters.

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  2. Ikah Nicole18 September 2017 at 02:16

    This is very insightful! I agree that there is a clear link between Wallace’s theory regarding education and Alice Munro’s writing with regards to her style of writing

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown18 September 2017 at 02:19

    I agree, that one of the connections seen with both of these authors and the text that they have would be the subject of empathy. The reader, similarly to both the stories and in real life situations, must show empathy and be able to control the lens used to and look at events through a certain perspective in order to not only understand one's own feelings through another person, but also understand other people's emotions. This would relate back to shared humanity.

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